International Experience?

[kasakimasaki]

Hi,

I am planning to apply for 2010 MBA program.

I found the following among application essays for London School of Business,
"Describe any significant experiences outside of your home country. What did you gain from these"

I understand that most universities expect students to have some international experiences.

1. Do universities require applicants to have "international work experience"? Is "international exposure" (i.e. visiting other countries on vacation, communicating to foreign nationals/clients on phone and email) sufficient?

2. Can the "international experiences" part of my application change the course of my application drastically or is it just something that is "simply" desirable?

3. Presently my job does not allow me to travel abroad though I interact with foreign nationals through phone and email. Going abroad on a vacation is also possible. Beyond that, is international work experience so important that I should consider leaving my job and look for another "just" for the sake of getting international work experience?

All other aspects of my profile are quite good and I want to manage this one hurdle. Please answer my questions individually so that I gain a clear understanding of how I should proceed.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Ravi,

Generally speaking, schools vary widely on what and how much international experience they wish to see in their MBA candidates. It can be a small as exposure to people in (or from) other countries or as big as living abroad.

1. The schools are looking for both personal and professional experiences and will usually specify if they want one versus the other. The LBS question you posted is probably looking for either (or both) personal and professional international experiences. While working with customers/clients in other countries via phone/email is important and you might have some good examples to use, I think some schools might be more interested in your experiences of physically being in foreign countries.

2. If a school explicitly states it as a requirement and asks essay questions about international experiences, then they hold it as a significant piece of the profile.

3. I do not think you need to find a new job for the purposes of applying to business school. If you have not traveled much abroad, you might try to take some trips that you can write about in your essays. Perhaps look for international experiences that are more than simply a vacation like a community service project?

Best of luck,
Lisa