image: an untrained eye

It’s been almost a full month since I’ve posted to this blog. Personally, I delete people I follow if they don’t post for a month, and I’d hate to fall victim to my own rule.

To keep you in the loop, I’m finding inspiration in Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose; and Jim Collins’s Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t.

While I figure out the fall line-up, here are 5 of my favorites, summer re-runs if you will…

5. Social Networking and the Power of Guanxi

4. Permission to Get off the Highway

3. The Success Trinity

2. Top 3 Things to Transform Your MBA Career, Tim Ferriss-style

1. Reality TV, Dreaming Big, and the Attitude of a Winner

CatComm 2005 HQ, The Casa, site of my MBA internship

For those of you that do not know, in 2005, I created my own MBA internship, and worked in Rio de Janerio, Brazil with an organization called Catalytic Communities. CatComm as it’s commonly called, empowers community leaders in developing countries to share their ideas through social media. 

They introduced a creative fundraising campaign this year that I couldn’t help but introduce to MBA in the USA readers. Simply buy a $10 raffle ticket, and you are eligible for a trip for 2 to Rio! Not a bad return on investment for students and professionals alike.

image: Tony the Misfit

Two pieces of media stood out to me this weekend. Tim Ferriss introduced me to the upcoming film, Waiting for Superman, a documentary exploring the failing US primary education system. The movie trailer taught me that, among 30 developed countries, the US ranked 25th in Math, 21st in Science, and 1st in Confidence. #1 in Confidence. Why?

Impactful writing reflects these ideals. Write your MBA essays with confidence. Use action verbs to demonstrate your potential. Illustrate how proactive you will be in the classroom and beyond. Your essays will flow like a saxophone solo, beautiful music to waiting Recruiters’ ears.

image: Steve Berardi

As recruiting begins for the next class of MBAs, here are my top 5 ways to update your resume for American recruiters. 

2. Quantify whenever possible.
Americans love numbers, almost as much as we love controlling time. Most Americans are motivated by status, and nothing reflects status like dollar signs and growth. Stay within any confidentiality agreements you’ve signed, of course, but quantify your bullets whenever possible.
  
1. Add the most relevant pieces of you under “Additional Information.”
As direct communicators, most American recruiters would launch into intense questioning straight away if given the choice. However, they know you have to take the time to build a bit of rapport before the heavy interviewing begins. Adding “Additional Information” to your resume gives recruiters a place to start the conversation. Add something interesting and relevant that will help your personality shine when you make it to the interview. Because that’s what it’s all about, right?

image: noticelj

The world fascinates me. My greatest joys in life come from traveling; embracing cultures through food, drink, and dance; and meeting people from all over the world. I may be a cultural anthropologist at heart, but I studied business; combining the two creates my perfect career.

When you come to the US for your MBA, you will make mistakes; I once sat for an hour waiting to meet someone in Brazil after leaving 2 hours early to make sure I was on time. Give yourself grace. Research the cultural norms, identify how they manifest in US business, and adapt your behaviors to suit. Then, go about your life. The growth you will experience over the two years will be invaluable for your development as a global leader.

image: cmcgough

One of my favorite annual posts on MBA in the USA is the summer reading post published when Brandon and I spend beach week with my extended family. As you dedicated followers know, I’m a big nerd, or constant learner if you will.

For more MBA summer reading, check out Francesca Di Meglio’s BusinessWeek list.

image: alsoaldoz

The question I am asked most frequently by prospective MBA students is “how do I start applying for an MBA in the USA?” Beginning is often the hardest part. Here are the 6 basic steps to set you on the right path: 

2. Identify schools that would be good fits for you, personally and professionally.

6. Celebrate and begin your MBA in the USA!

image: istockphoto

There are lots of mantras among MBAs focusing on sustainability. "Walking the Talk;" "Doing well by doing good;" and "People, Planet, and Profit" all pop to mind from my MBA days. Seeing the movement of responsibility-minded MBAs gain momentum brings me great joy.

In a recent BusinessWeek article, Francesca Di Meglio looks at MBAs "tackling social problems" through business. It’s a really interesting read, and I can’t wait to learn more about a couple of the companies highlighted. In particular, I’m going to look into Revolution Foods (promoting healthy lunches in US schools) and Lumni (funding education for low income students in the US, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico).

image: mag3737

It’s on everyone’s mind when considering an MBA. I know how much it’s going to cost for an MBA in the USA, about $100K over the course of the two years. To figure out how much it’s worth, I have to know – How much money will I make when I graduate? BusinessWeek’s Geoff Gloeckler shares "exclusive new research" here. 

image: iStock photo

We spend a lot of time on this blog talking with International students coming to the US to study. A recent article in USA Today gives us the opportunity to discuss International schools coming to the US to become truly global and to attract American students. Some of the schools are forming partnerships with US MBA programs; others are building campuses here in the US. Notable names include: Spain’s IESE and IE as well as France’s INSEAD and SKEMA.

Cultural learning opportunities abound!

Click here to check out the article.