Quit job for GMAT (for MIM)?

Hi MBAPrepCoach

Thanks for your response!

In reference to what I wrote in my initial post, is a family business also considered a red flag for business schools?

Thanks!

I think that it will have a lower perceived value . Especially if you're doing this for a short period of time right before you're going into your MBA. If you don't have a lot of quantifiable accomplishments for this time period it's going to be kind of obvious that you're just taking time off

Hey rs1058230:

Thanks for reaching out. I'll try and do my best to give you a thorough opinion of your situation and what you can do.

My first thought is this – do you really need to quit work to study for the GMAT? Do you really not have enough time to study or is it an issue of how you're studying. That is, even if you had more hours, would your score reasonably improve? Or is there something fundamentally flawed about how your studying? I'm saying this from the perspective of a former GMAT instructor (me). If you know where your performing poorly on the GMAT, Are you focusing on those specific areas? I would ignore all other sections besides quant and verbal - For example – don't pay too much attention for now on the AWA.

But are you really going to put what seems to be a good job on hold in order to study for a test? You're only looking at about five or six more questions (Answered correctly) to hit 700. Taking time off - quitting a good job with a reputable firm – seems to me to be a bit drastic. If I were you, it would make me question my judgment. I know I know balancing life, studying and work is difficult, but you have plenty of time right now to study for this test and apply for round one of the upcoming season. Additionally, resigning from your current position to go work for a family company seems to be a bit of an abrupt change. To be honest, I feel you may be trying to solve one problem and creating another in the process.

On that note, are your Big 4 recommenders on board with you leaving? Are they really? Because that's going to be reflected in your Letters of recommendation (LOR). And if you leave them in the lurch, they may not say anything to you as you walk out the door, but it may be Reflected in your LOR.

Another point – what are you going to tell them as to why you are leaving? That you need to go study for a test? And while you may have a very good, open and transparent relationship with your recommenders, what are they going to say about the fact that you no longer work for the company? This is not a specific question on the recommendation form, but they could mention The specific reasons why you left in passing. And it won't really look that great to the admissions committee. Of course you could tell them you're going to work for the family company And they made mention that and that would be okay. Just make sure you have a consistent narrative because these things have a way of being misconstrued across different parts of the application.

Another question for you – how big is this family company and what do they do? Hopefully, this company has some size and weight behind it. What role will you be playing? Are you even going to work at the company in any meaningful capacity? Or will it be in title only? Now I'm not gonna sit here and lecture you about right and wrong. But If you are going to be studying and not working, you need to remember that at grad school you're going to be expected to be a contributor. You only get as much out of it as you put in.

So what's the new story going to be? You must stop and think about this before proceeding. Because this could be a dealbreaker. How are you going to reconcile an inconsistency in your professional path – especially at a young age. Did you really learn enough in your relatively short experience at a big four firm to know that you wanted to go down the family business path? Since you worked at a big 4 for only a short amount of time, Was it a mistake to take this role? As an addendum – Why didn't you join your family business straight out of undergraduate? I'm willing to bet that the story is about not following the path laid out for you, Not following the path that so many in your family have followed before you, and wanting to follow your own aspirations. This is because you're not willing to follow the status quo and instead you want to follow your Aspirations that you have developed, and not the ones others think you should follow. Great. But think about it ... This now opens up so many question marks for the admissions committee.

Maybe ... you can tell the admissions committee that you needed to get the professional services training at a big 4 firm. Now that you've done that, you're ready to transition and serve in a leadership role within the family business. But you've only been at the family business for a few months. So how do you know what you now need? Maybe you're a quick study And it only took a few months at the family business to knowWhat you now need to learn. But you better make sure you can spin a story that the admissions committee will believe. Otherwise, they will just be confused as to why you're following this path. Worst case scenario – They will think that ultimately joining a Big 4 wasn't for you, even though you may have been good at your job. Then you ran to the family company and realized that wasn't for you. Now you're applying for a Masters in management as another "escape hatch". And they are going to think, "how do we know that rs1058230 knows that the MiM is what he needs at this point in his career?"

So what's my point? My point is that you are not that far away from a 700. You only need to get a few more questions right. I know the chasm looks much bigger to you right now. But again, maybe it's five more questions right to break 700. Another point – you are essentially robbing Paul to pay Peter. In other words, you're creating a bigger problem in your attempt to solve a more minor problem. I wouldn't make this bargain.

With respect to "upskilling" and the other points that you made in your original post, it won't really make a difference if your story is inconsistent. You can learn Spanish and French and it won't make a difference because it doesn't address the fundamental inconsistency. You are placing way too much emphasis on the international motivation aspect, and not enough introspection and thought on the basics of your story. If you wanted to think about the international motivation part, you would have already thought about how those international aspects Are relevant to your goals. But I haven't seen any evidence of that in your post. In fact, I'm not even sure what your goals are. Once you clear all the requisite basics – solid work experience, GMAT, GPA – your goals are the most critical aspect of getting into business school.

To be blunt, it doesn't matter if you're planning on continuing on in audit. That's not a good reason to do some of the things that you propose. What matters is that you have a story that makes sense to the admissions committee.

I would take the unpaid leave in June and study for the GMAT. If you put in a solid one month of studying, I don't see how you could not raise your GMAT by 50 points or more by studying the right way. At the risk of sounding didactic, If I were you, I would start asking questions about what I'm doing wrong on the GMAT and how I can improve. How are you studying? What materials are using? Have you sought tutoring? Because right now - given what you propose – you're about to set a sh!tload of inconsistencies in motion.

Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti

Hi rs1058230,
Thanks for reaching out and being open to feedback about your situation!
To answer your question directly, I would not quit your job solely for the purpose of studying for the GMAT. First, you have to consider how you compare to other applicants who are managing attaining higher scores on top of working. Second, you have to view it from the school's perspective...If you explain why you left, they won't have confidence that you can balance all the demands of the program including studying + recruiting + community activities. And if you don't explain the real reason why and instead switch to work in the family business, will you have enough impact to show? Will it look unusual that you left a Big 4 firm earlier than typical? Will it put your recommendations at risk?
I actually think family business experience can be quite intriguing in the admissions process, and can be a way to diversify your profile against other candidates, but you need to have the right reasons for making that move, and it must fit in to your overall story.
If I were you, I would take the unpaid leave, focus hard on GMAT, and then return to work. Potentially mention the family business as something you could see yourself getting involved with long term. I also think Paul gave some great advice above on rethinking your GMAT prep strategy. Sounds like now is a good time to mix things up and try some different tactics. You are doing great on Quant so focus on Verbal.
Hope that helps!
Kate

Hi PaulLanzillotti

Thanks for being so objective, blunt, and comprehensive about your answer. Your answer solves a lot of dilemmas for me. I certainly need to question my choices more and delve deeper into what a business school would look for in a prospective candidate. A 100 kudos to you

Hi mbaMissionKate

Thanks a lot for your honest assessment! The idea of fitting my family business in the long-term story seems very promising and I shall certainly think more over it and try to do a personal evaluation of my goals.