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Will a new job increase my chance of getting admitted? [#permalink]
 07 Aug 2010, 19:34
I'm 24 years old, and my goal is to eventually get into an equity research position. To that end, I need to get admitted into a decent MBA program, but I'm starting to think that my current job will be a detriment to me.
For the past 17 months, I have been working for a state banking regulatory agency as an examiner. We go into state chartered banks and analyze their liquidity, capital adequacy, earnings, sensitivity to market risk, and other areas such as compliance with laws, adequacy of internal audit, etc. The end result is a report of examination which rates the bank's safety and soundness in several areas. On occasion we also need to determine the validity of an institution, and if worse comes to worst, shut down the bank.
I'm questioning the perceived benefit of this job on b-school applications for two reasons. First, there seems to be a stigma against government workers, especially on the state level. We're seen as lazy people who hide behind unions. Second, the job is not exactly relevant for the field that I want to enter. I really don't have any idea about the criterion for b-school admissions, so can anyone advise me on whether my perception is valid?
If it is valid, what other job should I get? I would ideally want a job that would give me some sort of investment experience, but I seem to be caught in a catch-22. I can't get the job without an MBA, and I can't get the MBA without the job!
One position that I think I could easily get into is to do customer service or sales at a mutual fund or some other sort of fund, but do you think this would help my application or make it worse?
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Admissions Consultant
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Re: Will a new job increase my chance of getting admitted? [#permalink]
08 Aug 2010, 19:01
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Don't change jobs for the sake of changing jobs. Focus on what YOU want. If you're happy where you're at, then stay. If you're not, then don't. And if you're unsure, stay put for now until you are more sure. Adcoms are for the most part pretty liberal minded. They won't see gov't workers as lazy union folks - in fact, they are probably more liberal minded than you think; they're hardly hardcore conservatives (in fact, they tend to share more values with their other liberal university colleagues than they do with the MBA students - who tend to be a tad more conservative). In any case, it sounds like you're learning some solid skills and knowledge that could help you when you transition into equity research.
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Re: Will a new job increase my chance of getting admitted? [#permalink]
09 Aug 2010, 11:59
Thanks for the advice, Alex!
Unfortunately, I don't like my current job very much. The problem is that I don't think I can find another job that I like more. Honestly, if I could find a job that I enjoyed and felt passionate about, I would probably not be considering an MBA. Given my situation, I see my current job and any prospective pre-MBA jobs as simply stepping stones that I can use to get the MBA.
I'm hearing from some people that being a regulator will make me stand out in the applicant pool. Others say that my experience should be relevant to what I want to do post-MBA. Do you have an opinion about this?
Oh and once again, thanks for the advice.
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Admissions Consultant
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Re: Will a new job increase my chance of getting admitted? [#permalink]
10 Aug 2010, 12:16
If you're unsure of what job you want next, then stay put in your current job until you do know what you want (or at least until you get an MBA). As for "standing out" - it's overblown. There's tons of folks with conventional backgrounds in b-school, and there are those with less conventional backgrounds. It's not about having a *weird* occupation. It's about being able to come across as an interesting individual, regardless of whether you're an accountant or sheep herder. I'm sure you may have encountered this yourself -- at least in my experience, I've dealt with some folks who on the surface have "unique" backgrounds, but are incredibly dull as people. And conversely, I've dealt with people who have on the surface incredibly run-of-the-mill resumes, but who are as dynamic a personality as one can come across. What makes you an individual isn't just the resume (surface level), but being able to reveal the person *behind* the resume.
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Re: Will a new job increase my chance of getting admitted?
[#permalink]
10 Aug 2010, 12:16
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