Hi there! Thanks for reaching out.
First, let me assure you that being terminated and having an employment gap is not going to keep you out of business school. But, you will need to demonstrate a high degree of self-awareness and ownership of what went wrong (so you should write an optional essay on this and show a lot of maturity and self-awareness in all your essays) AND you will also need to show that you have been making good use of that time (b-school applications can not be the only thing). It sounds like between job searching and filmmaking you've got enough to show you've been keeping busy, though if you can pick back up with some volunteer hours that would look great. It would look a lot better to be employed when you apply but I wouldn't take a huge step back or take something unrelated to what you want to do just for this purpose. I have had some past clients have success finding contract / temp work during these gaps. A car salesman job is actually not a crazy idea IF you do want to work in the automotive industry and can spin it as a positive step in gaining some industry exposure.
One other concern / question -- will you be able to get recommendation letters from your past employer? If not, that is going to make it tough since you were there a long time and schools really want professional recommendations. So that would be another reason to push to get a new job so you could have your new boss write a recommendation.
Your GPA / GMAT stats are good but not stellar, so some of the schools on your list could be a stretch (primarily Kellogg). I would consider adding one more safe school (similar to Georgetown) to have some options.
Hello,
I am planning to apply for programs this Fall. I apologize if this seems long, but please bear with me.
About me: Asian-American Male, U.S. citizen, 29 years old
Education: B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering at a school currently ranked between #20-25, graduated 2009. 3.2 GPA (I had some terrible grades in my 2nd semester, which I attribute to working the night-shift at my on-campus job that semester)
I’ve also obtained a Project Management Professional (PMP) credential
GMAT: 710 (Q: 48, V: 38, IR: 5, AWA: 6)
Target Schools: Kellogg, Fuqua, UCLA, Darden, Michigan, Georgetown
MBA Goal: I would like to work in a general management or business strategy role. My target industries are transportation (airlines, railroads, etc.) or consumer products
Work: 6.5 years in litigation support consulting for a Big 4 firm. Started at the Entry-Level Associate level and promoted up to Manager level. However, I have been unemployed since March. We had a major error occur on my watch that almost lost us a major client. I took full responsibility for the error, and was terminated as a result
I’ve tried to reflect on what went wrong. My lesson learned was I tried to do too much and had perceived asking for help as a sign of weakness. It was a matter of time before I would slip-up, and unfortunately it was a bad enough slip-up to ruin my career at that firm.
Extracurriculars: For the first few years after college, I was a regular volunteer at a soup kitchen and the Ronald McDonald House. I also led a couple community service projects at my firm, one to a hospital to read to children and another to clean up a local park. But after my first promotion, my job changed to 100% travel and with me working 60-80 hours/week, my extracurricular activity has been non-existent.
I am now trying to pursue an interest in producing documentaries. I’ve started my own production company and already have begun shooting for my first film, which I hope to have completed and released in the Fall. I’m not certain about monetization potential, but I do plan to try to get some value from advertising.
I’ve also sought to find a new job, but it has been hard to find a position at the same level and with the same responsibilities as I had before. I’m considering whether to focus on strengthening my extracurricular activities and on my documentary production for the next several months, or should I swallow my pride and take a lower-level position just to be employed? Or maybe even try a different line of work altogether? I am somewhat seriously considering a car salesman job, if anything to help strengthen my sales and marketing skills.
I appreciate any advice or feedback. Thanks!