Does a job change in the application year hamper GMATprofile

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Hello Everyone,

I work in IT industry and about 6 months back I changed my job. I have an experience of 5.6 years in IT. Currently I have a job offer in my hand and I am unable to decide whether to go for it or not. Reason being I am planning to write GMAT this year (2019) and apply to the colleges. In the tenure of my IT experience I have worked for 3 organizations and if I go ahead with the offer this is going to be my fourth company. I am a bit suspicious about what affects its gonna leave on my GMAT profile. Would it affect my chances to get into a top B school as i am planning to apply this year. Shall I go ahead with the offer?

Kindly Help me out with your thoughts on this.

Thanks in advance.

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by MargaretStrother » Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:40 am
Great question! It's super that you have the perspective to ask this question before you make a move.
If you were my client, I'd probably recommend that you hold off on the job change, unless it offers you substantially greater team-leadership or international exposure.

There are several reasons for this:
  • 1. If you've been at a job for six months and you're already looking for the door, that might send the signal to top MBA programs that you're not sure what you're looking for, that you get bored or dissatisfied quickly, and that you might be similarly bored or dissatisfied as a student in their program; in other words, it raises a maturity question.
    2. It also raises an ethical question: would you go into this new job with transparency, telling them honestly that you hope to join an MBA program in 2020 so your time there would be limited? Or would you hide that issue from your potential employers? Some admissions people, in my experience, have raised this as an ethical issue with interviewees.
    3. What about your recommendations? Typically a supervisor is only 'eligible' to be your recommender after they've supervised you for six months or more. Your new job wouldn't offer you that, and your previous job would probably be too steamed to provide a recommendation. This would leave you with a lot of explaining to do in an optional essay. Is it worth it?
As I mentioned, if the new job offers you something substantial that you didn't have before -- and that will be relevant to your strategy as an applicant to top business schools -- it might be worth considering. But unless it offers a pretty dramatic change, I'd recommend holding off.

Good luck,
Margaret Strother
Margaret Strother
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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by divyanshukumar » Mon Mar 25, 2019 9:45 pm
Thanks a lot @ Margaret Strother

You exactly addressed the issue and your explanation provided me a clear picture. I really appreciate your suggestion.

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by Inventing Minds » Sun Jul 28, 2019 7:55 pm
Four jobs in 6 years shows your lack of focused approach - to negate this, you can state your entrepreneurial vision - because all b-schools prefer entrepreneurs who can create value and jobs for society as also bring about innovation and disruption with their work. Another advantage of this is you would not be clubbed in the IT pool of applicants where competition is very high if you show a change in your career direction from job seeker to job creator.

While applying to any b-school, just keep these points in mind -

B-schools Look For Value Creators, Not Job Seekers
Universities Prefer Innovators Over Bookish Learners & Degree Seekers
What Matters The Most Is A Vision For Future, And Not Your Past Academic Successes
Showcase In Your Applications What Difference You Can Make To The World
Don't Describe Yourself Prove How You Are Different From Others

BY - RITUPARNA ROY CHOWDHURY
Admissions Consultant

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