VP
Joined: 22 Apr 2004
Posts: 1117
Given Kudos: 59
Location: Southern California
Schools:Kellogg MBA 2004
Re: Career Progression
[#permalink]
12 Apr 2010, 17:34
I agree with your sense that many of those profiles say "job hopping" more than "career progression." While a young professional has every right to pursue new opportunities as they come along, the risk in doing so often is that it takes a while to get traction in the new job, meaning that they'll
We get a lot of questions from applicants who ask, "I have the chance to take a new job with [Blue Chip Firm]... The job and the pay are the same, but the name of the company is better. Should I take it?" In this case, I normally tell applicants that they can help their admissions chances more by achieving more I their current role than by landing at a fancier company, where it will probably take them a while to build their connections and really start to make an impact.
If you're still a year or two away from applying, then trying to build your track record at the bigger-name firm may make sense, but if you're less than a year away from applying, then you have a better chance of making a bigger positive impact in your current job, and that (Impact!) is what admissions officers care about, more than the name of the company you're coming from or the job titles you've held.
Scott