Privacy Controls – As with any social networking tool, individuals are concerned that LinkedIn will mysteriously blast their inner most secrets to their network – it’s happened to all of us and the fear is real. Please take the Privacy Control area very seriously for you own privacy – I’ve heard one too many horror stories of how individuals advertised they were looking for a new job directly to their manager’s inbox. In the upper right hand corner of your Home page you’ll see your name. In the pull down, select Settings, then Profile, then “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts”. Un-check the box. This will turn of all updates to your network as to anything that has been updated on your LinkedIn profile. The general rule – turn off the network settings when updating your profile for career search purposes. Once complete, turn the network settings back on and only publish/change information when it relates to general networking. Realize that your profile updates can be viewed if someone chooses to view your profile – thus, we highly recommend only updating fields that are relevant to recruiters finding you. We’ll detail the important fields for you over the remainder of the document.

Name – Use your common name that people call you. (For example, your legal name is “William”, but you go by “Will” or “Bill” as your commonly recognized name.) Your LinkedIn profile should be personable and approachable. It should represent your personality and not feel like a legal, formal document – it’s not your resume and you don’t want people thinking that you’re using it as a resume. You should not put certifications behind your name (e.g. CPA, PHR, CPM, etc) in the name field. The certification letters prevent people from properly searching your name within the LinkedIn software and Google search. (And, there are specific fields for certifications within LinkedIn).

Headline – There are many opinions as to what this headline should be, but my suggestion is to keep it professionally oriented and a quick summary of your professional nature. It should give someone a clue as to who you are and what you do professionally as it is part of the limited information, other than your name, location, industry, current position, that appears in a list of search results. For example, when I am searching on LinkedIn, the system returns a page of search results that show “William Smith”, your name, and then your headline which should give me some insight into your professional status, such as “VP of Finance at ABC Company”. It can also include other relevant information such as “Active Board Member at XYZ Company”, certifications/acronyms (e.g. CPA, CFA, PHP, Six Sigma Black Belt), etc. I would suggest staying away from anything that is cute (e.g. “Rockstar Marketing Professional Extraordinaire”), not professionally oriented (e.g. “Proud Parent” or “Certified Scuba Diver”) or implies that you are looking for a position or unemployed (e.g. “Currently Seeking New Opportunities”) .

Location – The location section of your profile is summarized into one general area based on your zip code. You should use your home zip code. For example, 94111, the zip code for downtown San Francisco, appears on your profile as “San Francisco Bay Area” – you can also choose to list a more granular presentation of your zip code which includes your city name. I’d recommend leaving the information at the higher level for your privacy as it doesn’t affect my search results. Why is your home zip code important? Your zip code is a searchable field based on proximity within LinkedIn. It allows people to search for you or someone with your profile characteristics within a 5 mile, 10 mile, 25 mile, 50 mile or 100 mile radius of that zip code. For example, as a recruiter, I might be searching for candidates that live within a 25 mile radius of a company location. I’m not interested in candidates that live outside of that range because of an unbearable commute. If your zip code is not correct, or empty, your profile will not appear in my search results. Be sure to use your home zip code, not your work zip code.

Industry – Industry is a confusing field to many people. The field is used in one of two ways – 1) the industry of your employer (e.g. Genentech equals “Biotechnology”), or 2) the industry of your functional role (e.g. Controller equals “Accounting”, VP Marketing equals “Marketing and Advertising”). Both ways of listing your industry are correct. LinkedIn is still wrestling with this field and how it is used (they have recently added a very obscure “function field” that isn’t overly effective yet), but at this point in time, my suggestion would be to go with option number one – make your industry field match the industry of the companies on your resume. Typically, during a search, I can determine your functional role by your title, thus when I’m looking for someone with accounting experience in the software industry, I can narrow down individuals with accounting experience by title and industry experience by the designated industry. To combat the potential of being over looked, I’d suggest working the buzz words for both your functional role and industry into the Summary section of your LinkedIn profile. If I overlook you on the industry field – I’ll find you with buzz words.

Picture – The picture on your LinkedIn profile is a controversial topic for many people as it quickly gives information on age, race, gender, etc. which can be improperly or illegally used in the hiring process. I realize this concern, so individuals must choose to proceed or not proceed based on their individual comfort levels. Why the picture important? The picture on LinkedIn is required to complete your profile 100% — and profiles that are 100% complete appear higher on top of search results which may give you an advantage as most recruiters or hiring managers don’t make it to the end of search results. Ok, I’ve decided to put up a picture, now what? I would strongly suggest you have your picture professionally taken or taken by someone that understands the composition of a good head shot. Many times, people put up picture that looks like a mug shot, appears too dark, includes personal content such as kids, family members, sunglasses, etc. Remember, LinkedIn is a professional networking site – it is not Facebook. I view this picture and it tells me something about you – make sure it represents your professional soul. Use some creativity and show me some insight into your personality. Creativity is great, humor me, but don’t go crazy. Smile and appear approachable.

Updates – The Updates section of LinkedIn is not necessary for job seekers or hiring managers, but I wanted to make a special note about what NOT to do with the section. First thought, use this area only to show case your professional know-how and expertise. Yes, I read it and, yes, what you put here makes an impression on me. Never put random comments such as “Drinking coffee at Starbucks” or personal items that are best suited for your Facebook account.

Current & Past Positions – There are four important components to listing positions – company name, titles, time period and description. The components all play into the search capabilities that are available to help you “be found” within the LinkedIn network.

• Company Name – The company name should be matched to the company profile on LinkedIn. This allows a recruiter to search on specific company names, but more importantly, the size of company which is listed on the company profile. (e.g. As a recruiter, I’m looking for people that have worked for small, start-up companies – LinkedIn allows me to narrow my search on the size of companies an individual has on their profile. In addition, LinkedIn provides pre-built logic to allow recruiters to search on the Fortune 2000.) Note, some companies have not set up a company profiles on LinkedIn. If this is the case, use the legal name of the company (e.g. Levi Strauss, not Levi’s).
• Title – Your title should include standard tile descriptions as much as possible. For example, if your official title is Director of People, you might want to consider also using Director of Human Resources. I search on the Title field most often – it is my most used field. If I am looking for someone in Human Resources, I use “Human Resources” or “HR”, I might get crazy and put in “Human Capital” – but don’t expect me to find you with a non-standard title. In addition, LinkedIn has recently added a search capability based on your seniority level within a company. The seniority level field is generated by an algorithm that uses your current title to determine your level within a company. If you want the seniority field to work appropriately for your LinkedIn profile – use standard titles that are found within corporate America (e.g. Analyst, Manager, Senior Manager, Director, VP, etc).
• Time Periods – Time periods are important to accurately reflect your experience and gain a base understanding of your total years of experience. The LinkedIn tool allows recruiters to narrow down your total years of experience or your experience within a particular industry or company. It is very important to make sure the dates on your LinkedIn profile match the dates on your resume – at this point in time, your LinkedIn profile is as important as your resume, if not more important than your resume. Ensure you are properly representing your professional experience. On the contrary to that advice, do not put an end date on your most recent position. (e.g. If you’re currently not working, leave the end date as “current”). Many times I will use the current employment field as a narrowing factor. If you do not have a current position – you will not show up in my search results.
• Description – The description of your positions can be presented in a number of ways. My suggestion is to provide summary of your experience which includes any buzz words that a recruiter might search on to find you. Keep it short, brief and a summary that people can quickly understand your skills and abilities. Do not cut and paste your resume text – it makes you appear that you are posting your resume on a job board and also advertises that you may be looking for a new position. Do not state soft skills in your profile. They don’t provide insight into your experience, clutter your profile, are subjective in nature – and no one ever searches on “great communicator” or “detail oriented”. Remember, your profile is dynamic representation of your professional self that can be used in many ways for your professional benefit – professional networking, searching for business contacts, sales, hiring employees and being found for new career opportunities.

Skills – Skills is a relatively new section in LinkedIn, but an area that should not be overlooked. It’s a bit unknown how skills are used when a recruiter is mining profiles on LinkedIn because there is no available field to mine the data. I assume the information is being used in conjunction with keyword searches. That being said, I would recommend using this area somewhat similar to tags. Tag yourself with buzz words which should already be built into the content on your profile.

Education – List your degrees obtained and schools attended. These fields are searchable to find candidates with specific degrees (e.g. MBA, Bachelors, etc) and who may have attended specific schools. For example, I might be searching for Top 10 MBA programs, thus I’d narrow my search based on school name. Make sure you match the name of your school to the pre-defined list of colleges within LinkedIn and, if oddly there is more than one description, choose the description with the greatest detail. (e.g. If you type in Berkeley, multiple options present themselves — choose University of California, Berkeley – Walter A. Haas School of Business).

Certifications – The field is used to designate certifications such as a CPA, CFA, PHP, etc. I would suggest adding this information in the “Summary” section area as well given that the field is sometimes overlooked in complex searches. List the full certification name and the acronym (e.g. Certified Public Accountant – CPA). Also list the full certification name and acronym in the Summary section of your profile.

Websites – Websites can be listed to showcase other information about you on the internet. Keep these links professional – not personal. It is not necessary to link to your company website as that information is already accessible by listing your employer under your work experience. If you do list a website, customize the title of the link. This can be done by clicking Edit and choosing Other as the type – the customization field appears to allow you to type a custom name. I would highly recommend not listing your Facebook account – statistically, 85%+ recruiters and hiring managers will rummage through your Facebook account.

Twitter– You can link your LinkedIn account to Twitter. My advice, only link your Twitter account should it specifically pertain to your profession. If you use your Twitter account for personal use – leave it out.

Public Profile – The public profile link is the URL that leads someone directly to your profile on LinkedIn. Customize this link with your full name. You can then add it to your resume or signature picker on email.

Personal Information & Contact Settings – These areas allow you to list your contact information so that people can easily contact you. I highly suggest that you do not list your personal email or phone numbers. LinkedIn is in the public domain and many spam artists are still actively engaging in spam and identity theft schemes. I would suggest purchasing the base account from LinkedIn and changing your Settings to “Allow Free InMail”. If you are completely compelled to list an email address, I strongly suggest you write it out in stealth like format (e.g. jane underscore smith at gmail dot com). This will insure that spidering software does not come through and collect your email address for spam or sale. As for birth dates and marital status, please do not enter this information. It is illegal to use this information in the hiring process and, legally, has nothing to do with your professional persona in the United States.

Of special note, check the boxes for all types of communication (e.g. career opportunities, consulting offers, new ventures, job inquiries, expertise requests, business deals, reference requests, getting back in touch). If you do not check “career opportunities” and I send my InMail as a “career opportunity” – you will not receive it. LinkedIn is does a great job of controlling who may contact you – just make sure it doesn’t work against you.

Connections, Groups & Reach– I’ve lumped the topic of connections and groups together because they directly affect your reach within the LinkedIn network.

• Connections – Personally, I don’t care how many connections you have in your LinkedIn account – I’m not screening you for your social capabilities. The main reason to build your connections is so that you are within 2 degrees (unpaid accounts) or 3 degrees (paid accounts) of separation from the recruiters that you want to reach out to you about new opportunities. You can have the best LinkedIn profile on the internet, but it’s useless if you are not within 3 degrees of separation from me on LinkedIn – bottom line, you will not show up in my search results. I strongly suggest connecting with highly networked individuals such as recruiters, sales people, HR, etc as it will greatly increase your reach on LinkedIn.
• Groups – Groups work in conjunction with your connections to gain a larger reach. If you join a group, you will now show up within all group member searches. I strongly suggest connecting to TopLinked, OpenNetworker and LinkedInHR – these are 3 very large groups that many search professionals have joined, thus, you will automatically come up in their search results no matter what degree of separation you are from the individual. Be sure to hide these groups on your profile as they indicate that you may be looking for a new position. I would also suggest joining niche groups that are relevant to your field.

Recommendations – Recommendations are a strange topic for many people – they are pseudo references in a simplified format that can be entire controlled, or even fabricated, by an individual. Personally, what is written does not hold much weight for me as a recruiter mainly because they are solicited and controlled recommendations. Ironically, I highly recommend that you obtain 3 professional recommendations. Three recommendations completes your profile 100% on LinkedIn – a profile that is 100% complete shows up on top of search results. Recruiters get tired – you want to be on top of the search results.

Is Your Resume Old Fashioned? Resume length, font, and an old-fogey e-mail address are just a few ways to label yourself as antiquated.

Trade Up to an Executive Summary. Employers already know your goal is to get a job, so ditch the objective statement and instead write a summary that compels them to read on.

How to Address a Layoff on Your Resume. If you can help it, stay employed. If you can’t help it, here are a few tips to present the story on your resume.

Tuning Your Resume to the Right Keywords. How can you find and deploy the right keywords to aim your resume at the job you want?

Top 500 Key Words for Resume Writing. The visual aesthetics of a resume depend on what industry you’re in, but active words in your text are useful to everyone. Resume Templates USA gives us a nice list of 500 active words to help you brainstorm on what exactly it was that you did in that position. There is also a nice downloadable PDF version.

Phrases to Leave Off the Resume. Stick to the accomplishments and leave the subjective information for the interview phases (honestly, these phrases make my eyes role). Phrases and words to leave off your resume: Team Player, Effective Communicator, Highly-Skilled, Detail Oriented, Reliable, Proven Track Record, Problem Solver. Strong Work Ethic and Able to Meet Deadlines, Hands-On, Results Driven, Savvy Professional, Distinguished Career, Visionary, anything World-Class and Excellent References Available Upon Request

Resume Templates for Candidates in Public Accounting. Templates for individuals that are currently working within the public accounting firms. Feel free to cut-and-paste the format – and add the details of your experience.

Resume Templates for Candidates in Senior Business Roles. Template for individuals that have grown their career with 8+ years of business experience. Feel free to cut-and-paste the format – and add the details of your experience.

How to Send a Resume by E-mail. Sending your resume by e-mail may sound like the simplest part of the job search, but beware of the pros and cons on how to send your resume via email.

LinkedIn – Build Your Profile – Trust us – build your profile. Build it right. Make sure you can be found by the recruiter that’s looking for you.

LinkedIn Job Seeker Premium – A paid account exclusively for job seekers called the Job Seeker Premium Account. The upgrade, LinkedIn says, is intended to help LinkedIn members stand out from the crowd, reach out to hiring decision makers and manage their job search more effectively.

Job Board Aggregators & RSS Feeds –Tired of checking a million websites each day to see if your dream job showed up? Try using job board aggregators which spider job boards, company websites, LinkedIn and any type of job postings found on the internet. SimplyHired.com and Indeed.com are the leaders in the service. Set up queries for specific jobs that you want to know about and have RSS feeds automatically deliver the information to your favorite RSS reader.

RSS Feed Readers – Need help understanding what exactly RSS is? Read this short article or watch this short video.

SalaryList.com provides real person, real position, real job and associated real salary information obtained from job positing. The site is maintained by MacroKey Data Research Group, a leading data research group.

SharesPost makes private equity liquid by connecting buyers and sellers directly – and facilitating easy, automated and safe transactions. It also puts a price on pre-IPO stock options.

The best references are people that you’ve worked with over the past 5 – 8 years. The more recent the professional relationship, the better. Your managers/supervisors hold a heavier weight than peers or subordinates. Listing friends are irrelevant and show lack of professionalism. Listing professional coaches are biased and show lack of judgment.

Provide a minimum of 3 references – 5 to 7 references would be best. People are on vacation, caught with a big deadline, out of the country on business – their lack of response is perceived negatively and slows down the offer process. Showing 5 to 7 references also displays confidence – you have no issue having your total experience discussed during the process and you’re not just guiding the hiring manager or recruiter to the people that you know will say good things about you.

Inform your references that you have listed them as a reference. (I am continuously amazed at how many senior level candidates don’t inform their references that they have given out their phone number.) Prepare them for the call by letting them know the company, position and relevant points about your experience to highlight. Ask the recruiter or hiring manager who will be calling – let your references know the name of the individual so that they can expect the call.

Network with your references over the years. You want to be able to have current email addresses and phone numbers of your references. These individuals are also advocates of you, so keeping in touch with them and keep them informed of your career moves.

Offer assistance to your references as well (e.g. providing a subordinate reference, referrals for open positions, etc). Viewing the relationship as a two-way street ensures that the individual will be happy to help you out when you need them to take an hour of their time and provide a reference on you.

Understand that “back door references” happen (e.g. prior colleges are contacted without your knowledge) – and it’s easier than ever to find these individuals thanks to social networking accounts. The best approach to these type of references is to prevent negative things from being said about your professional experience in the first place. If you know that there is a high probability of back door references occurring and being negative, discuss the topic with your recruiter and explain your side of the story (briefly and calmly). No one will tell you back door references are being done – you’ll only find out that negative things were said when you don’t get the offer for obscure reasons.

To prevent any embarrassing moments that could be deal killers for your future roles, make sure you keep your obligations to your current employer when resigning. Do a good job. Don’t have one foot out the door during your career search. Don’t bad mouth your current company around town. Be diplomatic. As always, remain professional in all situations.

Other thoughts on references –

21% of Job Seekers Dropped After Reference Checks – Survey conducted by Office Team, Robert Half International. Managers interviewed said they remove more than one in five (21 percent) candidates from consideration after speaking to their professional contacts. When it comes to what hiring managers are looking for when speaking to references, more than a third (36 percent) said they are most interested in getting input on an applicant’s past job duties and experience. Learning about the individual’s strengths and weaknesses came in second, with 31 percent of the response.

View the article from MercuryNews.com by Patrick May, Twitter’s Becoming an Important Tool for Job Seekers and Employers.

Interesting Quotes from the Article

…the Twitter phenomenon is fundamentally changing the way people search for jobs — and job candidates…

…the “clutter” that so many Twitter app writers are claiming to be clearing up also happens to be one of Twitter’s biggest weaknesses

Jeanmarie’s Viewpoint

Many people ask me how the current day Twitter fits into the hiring process from a candidate or a hiring manager perspective. I’m still not completely sold that the reward for the effort is worth it, but I think there are a few areas where Twitter might come in very helpful during the search process.

I would recommend using Twitter in the following ways:

Follow Recruiters. Most people have established relationships with recruiters or recruiting firms throughout their career. Follow these recruiters on Twitter. The trend is to post all positions that they are currently sourcing on their Twitter accounts for a quick blast to potential candidates. Give them a call should you see something that interests you.

Information on a Company or Executives. If you are targeting a specific company, look them up to see if they have a Twitter account. For example, Cisco Systems can be found on Twitter at “CiscoSystems”. The information tweeted will give you up-to-date, important information that can be used during the interviewing process. You’ll better understand current information on the company. Or, look up the company executives directly. For example, Padmasree Warrior, the CTO of Cisco, can be found on Twitter at “Padmasree”. She has over a million followers and gives you’re a bit of insight into her personality should you be interviewing in the technology organization of Cisco.

Assess Candidates. As with anything posted on the internet, hiring managers can view any Twitter accounts that a candidate has set up. The information, good or bad, is wrapped up into the understanding of the candidate. If you are a candidate, realize that your Twitter account is easily accessible public information and you need to consider it when establishing your online presence.

Targeted Information. There are many special interest groups or industry groups on Twitter. For example, every blog that I write is automatically fed to my SpringSearch Twitter account. People who are interested in tips from a recruiter, either hiring someone or searching for a new role, probably find my Twitter account useful. There are many experts in a specific industry, service or functional job area out there on Twitter.

Searching For Passive Candidates I’m a head hunter and I hunt in many areas. I can’t say I’ve used Twitter extensively to find candidates, but I understand how useful it might be for certain types of roles – invaluable at times. Typically, I will be looking for candidates that tweet on a specific knowledge base. From there, I rummage through their followers which lead me to a pool of potential candidates. I can’t say it works in all circumstances, but for highly internet based positions, new school candidates, scientific and technical fields – I have had quite a bit of luck uncovering passive candidates.

No matter how you performed during your tenure at a company, you will be remembered, most intensely, for the last interactions with company. Maintain your professionalism and remember that your future references and reputation are on the line. – Spring Search Group

Plan What You’re Going to Say & Do

• Be confident in your decision and make sure you have a signed offer letter before doing anything!
• Prepare for a potential counter offer from your current employer.  They will tell you how much they love you and appreciate you at this moment – you will feel loved — you will feel bad about leaving people that think you’re so wonderful.  Then, realize that 85% of counter offers that are accepted end up with the employee leaving within 12 months anyway.  Why?  Promises are made which don’t come true, the company now thinks that you’re a potential flight risk and that you’ll still be tempted to leave for another company — so they’re already planning your replacement, your current employer is now skeptical of your future loyalty and they’ll treat you differently, etc.

Schedule a Meeting with Your Boss

• Schedule a meeting with your boss – you most likely have good feel as to the right format of this communication.  It’s a different in formality for everyone.  Don’t schedule it too far out – as you’ll run into your boss at the coffee machine and they might ask you what it’s concerning – obviously, awkward.
• Keep the decision private until you’ve notified your manager.  Don’t go around telling your best friends in the office – word will get around faster than you think.

Discuss the Resignation with Your Manager:

• During this meeting, state that you’re resigning first thing – again, it will feel awkward but just get it on the table.  Then communicate why the opportunity you’re taking is great for your career – don’t dwell on the bad things about your current role or anything about your current role that made you consider leaving the company.  Always make it about the new opportunity – they can’t challenge you on that topic, but they can always dwell on your comments about your current company and role.
• Remember, be prepared, direct and polite.  A few examples of phrasing the message: “Can I have a moment of your time?”, “I’ve been considering my options here for some time, and I’ve decided it’s time for me to move on.  I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve found here, but I must give my two weeks’ notice.”, “I need to let you know that I have been offered a new position at another company.  I have really enjoyed working here, but I need to give you my two weeks’ notice as of today.  Does it work for you if my last day is [whatever two weeks from then is]?”
• Special note, your future reference.  The longer you’ve worked for the boss, the more you should be prepared for a discussion around your decision.  Be honest and polite about your decision.  Tell your boss why the new opportunity is important to you.  Don’t compare it to your current position (it will sound negative).  Emphasize the things you appreciate about the boss and/or employees you’re leaving and make sure to include them in your conversation.  Remember, this person will be your future reference.
• Special note, counter offers.  Be prepared for your manager to ask you what it will take to keep you working at your current company.  Remember all the reason that you’re leaving the role in the first place – and remember that counter offers typically don’t work out.  Be prepared to emphasize that you’ve made your decision and that you’ve accepted another offer.

Formalities of Resigning:

• Write a formal resignation letter – give it to your boss and HR.  An example format for a resignation letter is below for your reference – and a link to additional examples is also provided.
• Work with your manager for a transition plan – take this seriously, wrap up loose ends.  Document everything for your replacement.

Leave on a Good Note:

• Work like you mean it until your last day – don’t slack off.  You’re future references will be your current boss – and they will remember how you handle yourself in these types of difficult situations.
• Be classy and positive when you spread the word around the office.  Keep your message consistent about any reasons for your departure.  Focus on the opportunities you’re looking forward to in your new position.  Meet with people in-person, ideally in one-on-one settings (not group settings).  Be positive.  No matter how the company or individuals have treated you in the past, your goal is to leave in a positive manner.  Remember that reference calls can be made to anyone you’ve worked with (not only those you include in your call list), so be polite and positive to everyone as you depart.
• On the day of departure, if you’d like to send a notice to friends & colleagues about your departure, make sure to keep the distribution list to those that really know you (don’t send to ALL –STAFF or even your entire group if you work for a large organization), keep the tone positive and don’t solicit or encourage other employees to follow in your foot-steps – leave on a positive note. Make sure to BCC all recipients if your list is longer than 5 employees – you never know who will “REPLY-TO-ALL” and create an embarrassing situation for you.

Example Resignation Letter:

Resignations letters are short and sweet.  They will end up in your official Human Resources file – and be filed with your termination paperwork.  Do not feel like you need to go into great detail on the letter.  The letter is a formality of the process.

Today’s Date

Manager’s Name
XYZ Company
XYZ Company Address

Dear Manager,

Please accept this letter as my two-weeks notice of resignation.  My last day of work will be (last day).

I have been very satisfied at XYZ Company, but I have decided to make this move to advance my career.  I have enjoyed working with you and appreciate the opportunities I have been given here.

I will do my best to hand off my current projects prior to (last day of work).  Please let me know if you need my help in any other way.  I will diligently work with you to properly transition my responsibilities.

Sincerely,

Your Name

2012 Best Business Schools, Ranked by U.S. News & World Reports – Great interactive table to compare and contrast programs.

2012 The Best Business Schools, Ranked by Forbes – Great interactive table to compare and contrast programs.

2012 Top Executive MBA Programs, Ranked by Business Week – Great interactive table to compare and contrast programs.

2012 Best Full-Time MBA, World-Wide, Ranked by The Economist – Interesting results from an international view as to what is valued in an MBA program. University of California at Berkeley, Haas School of Business ranks #6 on this list while Stanford University comes in #8.

2012 Top Full-Time MBA, World-Wide, Ranked by The Financial Times – Interesting results from an international view as to what is valued in an MBA program. Stanford University comes in #4 while University of California at Berkeley, Haas School of Business ranks #25.

Interesting Quotes from the Articles

Students who might have considered careers in the B-school staples of consulting or investment banking began gravitating toward jobs in the nonprofit and education fields. Many more took matters into their own hands by launching startups. ~ Alison Damast and Erin Zlomek for Business Week