When I was laid off in my late 20s, like Aaron's colleague, I really didn't want to accept a downgrade in employment, but I was struggling to find anything better. I decided to apply to MBA school as a backup while I continued my job search.
I was coming in very close to the last application deadlines, maybe January or even February IIRC, so around 7-8 months until classes started. I had fortunately taken the GMAT a few years before when I was thinking about MBA school but didn't apply, and my scores were still valid.
I didn't get into a top-tier MBA school unfortunately, but I was offered a 75% scholarship from a second-tier one, which I accepted. Meanwhile I continued my job search for the next few months, even flying out for a second-round interview during the second week of classes. But none of it panned out so I went ahead with MBA school.
I was slightly old to be getting my MBA, but not egregiously old, and I still think this was the right move for me. With two more years to focus on it and the fact that MBA students are just treated differently from any old unemployed man on the street, I ended up with a lot more doors open. No prospective employers really even acknowledged that I had a resume gap going into school; I was treated the same as someone who quit his job a week before classes started. I think the default presumption was that I left my job when I knew that I was accepted into school, and this was viewed as perfectly normal and not a gap.
So while I don't think MBA school is for everyone, I think this is an approach worth considering that I don't hear mentioned all that much: MBA school as resume gap preventer, for the sort of person who's on the margin for getting an MBA.
Just want to share that computer science education, both at the post-secondary and secondary level, is struggling to hire. Very few applicants across institutions, rarely qualified. On the off chance anyone is qualified and wants to join our ranks. :)
All true.
My experience with resume gaps:
When I was laid off in my late 20s, like Aaron's colleague, I really didn't want to accept a downgrade in employment, but I was struggling to find anything better. I decided to apply to MBA school as a backup while I continued my job search.
I was coming in very close to the last application deadlines, maybe January or even February IIRC, so around 7-8 months until classes started. I had fortunately taken the GMAT a few years before when I was thinking about MBA school but didn't apply, and my scores were still valid.
I didn't get into a top-tier MBA school unfortunately, but I was offered a 75% scholarship from a second-tier one, which I accepted. Meanwhile I continued my job search for the next few months, even flying out for a second-round interview during the second week of classes. But none of it panned out so I went ahead with MBA school.
I was slightly old to be getting my MBA, but not egregiously old, and I still think this was the right move for me. With two more years to focus on it and the fact that MBA students are just treated differently from any old unemployed man on the street, I ended up with a lot more doors open. No prospective employers really even acknowledged that I had a resume gap going into school; I was treated the same as someone who quit his job a week before classes started. I think the default presumption was that I left my job when I knew that I was accepted into school, and this was viewed as perfectly normal and not a gap.
So while I don't think MBA school is for everyone, I think this is an approach worth considering that I don't hear mentioned all that much: MBA school as resume gap preventer, for the sort of person who's on the margin for getting an MBA.
Thanks for sharing. Good insight.
Just want to share that computer science education, both at the post-secondary and secondary level, is struggling to hire. Very few applicants across institutions, rarely qualified. On the off chance anyone is qualified and wants to join our ranks. :)