by Werner Goertz

Each year, thousands of MBA students graduate without ever having lost touch with their work environment. Part-time, executive, and evening MBAs graduating from top schools typically have 8-10 years of experience upon graduation. A significant number of them boast undergraduate degrees in engineering and senior-level management experience. While at school, they remain employed at top companies. With their new academic degrees they are ready for the next step in advancing their careers and they are looking for the opportunities to do so.

To date, the potential of senior-level MBAs has been largely untapped by recruiters. For one, they are usually passive job seekers. Their current and ongoing work assignments prevent them from executing proactive and focused job searches. Secondly, typical on-campus recruiting efforts are geared toward full-time MBAs, even though such graduates bring significantly less proven and transferable skills to the table and are generally seeking entry-level opportunities. And finally, with ten or more years of on-the-job experience under their belts, part-time MBA graduates have little experience in the current job market. Consequently, they may not interview as well.

In addition to a proven track record, evening MBAs have likewise proven their commitment to advancing their professional careers. They have spent time, money and personal energy on updating their academic backgrounds. During the course of their programs, they have interacted and socialized with students of similar stature and have expanded their personal network. In balancing their career, their MBA program, and their private lives, they have demonstrated their ability and commitment to their tasks, including those above and beyond a nine-to-five schedule.

In tapping this rich source, recruiters should be aware of a vastly divergent spectrum of offerings when it comes to part-time programs: while some may focus on quick revenue, others offer programs and curricula that are equal to that of full-time offerings and are taught by the same faculty to ensure consistent quality of instruction as well as graduates. ~

Campus Career Centers typically provide information on how to access this pool of experienced candidates and they often publish resume books or organize recruiting events. In addition, student associations also create initiatives to market their candidates. Given that the special nature of these candidates has not been systematically explored yet, competition for these candidates has not developed, either - a great opportunity for recruiters with the right positions to fill and the right strategy to approach evening MBA graduates.

Werner Goertz is a candidate of the Evening MBA program at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business; he invites visitors to his personal website at www.wernerg.com.