Work experience: quantity vs. quality

Hi Lemon14,
That's an interesting question. From my experience I have noticed that quality does matter over quantity. For example, work experience in a Fortune 500 company will have more weight than a medium size firm that adcom has not heard about.
Having said that, hopping job every year doesn't bode well for the applicant. It displays lack of conviction and clarity of ones career goals.
Hope this helps.

The quality is definitely more important. In fact, hopping around too much is seen as a negative. Adcoms are looking for a history of top performance, learning and advancement. If you get that at one company, great. If you have two jobs to get that, that is also great. However with each additional job, you want to build up a track record of performance so you would want to work a bit longer as you start to layer the jobs on. I help applicants who have worked at 4 years at one company and 5 years across 2 or 3 companies and the quality of the work is how I evaluate, not simply the number of firms.

Good luck and reach out if you have any other questions!

Best,
Scott
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they are looking for work experience that showcases strong impact an good results, generally that occurs over a few years at one firm. But it is certainly possible in shorter stints. Quality is very important but sustained quality is really what programs are looking for here
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I've had a few interactions with a lot of admissions officers when they came to my city and most of them needed a clear career progression and the responsibilities that you'd taken up at work. So, even if you're only having 3yrs of work exp, if you've 2 promotions to show and relevant achievements, you're good to go!

Hi lemon14! So there is no absolute answer here- but what schools look for is IMPACT and a logical story. They like to see progression in one place- so a promotion helps. If you have 2 places that can be fine as long as the moves make sense when you tell your story. When you start to have 3 schools in 3 years I would say this gets trickier- but if your academics and GMAT are solid and you can explain it in terms of how it makes sense for your story and goals going forward- there is nothing that is absolutely a deal breaker. But when you have scattered jobs in different areas almost like darts on a board, then it gets more problematic!

If you'd like to learn more how our admissions experts can help you make sure your story makes sense- go to this link and sign up for a free consult: https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com/ ... b-visitor/
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lemon14

To speak to your example, a longer tenure at one company is preferred, however it's best that you show a promotion if you've worked there for three years. If you need to "move out to move up" then so be it - that is common. Job hopping every year isn't ideal, however in places like Silicon Valley, it is actually quite standard.

We often forget that the adcom doesn't really care about your jobs, but what your overall career, trajectory and contributions say about you.

What kind of person are you, what potential do you show, do they want you in their club? Choose jobs that will allow you to showcase leadership, teamwork and problem solving. Focus on demonstrating that you have these qualities via accomplishments in the resume, no matter where or in what context.

One last bit, it's nice to have hot brand names of MNCs on your resume. It shows endorsement of you for sure. However there is also something to be said for working on a higher level at a startup or smaller company. If you work at a huge company, it's understood that your scope will be more narrow and vice versa.

Hope this helps!
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