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“I want to quit my job and go to bschool”

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We’ve seen this come up on a forum before and it’s come up with our clients.

And the temptation is strong, for sure.

Your job sucks. It’s boring. It’s one of the reasons you want to go get your MBA. And you’re definitely going to back to school next fall (right?). Why not quit the job, get that nasty GMAT out of the way, wizz through the applications, and then bam – you’re a free man! It’s travel and fun and one big partay for many months until bschool rolls around. Sounds perfectly fab, no?

Sure, it sounds good. But don’t do it.

Did you hear that? 

EssaySnark will say it again: *Do not quit your job.* It is easier to get into bschool while you’re employed. If your current job is heinous and you have another job lined up, fine — or if you want to go get another job, that would be OK. But having a job while you’re applying to bschool is a big advantage — or more accurately stated, NOT having a job could be a serious disadvantage. You’d have all sorts of scrambling to do, to explain what you’re doing unemployed. If you go get a new job now, fine, just make sure you will be able to talk about how that new job is preparing you for your future goals. And, some might say that it’s unethical to start a new gig if you know you’ll be leaving in a short time. (EssaySnark is on the fence about that one.) You have a year before you’d start at bschool, and it’s important that you FILL THIS TIME WISELY. 

EssaySnark has seen people quit their job because they assume they’ll get into bschool, and not only can this be perceived as presumptuous (even arrogant) by the adcom, but it puts you at risk for ending up next year without school and without a job. It doesn’t make you look like a good planner. 

If you quit now, you just need to come up with a good reason for why, and you’ll need to find challenging projects that are giving you skills to enhance your profile. 

It’s not technically necessary to have a job while you go through the admissions process. But you’ll be asked about your employment situation during the interview process, and you don’t want to sound flaky. Also, we assume that you’ll need to get letters of rec from your current employer, and those will likely be easier to obtain if you’re actually still working there. 🙂

Maybe you can talk to your manager and find more exciting projects, or come up with your own initiatives to propose? That would make for good essay material potentially too.

The other thing is, damn there’s a lot of people unemployed right now. You have a job — and you’re willing to ditch it?!? Because you’re BORED??? Hmmmm.

Now for anyone who’s been laid off or let go or in any other way unwillingly found themselves without a job — take heart. There’s no problem with that in the context of your bschool apps. That type of situation certainly needs to be handled carefully, and almost definitely an optional essay will be needed for this. But being laid off — or even being fired outright because you royally muffed something up — will not result in an automatic rejection.

We can understand the temptation if you’re feeling stuck and anxious and generally impatient with where you’re at in life. However, sticking with the current job, and ideally even finding a way to turn it around, is usually the best way to go, to smooth your route into an MBA program the soonest.

One goal with your apps is to minimize the things you have to explain. Quitting a job prematurely adds to the list of things to explain. That’s not ideal. Mitigate the risk. Don’t do anything rash.

If you do decide that you absolutely must leave this job now, then find something appropriate to transition to, and check out our many posts on how to handle things as part of the app and your overall career.

($) In the middle of applying to bschool, you get this fabulous new job opportunity…

by EssaySnark

After doing a Comprehensive Profile Review for a high-potential but early-career BSer in the Fall last season, they disappeared on us (which often happens – and which is totally fine) and then resurfaced in February after Round 2 interview invites started coming out, with this question: Hi EssaySnark, So I took a lot of your…

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($) Question from a waitlisted BSer: “I hope the adcom does not take this negatively…”

by EssaySnark

A BSer who ended up with multiple waitlist offers but no outright admits shared this with us recently: I just started a new job with a consulting startup focusing on pre-revenue biotech and medical devices startups. I am planning to inform the ad com regarding this. I hope they do not take this negatively as…

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($) If you get fired, do you need to tell the adcom?

by EssaySnark

What happens if you get laid off while you’re applying to business school? Or if you just can’t stand your job anymore and you quit? (After all, with those awesome apps you’ve submitted, you’re going to be leaving in a few months anyway, right? Why not just tell your boss to shove it now? A…

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Ethics & Professionalism: Changing jobs during the MBA app process

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What if you decide that you need to go get a new job, but you’re in the process of applying to business school? How do you handle the situation of interviewing for a new position if there’s a chance you would be leaving next summer?

We covered this in a three-part series back in 2012 – “Is it okay to switch jobs now, while i’m applying to bschool?” (part 1) – and this question posed to a work advice counselor in the newspaper made us revisit . Here’s what a manager had to say:

We hired an associate who, after only two months, informed me that she would be leaving in another three months for graduate school. I appreciate her informing me now so we can prepare a transition plan.

That said, as her manager, I believe she interviewed under false pretenses. Though we did not explicitly ask if she was applying for grad schools, we did ask about her future plans, and she never mentioned grad school during multiple rounds of interviews. We’ve invested significant time and resources in her, and she’ll depart just when we most need an associate in place. I wish her the best, but I think she’s fallen short as a professional.

What should I make of her decision, and how can I mitigate the possibility of this happening again?[emphasis added]

This person feels duped.

After all, how would YOU feel if you went to all that trouble, and put your faith in this new hire, who then turns around and says, “Buh-bye!”

Actually, that’s not the main issue. The main issue is that the manager feels that the employee was dishonest. Withholding information during the hiring process was completely self-serving.

Here’s what the advice counselor said, in part: “Had the associate asked me, I would have advised her to say nothing of her alternative plans during the interview, in case they didn’t pan out.”

Wow. EssaySnark totally disagrees with that.

Why not tell the manager that you’re in the midst of applying to school?

There is a chance that the company will still hire you – because nobody can predict whether you’re getting in or not, and if you’re a good-enough candidate then it may still be worthwhile for the company, either knowing it’s a short-term situation, or because they’re the ones who benefit if you end up not making it in.

We can see why people might not want to do this, but it truly feels like the right thing to do.

No, you’re not legally bound to disclose this, and yes, it puts you at a disadvantage in the hiring process. But it’s the right thing to do!

It totally depends on the timeframe we’re talking about. We cover different scenarios in this older post.

There are also some very significant issues on impact to your MBA applications, which certainly should be evaluated as well. One is the question of recommendations in the case of a recent job-switch.

The most important factor to evaluate whenever changing anything significant about your profile in the lead-up to your apps is, how will the adcoms interpret it, does it further you towards your post-MBA goals, and what type of explanation is required. If you’re being laid off, then that’s one thing; if you’re seeking out something new just because you’re frustrated and impatient and sick of your current situation, well, that needs to be handled carefully.

You can check out our archive of posts on this subject of switching jobs during the MBA application process here (Pro Tip: It’s in the Planning Your Strategy category – you can find all categories in the dropdown box in the right margin of the first page of essaysnark.com).

There’s another case, of course: What do you need to tell the adcom about, if your employment situation changes when they’re considering your app? We’ll circle back to that question soon.

If you’re simply feeling optimistic and want to know when you could quit your current job once you’ve been accepted, then this post helps you plan out your year.

($) “Will I be blacklisted if I change my mind after accepting a school’s offer?”

by EssaySnark

This is admittedly a rare situation but those are fun to talk about sometimes, too. We had a BSer who went through the whole process and got accepted at a Very. Good. School. They were stoked. They put down their deposit. They were making preliminary plans for the move. And then another opportunity came up….

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($) When you can update your MBA app after submission

by EssaySnark

We recently talked about sending a new GMAT score to the admissions office after you’ve submitted your MBA application. Or sending them a transcript from a class you have completed since applying. There are some other situations when the school also deserves an update: if you get laid off you get (gulp!) fired possibly (possibly)…

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Success Story! In a completely different way…

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Normally our Success Story posts are first-hand accounts from former Brave Supplicants who make it all the way through the process and into a great MBA program. Today we’re doing something different. We have a story to tell you about someone who we just met a few months ago  – yes, this is still a Success Story, just with a different outcome than you might expect.

This very motivated early-career candidate contacted us in the Spring, even before this season’s applications were open, and wanted to get started on strategy. This person smartly began with the Career Goals App Accelerator, which is also one of the first steps in our guided process called the Complete Essay Package – because goals are uber important in this process. They didn’t jump in with the package because the schools’ essays weren’t out yet and they were just kicking the tires. (We promise, this post is really not meant as an infomercial! We mention those services only because they’re relevant to the topic at hand.)

We were impressed by this person’s enthusiasm for bschool; they were demonstrating to us that they’d been doing their research and choosing schools based on relevant criteria … but it also became clear that their goals were in flux. They kept coming back with different questions and “what-ifs” about how the adcoms might respond if they switched things up and went in a different direction. They were already working in financial services and thought maybe they wanted to switch up to a new path in that industry, or maybe consulting… At one point they even shadowed a friend on the job to see if a particular career they had in mind was appealing (brilliant move – recommended for all of you!). Tremendous insights were revealed and they were able to narrow the focus even more from that experience.

They were also wondering if now was the right year to be applying. This person had a few years under their belt but was well shy of the 5 years work experience that is average at some of the top schools they were considering. The disadvantage of applying early became more pronounced as they started to work through their material to see what might be powerful for use in essays. They weren’t sure if their experiences were yet sufficient to impress the adcoms. We were seeing enough that gave us hope but those are real concerns that the early-career candidate needs to be aware of. They decided to further adjust their goals. This wasn’t major flip-flopping, this was reasonable changes and refinements to their ideas for their own future life based on the new information that they discovered through additional work and research.

Then, opportunity knocks. We’ll let them tell it from here:

Hi guys, I have another question – in the general advice realm. I interviewed for a xxxxx  position at a xxxxxxx firm back in April and didn’t get it but was told that they would keep me in mind for future opportunities. I got a call from them today asking me if I was interested in another xxxxx position that opened up and said a lot of things insinuating the job is mine if I want it.

On one hand I think it would be a great learning opportunity and a chance for me to learn more about xxxxx and the xxxxxxx space. I feel like a xxxxxxx position would provide me with a lot of skills and insight that could translate to a lot of different industries post-MBA. However, I’m really lost and concerned about how this would fit into my application strategy. I’m thinking if I were to get the job it might make sense for me to delay applying until next summer so that I could do a full two years in this job before business school?

I’m really in need of some advice if you guys have any insight. Maybe in another year I would be a more competitive candidate? Especially with some experience xxxxxxxxxxxx? I just don’t want to make the wrong choice and miss my chance to attend [top bschool] from a strategic standpoint.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Brave Supplicant]

 

Here’s what we said:

Wow – congratulations and exciting! But yeah it does change the picture completely.

Not really sure that we’re the best to offer you advice on this – though you could try some of our prior posts on the subject. It definitely would affect the goals. If you took the job and proceeded with apps this year, the main considerations are 1) make sure you tell your employer you’re applying, it seems a bit unethical not to; 2) make sure you leave your current position in a positive way, you’ll need them to recommend you on the app.

There are lots of moving parts on this and it doesn’t hurt you but it would affect your strategy for this year. It comes down to, what do you want to do, where do you want your career to go? Why would you be taking this opportunity? In terms of being a stronger candidate in two years, that’s almost definitely true, but we also see enough in your app that you potentially could make it in this year. So the timing is really a) when YOU feel ready for bschool, and b) WHY you would want to make this jump right now.

Anyway…. it’s very nice to be wanted!! That’s really a great position to be in, even if it currently feels very complicated! Keep us posted!
EssaySnark

And then this is what we got back about a week later:

Hey guys,

After a lot of careful thought, i have decided to take the new job opportunity. I will be a xxxx at xxxx, [doing XYZ]. I believe this will be a good learning opportunity for me and a chance to pivot away from the xxxxxx space and see what else is out there before going to business school. I’ve decided to delay applying until next summer because I think that this extra experience will serve me well in terms of my ability to contribute to class discussions and the business school community as well as substantiate my resume and hopefully make me a more competitive candidate especially at a school like [top bschool] where they really value work experience. As you have seen, I have been struggling to solidify my career goals and i think part of that has been due to the fact that I just need more time out in the business world to really figure out what I want to do, long-term. I really appreciate all of the help that you guys gave me. i will definitely be back next summer to get started on my applications.

Thanks!

And then (not to lengthen an already long post) we asked them if it’s OK to use what they told us, ‘cuz, well, we think that this might be instructive for others. This is what they said:

Feel free to use whatever you want! I know i’ve had a long journey, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot throughout the process. There’s a chance I would’ve gotten in to [top bschool] if I had applied this year, but the question I started to ask myself was whether I would be prepared if I did get the chance to go. I’m confident I can handle the academics but I tried to picture myself sitting in the midst of a class discussion – what would i have to offer? I have an interesting background, but I want to have more than that. I don’t want to just get into school and sit in the background, intimidated by my classmates. I want to be able to contribute and really stand out. I think if i apply next summer and enroll for class of 2018, another full two years of working will put me in a position where i will know how best to take advantage of all the resources an MBA offers. Perhaps, sometimes people are having trouble writing their career essays etc. because they aren’t ready yet. Its a tough pill to swallow but hopefully i’m making the right decision.

Looks like the right decision to us!

And let us repeat that again:

Perhaps, sometimes people are having trouble writing their career essays because they aren’t ready yet.

Words of wisdom indeed.

Thank you to this soon-again-Brave Supplicant for letting us share this – the best of luck to you and we look forward to seeing you back in Snarkville next year!!

($) Taking extended time off of work for GMAT and essays is not advised.

by EssaySnark

Sometimes people come into this process a little later than perhaps they should have (let’s be honest, almost always that’s the case). At about this time of every year, we start getting people who are suddenly VERY motivated – and maybe a little bit desperate – who tell us with resolve that they are going…

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($) “General MBA Question: Too Successful = Weakness?”

by EssaySnark

We’ve been sitting on this question for a couple months now, but it’s a good one, and while we have touched on this issue on the blahg before, it hasn’t been covered recently. Here’s what we were asked: Hi, This may be an interesting question for you to cover in your blahg, and relevant given…

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