Business School Concentrations: Is More Better?

With jobs in short supply, MBAs are opting for multiple concentrations to increase their appeal to recruiters. It may not be a smart idea

By Adam Fusfeld

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When Matt Coakley enrolled in the MBA program at Washington University's Olin Business School (Olin Full-Time MBA Profile), he envisioned a career in marketing despite his management background. To play it safe, he chose concentrations in management strategy and marketing. However, Coakley could not have foreseen the job market crashing along with the economy just weeks into his MBA career.

As his classmates became increasingly anxious in their internship and job searches, their focus shifted from launching a career in a desired field to simply getting a job—any job. Coakley and his peers began to cast a wider net with recruiters. "You have to increase the number of options you're looking for," he says, "because the probability of getting a job is down." Possessing more than one concentration enabled Coakley to broaden his search; he sought jobs that related to each of his concentrations and juggled his credentials accordingly. For management jobs, he produced a résumé that included the management strategy concentration; for marketing jobs, he used a résumé that featured his marketing concentration.

Coakley isn't the only business school student who sees the value in a little diversification these days. At many schools—including the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth Full-Time MBA Profile), University of Texas McCombs School of Business (McCombs Full-Time MBA Profile), and Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management (Marriott Full-Time MBA Profile)—career services officers are noticing an uptick in interest among students in declaring multiple majors and concentrations. Many intend to pursue a strategy very similar to Coakley's: tailoring their résumés with a concentration appropriate for the job they're seeking. Some schools are even enabling the strategy by making it easier to declare multiple concentrations.

A Losing Proposition?

At most schools, however, career services offices are advising students against the strategy, saying recruiters will see right through it. While a marketing concentration might make sense for a marketing job, they say, that's only true if it's accompanied on the résumé by a few years of marketing experience. Using a concentration to switch careers, particularly in a bad economy, is a losing proposition. "You've got to be able to commit to a career path," says Mark Brostoff, associate dean and director of Olin's career center. "I think that's what recruiters are looking for—something of a commitment."

Still, at a time when dream jobs are difficult, if not impossible, to come by, the diversification strategy makes a certain intuitive sense. MBA majors and concentrations are a way to dive deeper into a specific discipline within the broad business education offered at full-time MBA programs. From a recruiter's perspective, a concentration is also a strong signaling device from the student detailing an area of expertise and the field they intend to pursue. Understandably, students reason that by indicating a proficiency in a wider range of fields, they'll have a better chance of landing a job despite the dreadful market.

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