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Double down on your future with a full-time MBA

Rob Teitelman

For go-getters wanting to secure their business credentials fast so they can dive into the workforce without wasting any time, a one-year full-time MBA is the program for them. They’ll get both the academic and experiential training they need to succeed as leaders while securing this prestigious designation in less time that it would take their competitors. When choosing a full-time program, however, prospective candidates must consider a few things. They need to make sure it’s located where there’s a business culture to part take in, have confidence in the support of alumni networks, and ideally have co-op or internship opportunities both locally and internationally available to them.

The Lazaridis School of Business & Economics offers this type of full-time program at their main campus in Waterloo. Located in a city that values technological innovation and helping to build businesses from the ground up, students are provided with countless opportunities to network, space to create, and test their ideas through initiatives like the LaunchPad Incubator. Influential alumni of the school include Bruce Hodges – the COO of Sun Life Financial in Hong Kong, Scotiabank’s Senior Vice President of HR – Pat Krajewski, and president of Proctor and Gamble Canada – Tim Penner.

Candidates in the program receive a myriad of resources and support from the school’s staff, student associations, and alumni; many alumni will take on interns that are currently enrolled in their MBAs for example. The school encourages students to get valuable work experience during the summer months – offering plenty of study abroad options, which are particularly helpful to those specializing in international business. Alternatively, students can take summer classes in different countries by participating in an exchange with the Burgundy School of Business at ESC Dijon Bourgogne in France.

Gaining practical experience on the job will empower candidates, teaching them how to manage stress and how to handle business problems in the real world. Adding experiential learning to their resumes will make their applications more appealing to future employers as well, and they might even establish future working relationships with the companies they intern with or those taking them on for co-op placement. Furthermore, pursuing a semester overseas can give candidates important insight into how business is conducted around the world, great to have when later working for a multinational corporation (which many graduates end up doing). On top of that, being well-traveled makes one look well-learned and can be an excellent talking piece to bring up during an important interview.

To get the knowledge and experience emerging businesspeople want fast, they should be pursuing a program that gives them the skills to manage and lead in one year rather than two. While the school year will be condensed, they’ll be working at a brisk and exciting pace, teaching them how to juggle multiple projects at once the same way they would be once employed at their dream job. The key is choosing a program that will inspire them, providing them with chances to grow and excel – not only as future business leaders,but personally too.