Job/role shift ~ same time as applying for R1s = good idea?

Question

Am a techie from India. Have about 4 years of work exp and 1 year of internship exp prior to becoming an engineer. WE includes working in R&D (leading a product engineering cycle) to consulting onsite for customers. Also WE in different countries. Pretty good ECs.
Done with the GMAT and TOEFL late last year. Got reasonably good scores. 
Applied to a few ambitious schools in R2 earlier this year. Got rejected from all without interviews. Possibly this was a blunder (that I applied in a hurry).

Since then, have taken the time to reevaluate and identify the flaws in application. Did not convey my strengths accurately and importantly my essays didn't convey the 'fit' well enough.

Anyway that's for the introduction. Now I am in the process of changing my current job role from core engineering to technical-sales. Don't foresee a lot of growth in my current job (due to internal team and group changes and it will take some time before opportunities become great again).

My question is this - is it practical to make this kind of a job/role shift now and still apply for the Fall 2012 admissions? One of the key questions is the recommendations - I feel no new manager will take kindly to the idea of recommending me for an MBA next year after just 2/3 months into the job. Not giving a recommendation from current manager often involves writing a separate essay explaining the reasons and I am not absolutely aware of the pros/cons of that approach.

Does this idea make sense or it makes more sense to make this kind of a shift now and apply for 2013 instead? I must change my job/role from the current team/group. Also I imagine less aggressive growth/experience in this one year might make my profile weaker.

All kinds of thoughts/ideas/comments/feedback is appreciated.

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I've never applied to B-school so take this with a grain of salt. From my understanding it is acceptable to have a recommendation from a former supervisor if your current supervisor cannot provide one for any reason. Schools are understanding of not seeing a recommendation from a current supervisor if you have only worked with them for a short period of time. I will be in a similar position this fall as there is a good chance I will move into a new position in Nov/Dec. If that happens I will get my LOR from the person I work for right now. HTH.

yabbadabbadoo · Answer

Thanks! This is definitely encouraging! Appreciate more inputs/feedback/thoughts!

I would really like to apply for next year since I think this is the perfect time for me to do an MBA from both a personal and professional point of view.

AN225 · Answer

I am applying this fall and I am changing a position soon.

From that I read, most of the schools ask for professional recommendors, preferably a current or a previous boss. Where did you read it SHALL BE the current boss??? Please provide a reference. Anyhow, I don't care: I cannot get a LOR from the present boss.

In your situation, in you apply this fall you lose nothing but your time and application money. Therefore, I'd personally would try this year!

yabbadabbadoo · Answer

Hey Vorski, nowhere did I mention that it has to be a current boss

My question and concern hovers around the fact that if it is not a current boss then how much would it affect my application potential. Yes I know that the obvious loss is just time and application money. But I also believe there is one more loss - reapplication would generally call for change/improvement in profile - which puts an additional requirement for the next year. I think I too will give it a shot this year and try to see if I can manage a recommendation even from the current boss. But I would still appreciate more views from the senior/experienced folks! Thanks for your reply Vorski!

rsxgirl01 · Answer

preface: I'm starting b school this fall.

I switched jobs in July, about 2 months before I began preparing my applications for R1 last fall. I got reccs. from two previous managers, and simply explained my situation if there was an opportunity to do so (just wrote something to the effect of: I just switched jobs and felt that my previous managers could comment more specifically on my progress than my new ones). It didn't seem to bode badly for me in my applications; I think if the timing is close enough, then it actually makes sense to use your previous employer.

yabbadabbadoo · Answer

Thanks for the reply rsxgirl01. The reference to an opportunity to explain the situation points to the separate essay to talk about why the current manager recommendation is missing? Or is it some other place in the application?

Also best wishes for your b-school program!

Also best wishes for your b-school program!

rsxgirl01 · Answer

hey Yabba. you have a good point. of the three apps I did in my R1, two had an option to add such a note; the other one didn't. so it seems it is individual to certain schools. But the gist is, wherever there is an opportunity to write such a note, I took advantage.

Job/role shift ~ same time as applying for R1s = good idea?

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