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AspiringMBA14
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Joined: 01 May 2020
Last visit: 09 Jul 2023
Posts: 10
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Career Break & MBA: Rejection? 24 Aug 2020, 08:39
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Hello! Thank you for your time! Profile in brief:

Education:
* Engineer from Tier 2 college in India
* Post Grad in Liberal Arts
* Decent scores (79% and 3.4/4.0 with all As in leadership/business classes)
* GMAT not given yet. Gave my benchmark mock: 680, aiming 750 after preparation.

Work Ex:
* 1st job: Mgmt Trainee at Fortune 500 HR Consulting firm, promoted within 1 year to Assistant Manager
* 2nd job: Project Management (more like vendor management, unfortunately) with a tech giant (Top 5) - 6 months in
* Worked in Berlin in a short stint (~2 months) on a consulting project in creative strategy for Deutsche Telekom

Extra curriculars
* Started social entrepreneurship venture in college
* Decent Scholarships and awards

Contemplating a career break - voluntary resignation - to
* Pivot - I truly hate my job in Vendor Management, work culture of the team is unhealthy
* Take a break - mentally & physically burnt out - I have never felt this averse to work and I'm making mistakes I wouldn't otherwise make.

Application timeline:
* I have ~2 years of work experience as of September. Want to work for 2 more years before applying (or more) - so, 2022 or 2023

Concern:
1. I'm aiming for the top BSchools - Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Stanford. Can I explain my career break in the truest sense?
2. Can I say it was due to CoVID related restructuring - would that be better? My org did get restructured recently (pretty in-the-news) and the affected business line and business units are mine so it sounds plausible even if it's not the truth.

Please help? Thank you!

Posted from my mobile device
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Harsh2111s
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Joined: 08 May 2019
Last visit: 10 Feb 2021
Posts: 317
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266
Given Kudos: 54
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
Schools: IIM (D) S.P.Jain Institute (A) XLRI IIML-IPMX '22 NUS '23
GPA: 4
WE:Manufacturing and Production (Manufacturing)
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Schools: IIM (D) S.P.Jain Institute (A) XLRI IIML-IPMX '22 NUS '23
Posts: 317
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Career Break & MBA: Rejection? 27 Aug 2020, 01:31
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AspiringMBA14
Hello! Thank you for your time! Profile in brief:

Education:
* Engineer from Tier 2 college in India
* Post Grad in Liberal Arts
* Decent scores (79% and 3.4/4.0 with all As in leadership/business classes)
* GMAT not given yet. Gave my benchmark mock: 680, aiming 750 after preparation.

Work Ex:
* 1st job: Mgmt Trainee at Fortune 500 HR Consulting firm, promoted within 1 year to Assistant Manager
* 2nd job: Project Management (more like vendor management, unfortunately) with a tech giant (Top 5) - 6 months in
* Worked in Berlin in a short stint (~2 months) on a consulting project in creative strategy for Deutsche Telekom

Extra curriculars
* Started social entrepreneurship venture in college
* Decent Scholarships and awards

Contemplating a career break - voluntary resignation - to
* Pivot - I truly hate my job in Vendor Management, work culture of the team is unhealthy
* Take a break - mentally & physically burnt out - I have never felt this averse to work and I'm making mistakes I wouldn't otherwise make.

Application timeline:
* I have ~2 years of work experience as of September. Want to work for 2 more years before applying (or more) - so, 2022 or 2023

Concern:
1. I'm aiming for the top BSchools - Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Stanford. Can I explain my career break in the truest sense?
2. Can I say it was due to CoVID related restructuring - would that be better? My org did get restructured recently (pretty in-the-news) and the affected business line and business units are mine so it sounds plausible even if it's not the truth.

Please help? Thank you!

Posted from my mobile device
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Reason for career break matters but what new skills learnt after resigning from job matters more.

Leaving a job is equivalent to running from responsibilities. If you are able to justify that you learnt and implement x,y,z skills during break.
It will create a good impact and increase your chances.

Hope this helps :)
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MBADecoder
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Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 2,931
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765
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Posts: 2,931
Kudos: 765
Career Break & MBA: Rejection? 21 Oct 2020, 11:25
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AspiringMBA14
Hello! Thank you for your time! Profile in brief:

Education:
* Engineer from Tier 2 college in India
* Post Grad in Liberal Arts
* Decent scores (79% and 3.4/4.0 with all As in leadership/business classes)
* GMAT not given yet. Gave my benchmark mock: 680, aiming 750 after preparation.

Work Ex:
* 1st job: Mgmt Trainee at Fortune 500 HR Consulting firm, promoted within 1 year to Assistant Manager
* 2nd job: Project Management (more like vendor management, unfortunately) with a tech giant (Top 5) - 6 months in
* Worked in Berlin in a short stint (~2 months) on a consulting project in creative strategy for Deutsche Telekom

Extra curriculars
* Started social entrepreneurship venture in college
* Decent Scholarships and awards

Contemplating a career break - voluntary resignation - to
* Pivot - I truly hate my job in Vendor Management, work culture of the team is unhealthy
* Take a break - mentally & physically burnt out - I have never felt this averse to work and I'm making mistakes I wouldn't otherwise make.

Application timeline:
* I have ~2 years of work experience as of September. Want to work for 2 more years before applying (or more) - so, 2022 or 2023

Concern:
1. I'm aiming for the top BSchools - Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Stanford. Can I explain my career break in the truest sense?
2. Can I say it was due to CoVID related restructuring - would that be better? My org did get restructured recently (pretty in-the-news) and the affected business line and business units are mine so it sounds plausible even if it's not the truth.

Please help? Thank you!

Posted from my mobile device
Show more


My preferred route will be to get a job first and then resign. A lot of companies have frozen their hiring right now. You don't know how long the break can turn out to be. or maybe, because of the current circumstances you land up in the next job in a profile you don't like - I dont think that worth taking a risk on.
You will have to explain any employment gap more than 3 months, so think wisely and plan well before you quit.
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StratusShari
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Stratus Admissions Consultant
Joined: 03 Apr 2020
Last visit: 07 Mar 2022
Posts: 21
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10
Given Kudos: 22
Location: United States
Schools: Tuck '23
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Schools: Tuck '23
Posts: 21
Kudos: 10
Career Break & MBA: Rejection? 16 Nov 2020, 12:50
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AspiringMBA14
Hello! Thank you for your time! Profile in brief:

Education:
* Engineer from Tier 2 college in India
* Post Grad in Liberal Arts
* Decent scores (79% and 3.4/4.0 with all As in leadership/business classes)
* GMAT not given yet. Gave my benchmark mock: 680, aiming 750 after preparation.

Work Ex:
* 1st job: Mgmt Trainee at Fortune 500 HR Consulting firm, promoted within 1 year to Assistant Manager
* 2nd job: Project Management (more like vendor management, unfortunately) with a tech giant (Top 5) - 6 months in
* Worked in Berlin in a short stint (~2 months) on a consulting project in creative strategy for Deutsche Telekom

Extra curriculars
* Started social entrepreneurship venture in college
* Decent Scholarships and awards

Contemplating a career break - voluntary resignation - to
* Pivot - I truly hate my job in Vendor Management, work culture of the team is unhealthy
* Take a break - mentally & physically burnt out - I have never felt this averse to work and I'm making mistakes I wouldn't otherwise make.

Application timeline:
* I have ~2 years of work experience as of September. Want to work for 2 more years before applying (or more) - so, 2022 or 2023

Concern:
1. I'm aiming for the top BSchools - Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Stanford. Can I explain my career break in the truest sense?
You will certainly be more competitive at your target schools with a couple more years of work experience and a GPA in the 720 or higher range. Schools will be more understanding regarding career changes/job loss/etc during this difficult time; however, they will want to see how you are progressing in areas of interest even during a career pivot/break. Are there other interests you have that you could gain involvement in to showcase your passions, ambitions and are related to post-MBA career aspirations? Any entrepreneurial endeavors?

2. Can I say it was due to CoVID related restructuring - would that be better? My org did get restructured recently (pretty in-the-news) and the affected business line and business units are mine so it sounds plausible even if it's not the truth.
It is best to be honest with the admissions committees; there is a positive story to tell when you realize a situation is worth walking away from and using this as an opportunity to create a future that is more aligned with your goals and values. You will want to articulate this well in your essays.

You might consider adding a few other schools to your target list as well. In the event that you are not able to bring your GMAT score as high as your target, and with lower than average work experience, GMAT, etc. the top schools will be a stretch. Feel free to visit the Stratus Admissions website for a free consultation - we would love to help you!

Please help? Thank you!

Posted from my mobile device
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