实战：三个MBA毕业生的职业三级跳

    三级跳是MBA学生最难完成的壮举。它甚至很可能是许多人一辈子都最难克服的挑战。只有极少数人尝试这样做，而大功告成者更是少之又少。这是一种彻底重塑自我的行为。

    不是利用MBA学位完成职业生涯的一项或两项改变——比如，确保获得晋升机会或者从一家小型金融服务公司跳槽至摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)——三级跳健将要同时改变三个变量：国家、工作职能和行业，所有这一切都是在一个高度压缩的时间期限内完成。

    乍一听，这似乎不算一个特别大胆的举动，但试想一下，从一家印度半导体公司的产品营销工程师转身变为一家加拿大医院的战略咨询顾问是怎样一番情景。三级跳健将不仅要面对学术、人际网络和求职等传统障碍，还要跨越语言、签证和文化障碍等壁垒。毕业后，他们必须跟拥有多年行业经验的东道国学生竞争上岗。

    很少有商学院鼓励这种做法。如果哪位申请人足够坦诚地告诉招生官员，自己打算一次性地改变工作国家，职能和行业，他或她很可能会被许多商学院拒绝。三级跳健将面临的风险确实太大了：就算他们往往利用暑期实习来减轻这些不寻常的职业变动带来的冲击，成功的天平也未必就会偏向他们一方。商学院非常明白，不成功的毕业生通常会变成心怀怨怼的校友。几乎没有哪家商学院希望自己的毕业生因找不到工作而变得心灰意冷，因为这种情形最终会损害它们的排名。

    一个罕见的例外是多伦多大学(University of Toronto)罗特曼管理学院(Rotman School of Management)。它支持足够大胆（或者说简直疯了）的学生去直面成功几率令人气馁的三重转型挑战。罗特曼管理学院位于一个移民政策宽松的国家，或许是出于这一原因，这所商学院拥有一种更具融通性的氛围。但这依然是一项危险而且几乎没有保障的提议。“这件事的确难度很大，但并非不可能，”罗特曼管理学院全职MBA项目就业服务中心主任莉•高蒂尔说。“我坚信，MBA学位是专业才俊开启全新职业生涯的绝佳跳板。我们想提供支持，但我们不会描绘一幅美丽的画卷，让他们觉得这样做是小菜一碟，不会碰到任何问题。”

    高蒂尔认为三级跳的MBA版本与这项奥运赛事本身非常相似。“你给自己一直在做的事情按下暂停键，然后全身心地投入你的研究、事业和训练之中，”她解释说。“你正在做一切需要做的事情，以期在有限的时间内实现目标。尽管很难做到，但它的确是一种鼓舞人心的尝试。”  

    The triple jump is the most difficult thing an MBA student can pull off. For many, it might well be the hardest challenge they'll tackle over a lifetime. Just a select few attempt it -- and even fewer succeed. It is the ultimate act of reinvention.

    Instead of leveraging the MBA to make one or even two career changes -- such as securing a promotion or moving from a small financial services firm to Morgan Stanley (MS) -- triple jumpers shake up three variables all at once: country, job function, and industry -- and they do all of this in a highly compressed timeframe.

    At first blush, it may not sound like a particularly bold move, but imagine switching from product marketing for a semiconductor firm in India to strategy consulting for a hospital in Canada. For triple jumpers, the traditional hurdles of academics, networking, and job hunting are compounded by language, visa, and cultural barriers. Post-graduation, they must compete against students with more years of in-country and industry experience.

    Few B-schools encourage the practice. Applicants candid enough to tell admissions that they want to change countries, disciplines, and industries all at once are likely to be rejected by many schools. Triple jumpers are simply too risky: The odds are not exactly in their favor, even when using a summer internship to ease these unusual career moves. As schools know too well, unsuccessful graduates usually turn into unsatisfied alumni. Few business schools want to graduate jobless, disenchanted students who could ultimately hurt their rankings.

    A rare exception is the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. It supports students bold, or simply crazy, enough to face the daunting odds of making a triple transition. Rotman's location in a country with a pro-immigration policy makes it a more accommodating environment. But it's still a risky proposition, with few guarantees. "It is a difficult thing to do, but it's not impossible," says Leigh Gauthier, Rotman's director of careers for full-time MBAs. "I do believe that the MBA is a very good way for a young professional to start a new career. We want to support that, but we don't paint a rosy picture that it's going to be a cakewalk -- that you can do it with no problem."

    Gauthier compares the MBA version of triple jumping to the Olympic one. "You take a pause from whatever you're doing in your life, and you're 100% focused on your studies and your career and your training," she explains. "You're doing everything you need to do to achieve your goal in a finite period.... It's tough to do, but very inspiring to watch."