Does the brand name of the company that I worked for matter?

Google. Goldman. McKinsey. Apple. The list goes on. Having such marquee names on your resume can’t hurt. In fact, working for such brand name firms can signal to the admission board, at a basic level, that you are a candidate who has been vetted and selected by firms with stringent employment standards. But simply having a brand name firm on your resume isn’t enough to get the admissions board behind your candidacy. What you actually did at the firm is more important than where you work. Working as an administrative assistant at Proctor and Gamble is very different from working as a marketing professional there.

Admission boards will scrutinize your role and contributions to the organizations for which you have worked. Simply doing your job isn’t enough even when you work for a blue chip firm. The adcom wants to know that you have excelled in your role and that you will bring that extra “something” to their program. Having worked at a brand name firm comes with its downside: a lot of other candidates from the same firm are vying for a spot at the same top business schools. If 100 people from TPG private equity firm applied, the school will only likely admit 10 to 20 % of them. That means that 80 or so of your colleagues will be denied admission. Those who are admitted are the ones who are able to show how they have gone beyond simply getting their jobs done to revealing how they have stepped up and taken leadership roles.

Successful applicants also come from organizations that are not well known. Business schools value diversity and therefore do not want their entire program to be populated by only students from blue chip backgrounds. This can work to your advantage if you come from a lesser known firm—you are not competing with the other million McKinsey analysts applying at the same time. You can also leverage the fact that your lesser known organization may have less hierarchy, allowing you to take on greater responsibility and leadership. Your main challenge, coming from a firm that isn’t well known, is explaining what your firm does, how it is positioned in the market place, and your achievements in comparison to others in your space. This is an area where your career essay and recommendation letters can be vital.

Regardless of where you find yourself, at a brand name firm or a no name firm, it behooves you to effectively communicate why you chose the organization you did and the impact you had there. You are more than your resume. The admission board wants to understand what inspires you, why you chose the firms you did (the opportunities that have been available to you), the projects that you are most passionate about, and the unique contributions you have made at your firm that ultimately differentiates you from other candidates from similar working environments.


Chioma Isiadinso is a former Harvard Business School admissions board member and a former director of admissions at Carnegie Mellon University. She is the CEO of EXPARTUS®, LLC, a global admission consulting company, and the author of The Best Business Schools’ Admissions Secrets. Follow EXPARTUS® Facebook LinkedIn Twitter