OP I am in a similar situation. What happened to you? Except I got a semi crappy job and then got fired after 6 months.
What do I do now?
Thanks
OP I am in a similar situation. What happened to you? Except I got a semi crappy job and then got fired after 6 months.
What do I do now?
Thanks
MBA also fail wrote:
OP I am in a similar situation. What happened to you? Except I got a semi crappy job and then got fired after 6 months.
What do I do now?
Thanks
Coming from a top 20 MBA who signed an offer to join Amazon... I would recommend staying as hungry as possible and continue to put yourself out there.
IF you're like the OP and have a crappy work history (english major, teach for america BS) you'll be at a real disadvantage compared to other folks like me who have 8+ years in corporate america with a track record of progression, however, someone will take a shot if you truly have a top 5 MBA and can sell yourself well
You must interview very poorly or only apply to jobs you don't deserve.
I am not sure if my age has anything to do with it - but I am older than the typical candidate. I do have semi good work experience in engineering, not the best progression to be fair. most of my work has been technical and not leadership, etc.
I am getting interviews for what I should be good fit for. But I do think my interviewing skills suck. How do I connect or get better at interviewing? Open to all ideas. Should I volunteer to work for $0 pay to build up my credibility, etc?
Thanks.
Does it make any sense to leave the country to jumpstart? I feel like I have both too much and too little experience at the same time. I am dual citizen/ resident and could have work authorization in the EU/UK.
I'm a college dropout. To me, an MBA is an advanced degree in
business management. It says 'I know about business.'
I'm sure there are things you learned in your degree which you found insightful.
I don't know, never met you.
Think practically. How can you add value to a company?
If you have a proven track record of increasing revenue, you are going to have that to make yourself
more marketable. If you've never increased a companies bottom line, you need to get doing that if that's the direction you want to go in,
But seriously. Congrats on your MBA. I'm sure you could find a job somewhere, maybe doing auto sales, something entry level that doesn't even require a college degree, but you probably feel that you are over qualified for that and don't.
If you're a company, why should they hire you? Just because you have education doesn't mean you are going to be an asset to a company. You need to add value and prove that you can make a business thrive.
Think about adding value. Not about the fact you have a degree from a prestigious institution.
MBA also fail wrote:
OP I am in a similar situation. What happened to you? Except I got a semi crappy job and then got fired after 6 months.
What do I do now?
Thanks
Wow, this post is a blast from a past. Happy to say I finally got a full time offer about 4 or 5 months after I posted on here. It's a business analytics type of job in a tier 2 city that started at $110k base, got bumped up to $115k base 6 months in, and I'm on track for a promotion in a couple months. Huge change of events.
Looking back, I'm not convinced that the issue was related to work experience, competency, interview skills, entitlement, or any of the wild theories thrown around in responses to my post. I was very easily getting interviews the whole time but companies just didn't want to pull the trigger on me. Look at some of the insight Getting Old included in his posts. It was all extremely spot on. I think my recruiting would have been easier if I hadn't interned with a top CPG company, since the assumption (correctly) was that I didn't get a full time offer with them.
How did you get fired? My advice would be to do what you can to make sure you're not coming off as damaged goods, whether through attitude or through holes in your interview stories. Also, try and get a job either in an industry you know well, a city you know well, or a company where you have strong personal connections. The goal here would be to minimize the chances of the employer seeing you as a risky hire.
MBA Fail wrote:
Hmm??? wrote:
Top 5 MBA should almost guarantee you an elite finance/consulting job. I feel like your interview skills must not be as good as you think. On paper, you're as qualified as any other top MBA grad and employers can't get enough of them. Work on your interview skills and perhaps bring some enthusiam to the table.
I wasn't trying to get into finance . Consulting is much more competitive than you might think.
Like I said, career services didn't seem to think anything was wrong with my interview skills, so I'm not sure what needs to be improved. I've done mock interviews with the class below me and there were people who didn't do well during mock interviews who had no trouble getting multiple internship offers
So.... the people who couldn't get a job in their field think you have excellent job interview skills.
I didn't think one could get into a decent program without legitimate experience, serious connections, or forking out $$$$.
I got fired because the type of work I was given was not what I thought it would be. It was basically a QA job disguised as something else. And the overall company mission was hard to get behind. My lack of motivation showed. Specifically, how did you show that you weren’t damaged goods? What was your aha moment?
Getting Old wrote:
Sesamoiditis wrote:
You have an excuse for every piece of advice that has been given to you. Rather than trying to defend your arrogance you should accept it and try to improve it. It is not attractive.
Mock interviews can be helpful practice but are not the real thing. Think of all the workout heroes from the running teams you have been a part of. Don't throw out the idea that you are interviewing poorly.
It's cool that you did Teach for America. If you value the time you spent doing that you don't want to work for someone who looks down on it. Do you still have any interest in education and helping people?
What are you interested in? Don't just say marketing.
The great majority of advice provided to the OP has been extremely misinformed. Case in point: Teach for America. This experience is very highly regarded by the employers who hire the majority of MBAs from top schools as it is known to be quite selective. For example, something like 10% of the incoming classes at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain are from TFA. Alumni of that program are greatly over-represented at such employers relative to their absolute numbers in top tier MBA programs. Yet in this thread a large number have pointed to that experience as a red flag.
Similarly, many have pointed to the English BA as an issue. Though I have an Engineering degree myself, I can tell you it has had exactly zero relevance to my post-MBA career and that undergraduate major is essentially irrelevant in the post-MBA hiring process at the types of places that hire the majority of Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, etc. grads. I was the only engineering undergrad in my starting class of 25 new post-MBA associates at my firm. Most years there are 0. Economics (#1 by far), Poly Sci, History, and English are the most common UG majors at major consulting firms and banks. UG quality and UG GPA are considered (and major is used to adjust GPA for difficulty somewhat), but your far better off with a BA from Yale with a 3.7 than you are with a B. Eng. from Flagship State with a 3.2 (Berkeley, UVA, Michigan, UCLA, and a couple others excepted). Historically, technical degrees have even been looked down on by white shoe employers as they were seen as vocational in nature. This has obviously changed as technology has grown in importance to business, but nonetheless a STEM degree confers exactly zero advantage to someone trying to get a job a BCG.
Finally, many have pointed to the OPs lack of experience despite the fact that the original post cites 5 years of pre-MBA work experience. This is on the high end of year of experience at top MBA programs. 2-3 years of high quality work experience is the norm and ideal. The companies that hire out of these schools aren't looking for specialized skills or expertise. They are looking for young people with high IQs and few outside commitments who are willing to grind out mindless work for 70+ hours per week for ~$30/hr (this gets you ~120K/yr).
The OP is correct to ignore the great majority of the advice provided so far because it is nonsense for someone in his position. There is clearly a lot of anger on this board toward MBA types, and I'm not trying to defend the idiocy that is the business school --> finance, consulting, PE pipeline, but it is what it is. There is a world of difference between MBA recruiting and hiring at a place like Kellogg (#5 program), and even the #15-20 programs (places like Carnegie Mellon, UT Austin, & UNC). General career advice like, "get a STEM degree", and "employers hire specific skills", though not incorrect for the majority of people, are largely irrelevant to the OP's situation.
You are clearly very bright. Your achilles heel is your vs you're.
MBA also fail wrote:
I got fired because the type of work I was given was not what I thought it would be. It was basically a QA job disguised as something else. And the overall company mission was hard to get behind. My lack of motivation showed. Specifically, how did you show that you weren’t damaged goods? What was your aha moment?
I got the CEO of my old company to put in a good word for me at a company where he had a connection. Part of this involved getting over the feeling of failure and judgement of having to admit I'd gone through a top MBA program and couldn't get a job. Reach out to everyone you know who can vouch for your potential and simply tell them that now that you're out of the organized, on-campus recruiting schedule of your MBA program, you think a personal recommendation is the nudge you need to get a company to commit to hiring you.
I also ended up getting a job in the city where I'm from and used a desire to return home as part of my interest in the role. I think this helped build rapport and show my values as something other than a stereotypical, money-grubby, overly competitive MBA type who's looking for an NYC Wall Street job.
I would also recommend not lowering your standards in the companies you choose to apply to. I cringe thinking back to how much I was trying to get a job from a shady, low-quality company. This company was so flattered by how much I wanted them, then started getting suspicious and asking me strange questions after the official interview process was over. It was the equivalent of trying to lower your dating standards because you think it will help you find a woman who sticks. The world just doesn't work that way lol.
HI MBA fail:
I just had another final round and flopped again. I am getting tripped up on subtle yet deep questions. I fail when the questions go beyond being shallow cookie cutter... also failing the "Why company X?" question I feel. Would love to chat with you more about your experience. Do you have a throwaway email? Or you can email me at
.
Thanks.
u r what ur record sez u r wrote:
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).
They could probably tell you hated it. From your post you seem like a complainer.
+1
Classic Millennial. Wants to immediately be come a hedge fund manager making beaucoup bucks.
Call Mumsie and Daddie for sympathy.
What is a tier 2 city? What are the tier 1 cities? Who talks like this?
Had more interviews, more rejections. Arrgghh!! And these were for product management roles - one was a pretty junior role. How the heck do you pass a PM interview?
MBA also fail wrote:
Had more interviews, more rejections. Arrgghh!! And these were for product management roles - one was a pretty junior role. How the heck do you pass a PM interview?
It's a fine line. I hire engineering types as well as MBAs - There are some baseline requirements - table stakes - for every position. I'm assuming you meet those things before you even get an interview. So you shouldn't need to focus too much on that.
What I'm looking for is someone who thinks logically, and can present a coherent thought from start to finish. Speaks well, and interacts well. Friendly. Someone who I will look forward to working with for years. Also, have an ability to respond positively to criticism. I'm good with disruptors, but they need to be able to effectively interact with the team. There have been a number of interviews that I've had with candidates that are way too extreme on the "sell themselves" responses. I don't need that. I need someone that adds value to the team; tell me what you bring to the equation for our success.
Finally, relax. Seriously. You have to be able to interact well; getting all stressed and out of sorts won't give off a good vibe. Same with being overly aggressive - don't.
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).
“What are some MBA jobs that are easy to get”?
That’s the issue right there. What do you WANT to do? Once you get that straight, then go for those roles and show some enthusiasm. Saying “”I’ve got an MBA, now what can I get?” is no plan at all.
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).
OP - did you go to a legitimately "Top 5" business school like Wharton, Harvard or Stanford.
Or did you attend some bs self-reported "top 5-ranked program in international negotiation" from the University of Nebraska? Because I have a hard time believing you would struggle to find employment with a true top5 MBA.
I am trying to break into PM, am failing some of the functional questions or the open ended questions. I guess I don't sound PMy enough. Should I just fess up with regards to my weaknesses?
Also, if you have a throwaway email? Mine is
Thanks,