23 y/o - Advice badly needed

Question

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bartthecartoon · Answer

Maybe in the interim you could consider some other analyst type positions that are less traditional. I majored in finance/accounting/econ as an undergrad and applied to all of the jobs that you might expect (Big 4, financial analysis, ect) but the position I ended up accepting was inventory management at a fortune 50 retailer. It takes a lot of the same skills that finance and accounting take, and based on my experience the pay is about the same coming right out of undergrad.

travelerbk · Answer

would you mind sharing the compensation? I wouldn't mind that job at all but it is true that my search has been limited to accounting/finance. What other fields should I look at in addition to inventory management? how did your career path go on after that?

thanks

EChopeful12 · Answer

Have you tried talking to staffing firms (Robert Half, etc.) to try to find temp-to-perm or even permanent finance positions? Those tend to work for some people.

If you're 99% certain you don't want to go to law school then DO NOT GO. Unless you're 100% certain you like the field and will enjoy being a lawyer then don't take on all of that debt with the hopes of finding a high paying job.

Your odds of finding a PE/VC job right now are essentially 0% so you're better off focusing your search on everything else. Have you talked to your school's career center? Maybe they can help you craft your resume and give you some leads.

Lastly, if you want to get into consulting then getting an MF/MACC is probably not your best bet at this point. You'd probably end up in a pure accounting role and it'll be a lot harder for you to career switch later without an MBA.

I spent 8 months after school trying to find a job and ended up falling into government consulting out here in DC (which I didn't like and is one reason I felt I needed an MBA). Keep your resume down to one page, highlight your analytical/technical skills, and apply to absolutely everything on careerbuilder.com, monster.com, etc.

www.wallstreetoasis.com is a good resource if you want to learn about MSF/MACC programs and career options.

bartthecartoon · Answer

Sure, I can share the compensation: I started at $52k for my first job out of college. I can't speak to my own career path since I'm not too far out of college at this point. But I can say that I've known people that started in the same position as me and moved onto:
1) Managing a team of inventory analysts
2) Specialized areas within inventory management such as supply chain and segmentation
3) Merchandising (planning the assortment of the products and managing the gross margin side of profitability)
4) Other areas within the company such as finance/accounting and product design

Other than inventory management, maybe you could look into other entry level programs that the large employers in your area offer.

nosferatudracon · Answer

I have a similar story to you. I went to a no name school, with a liberal arts degree, a not so stellar GPA, no internships, etc.

I thought I wanted to go to law school school as well, get my paralegal certificate to see if I wanted to go to law school. Did really well and actually enjoyed it. Started studying for the LSATs and then the legal economy tanked and law school wasn't looking so great anymore.

Took me awhile to figure what I wanted to do.

I was able to get a job and was working though. There were times I hated it but it was better than nothing. In the mean time I scoured the internet to figure out what I wanted to do. I now have a job I enjoy at a Fortune 500 company.

This last bit is my suggestion. Stay employed, leverage your work experience, and then work on making connections. My guess is the emails you are sending you're not asking the right things, or your trying to connect with the wrong people. Look for lower level employees, email them expressing your interest in their company(and actually be interested) know things about their company and its culture, and request meetings to further discuss the company. DO NOT tell them you want a job or that you're looking for one. This will turn people off.

Find out where people network after work and get out and actually meet people. If you work in a big law firm you should be able to figure this out.

People will look at your prior record until you give them something else to look at too. If you can do it in your professional life, figure out an extracurricular activity you can get involved with and take ownership of. Network through these groups, take on projects, run events, do marketing or fundraising for them. Through this you'll add to your experiences and give yourself more to talk about when building connections and interviewing when asked behavior questions during an interview.

Fixing this situation will also have a lot to do with your personality and how you approach it. If you have a "woe is me" perspective, you'll have a harder time convincing people. Finding something positive to discuss and contribute will be key. Hating your job is one thing, but complaining about it isn't the best way to present it. Discuss what you've learned and how the experience has helped you grow and that it's not what you want to do, and that you're trying to learn what other opportunities are out there to help figure out the direction you want to go. You're essentially conveying the same message, but the tone comes across completely differently.

Not sure if this helps at all, but you asked for my .02 and thus I delivered.

devarinti · Answer

My story is somewhat similar to yours although I am pretty much done with my MBA at this point. But my situation is quite a bit different and I'm entirely **** career wise. Anyway, as far as what you do, I think if you can keep your head and finances together for a bit just go after that MBA from a top school. Sounds like getting in won't be a problem for you with those high GMAT scores. Yeah you'll take on debt but it'll pay off although I'm not entirely certain the VC industry is your best bet. That's going to be tough.

You may even consider looking into some analyst positions, as someone else suggested, and then subsequently try to get your MBA while making your employer pay. Again, this is all assuming you actually want to get that MBA. If I were you, I'd open up my horizons towards things like business analyst, financial analyst, and such, which aren't few in number as far openings and are generally not ridiculously challenging to get into.

23 y/o - Advice badly needed

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