No work experience

Question

I am currently a senior at the College of William and Mary and considering applying to MBA programs straight out of undergrad. My GPA at approximately 3.3 with an Econ/Poli Sci double major is pretty good considering W&M's tendency to not inflate grades whatsoever. On practice GMAT tests I've scored in the 700-720 range and I'm hoping to do better on the real one. My problem is apparently that I'm a senior in college and my work experience consists of selling cars for several summers and an internship in state government. Will I be at a huge disadvantage applying to MBA programs without work experience? I also may be graduating a semester early...would that have any impact?

riverripper · Answer

In reality you stand little chance at a top program with zero experience. Some schools wont even consider you no matter how qualified. A class usually has a very small percentage of individuals with fewer than 2 years experience and often only a few people with none. Those that do are likely to have impressive stories and stellar academics.

An MBA is a masters for managing so you really do need some work experience unless you are some super star. Since you think that you will one day want an MBA read up on MBAs to see what they look for in people. You will be able to position yourself pretty well for a top school. Honesty it would be a waste of you time and money to apply fresh out of school. Work for 3-4 years and then apply to some of the elite schools instead of aiming low immediately out of college.

This probably isn't what you want to hear but I am sure that the vast majority of people here will agree. The more you learn about the MBA the more you realize that it is aimed at people with experience, its not common for people to go right out of school like for a med or law degree.

dabots · Answer

depends, where are you applying? if it is top 10 than i would say you are at a big disadvantage. if you are aiming for schools ranked 20 and lower you may have a decent chance. your scores are just average for the top schools, and work experience is a more important criterion anyway. do you have any significant leadership experiences outside of work that you didnt mention?

anyway, why the rush? you can learn a lot in a couple years of full time work.

mattb85 · Answer

Oh I know for sure I wouldn't get into a top 10 school. I'm not thinking Harvard or anything like that.

As for why the rush, partly I just want to have my options open so I can choose to either take a job offer or go to B-school now (either way I plan on getting an MBA at some point). I've also looked at the list of companies doing on campus recruiting at my school, and most of them are accounting or IT consulting firms and that's not what I want to do...they also seem to really be looking for BBAs which I don't quite understand. I'm just really looking at all my options right now and figuring out which is best.

dabots · Answer

my opinion on this is that the mbas you would be able to get into would not offer you the career opportunities you are looking for (judging by your disappointment by your current campus recruiting). IT consulting/auditing isn't so bad for a few years, and you do learn a lot about the work environment. w&m is a great school and i'm sure you would be able to stand out at work. my advice is to earn a little money, gain some experience, and shoot for a top mba in a few years.

mattb85 · Answer

The more I think about it, the more that makes sense. Considering that I might be able to get whatever company I work for to pay for the MBA as well it looks even better. But on the flip side I see job postings for jobs that I would want but require an MBA (some of which don't mention experience as part of the requirement in addition to the MBA). I'm definately still going to talk to some MBA admissions officers to see if it makes sense to apply. I really just need to figure out exactly what I want to do so I can get a better idea of where to go from here.

riverripper · Answer

Your GPA is good and if you do well on the GMAT you do have a shot at top schools if you position yourself well. Get involved outside of work and attempt to get a leadership roll in whatever it is. Try to get a job at the best brand name company you can and do as much as you can to gain leadership experience. 

Current students I have met at some of the best b-schools in the country come from all sorts of backgrounds and schools. Some went to local colleges with no national reputation and worked at a decent company. So you could easily have a good chance.

Going immediately to get an MBA at any old program is not going to help you with your job search. Entry level positions an MBA is not going to be required and even if it doesnt say experience required pretty much any job that lists an MBA as desired is going to require experience.

mattb85 · Answer

Yes but I do get the impression I would have more and better opportunities with an MBA as opposed to just an undergrad degree.

seanpatin · Answer

I have actually read some interesting commentaries stating that someone with no work experience and an MBA may have a tougher time finding a job than someone with just an undergrad/Bachelor's degree.... and that is not even to say how many schools will pass over your application with no experience! These two things have drawn me away from the idea... otherwise I had considered it.

mattb85 · Answer

Interesting...what were the reasons that were given as to why an MBA with no work experience could make things harder?

GMATT73 · Answer

I'd say take the GMAT first and get a 700+, preferably 750+. Then do all you can to graduate a semester early without compromising your GPA. Take on a full time job ASAP and quit a few weeks before school starts, if you are admitted. 

Your chances at an ultra-elite are pretty slim regardless, but you could get into a solid elite school if you really nailed your GMAT and convinced the admissions committee that you have something to offer to your fall cohort. 

Worst case scenario you could always bag your GMAT and go work for a few years before rushing back into the academic world.

mattb85 · Answer

Yeah I'm not targeting somewhere like Harvard. I am looking at other schools in Boston though, BC and BU. I've talked to MBA admissions people at both of those schools and they said that it is possible to get in without work experience. I'm definately aiming for 750+ on the GMAT...and as for something to offer from experience, I've been in sales in the automotive industry (I worked summers, but I had the same job as the full-time people and did really well) so I guess that's some sales/marketing experience, and then I interned with the state government (effectively I was a legislative aide to one of the representatives). So it's not like I have nothing on my resume.

ncp · Answer

mattb85, if you did hit 750+, then you should re-consider your strategy. You are young. Wait for a couple of years while you get experience in the workforce and allow your professional goals to develop during this period. As GMATT73 says, your GMAT score will still be accepted by schools. If you also manage to gain extra-curricular leadership experiences during this timeframe, you can shoot for the top 10 schools, even Harvard.

I think you can afford to be patient for a while.

edit: And here's something for you to chew on.

https://mbagameplan.mbablogs.businesswee ... icants.htm

ishcabibble · Answer

Although I don't have any actual research on this, my gut is telling me that it would be harder to get a job with an MBA and no work experience is because if a company is going to shell out the big bucks on an employee with an MBA, they'd rather have someone with experience than without. Especially since it is moreso the norm to have several years of work experience already.

I would have run into this problem if I had actually gone into teaching, which is what my undergrad kind of prepared me to do. The only problem was that I went to the only college in the state that wouldn't certify graduates to teach with only a BS, I would have had to go to graduate school. So then I would have been applying to jobs in a higher pay range (because I had a master's degree) without the experience to back it up. Especially since most middle-school teachers teach for several years before going to get their master's degree. Kind of silly, huh?

No work experience

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