Top 5 MBA, Can't Get A Job

Hate to sound harsh, but you're aiming too high. Just because you've been to a fancy school or two doesn't make you ready to waltz into a high paying job. Work your way up.

MBA Fail wrote:

Get your head out of your ass. No one is going to hire me for a 40-50k salary. That's much less than I was making before school. That's a good 50k below the lowest reported post-MBA salary form my school's employment report.

Now I'm even more skeptical.

John Utah wrote:

You don't have any work experience and you don't know what kind of job you want and you don't seem to have a network.

You need to fix at least two of those.

The easiest way would be to develop your network. Use LinkedIn and every person you know. Have countless informal/Starbucks meetings with people in industries that might sound interesting. Build that network brick by brick. It can go viral from there. e.g. "A guy I had coffee with knows a guy who is looking for x."

Even though you have impressive education credentials it seems like you might not have any valuable skills you can sell to a prospective employer. Figure out how you can solve their problems and meet their needs. Bring them something real that they need.

My initial reaction is that this is the problem--that my skills aren't being seen as valuable...but I'm getting interviews, including final rounds. What I suspect is that, compared to other candidates, I'm being seen as a higher risk hire or somehow not a sure deal.

And yes, I'm definitely trying to network. It's a challenge getting attention from my alumni network and giving them a reason to care about my job search.

Plorabs wrote:

Now I'm even more skeptical.

Why? If anyone is making that amount, it's because they're working for a start-up or a non-profit.

Should have gone to Tuck.....then you could have had an alumni network that actually gives a shit.

My younger brother has a similar background to you (econ and poly science double major, teach for America, MBA from a top program) and had no trouble finding a job (he had a little more real world experience than you did). Have you looked into charter school work (the teach for America experience is helpful in that path)? It depends somewhat on where your focus was during your MBA program (was it finance, health care, education, etc?) and somewhat how your grades were. Most MBA jobs pay well over a $100k a year, so they aren't the easiest jobs to get. Keep trying. In the mean time, some community colleges and online universities will probably let you teach some classes until you find something more stable.

MBA Fail wrote:

Plorabs wrote:

Now I'm even more skeptical.

Why? If anyone is making that amount, it's because they're working for a start-up or a non-profit.

Because I went to a top 5 MBA and I know a couple people who went to other top 5 MBAs. You said that a 40-50k job is a good 50k below the lowest reported post-MBA salary. There is no school where the lowest reported post-MBA salary is above $90k, so I don't believe you.

Plorabs wrote:

MBA Fail wrote:

Why? If anyone is making that amount, it's because they're working for a start-up or a non-profit.

Because I went to a top 5 MBA and I know a couple people who went to other top 5 MBAs. You said that a 40-50k job is a good 50k below the lowest reported post-MBA salary. There is no school where the lowest reported post-MBA salary is above $90k, so I don't believe you.

Yes, there are outliers--people who went to work for start-ups and non-profits. I'm really not following your logic. Why would I lie about going to a top 5 school? Employment data for business schools is available online. It's not like it's some top secret data that I would have to make up if I hadn't gone to a top school. Again, I'm having trouble understanding what your point is.

MBA Fail wrote:

Plorabs wrote:

Because I went to a top 5 MBA and I know a couple people who went to other top 5 MBAs. You said that a 40-50k job is a good 50k below the lowest reported post-MBA salary. There is no school where the lowest reported post-MBA salary is above $90k, so I don't believe you.

Yes, there are outliers--people who went to work for start-ups and non-profits. I'm really not following your logic. Why would I lie about going to a top 5 school? Employment data for business schools is available online. It's not like it's some top secret data that I would have to make up if I hadn't gone to a top school. Again, I'm having trouble understanding what your point is.

I don't know why you would make it up. Trolling doesn't interest me and I don't try to understand it. What I'm saying is that it is factually inaccurate to say that the lowest reported post-MBA salary at your school is over $90k. So I'm calling you a liar. That's my point.

Kellogg or Booth?

For what it's worth, the average salary 5 years out for the top five MBA programs (Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, Columbia and Dartmouth) is about $200k (this is partly due to the cost of living in the areas around those schools), so I don't think he is over valuing himself.

Plorabs wrote:

I don't know why you would make it up. Trolling doesn't interest me and I don't try to understand it. What I'm saying is that it is factually inaccurate to say that the lowest reported post-MBA salary at your school is over $90k. So I'm calling you a liar. That's my point.

Uh, thanks for your contribution. Anyone who is making less than that is working for a start-up or a non-profit. Or working abroad. Not sure how anyone who falls into any of these categories is relevant to this discussion. Again, I really don't understand why you're participating in this thread.

I'm participating in order to call you out on being a liar.

naturist wrote:

My younger brother has a similar background to you (econ and poly science double major, teach for America, MBA from a top program) and had no trouble finding a job (he had a little more real world experience than you did). Have you looked into charter school work (the teach for America experience is helpful in that path)? It depends somewhat on where your focus was during your MBA program (was it finance, health care, education, etc?) and somewhat how your grades were. Most MBA jobs pay well over a $100k a year, so they aren't the easiest jobs to get. Keep trying. In the mean time, some community colleges and online universities will probably let you teach some classes until you find something more stable.

My MBA focus was about as general management as it can get. Returning back to the teaching world is something I'm trying avoid. I would rather take a job that isn't ideal in a different field for the sake of not getting pigeon holed.

MBA Fail wrote:

I just graduated from a top 5 MBA program and I can't get a job! I've been job hunting for the entire year, been getting first and second round interviews, and nothing has worked out. I've done mock interviews with career services, and they've told me my interview skills are fine and my resume is fine.

What are some MBA jobs that are easy to get but have a decent career path?

My background: English major from a top 5 school, Teach for America, a couple years consulting for a no-name company, then business school. I interned at a CPG company over the summer and hated it (no return offer).

Why did you do English for undergrad?

Do you have any marketable attributes besides a top 5 MBA?

My background: English major

^This

Your undergrad puts you behind others with an MBA. A science/math/technical undergrad degree would get a top job much faster.

You could always get into healthcare. There are plenty of jobs and the pay is good.

The marketable skills I have are from my three years of consulting experience and my teaching experience.

When I was in college, this obsession with STEM fields + econ wasn't as strong as it is now. It's a product of the Great Recession. Companies have decided to invest less in training employees and consider STEM fields/econ as obvious markers of intelligence. And before people start calling me entitled, I'm not criticizing. It's how companies minimize risk when the economy is unstable and when soft skills have been devalued.