Hello,
I was laid off earlier this summer after a series of steady professional advancements. I immediately started working 50 - 60 hour weeks as an independent contractor/consultant within my field. Thus, I didn't search for a new "job." Soon after, I was accepted into a selective fellowship program that took up most of my summer. Now I'm getting ready to submit applications, but I'm worried that my self-employed status will hurt my chances of success.
I am highly involved in extracurricular activities (probably my strongest point), I am about to start a great apprenticeship program in agile software development (I'm in the tech field), and I continue to work on contract-based side projects that generate an income and provide leadership experience. I'm also using this opportunity to embark on an entrepreneurial project that I've been wanting to pursue for awhile, but didn't have time to do while I was working full-time for someone else.
I'm definitely not the type of person who sits around idle when I lose my job, and I'm actually quite happy to be working for myself at the moment. However, I've heard that top MBA programs have a strong bias against self-employed individuals. Some people believe that self-employed is just a nicer word for unemployed.
Could someone tell me if I have a chance of getting into a top school? What's the best way to position my story? Should I be up-front about being laid off, or should I focus on how I chose a path of self-employment, entrepreneurship, engaging in a fellowship program and industry-specific training, etc?
Stats:
720 GMAT
3.67 GPA, magna cum laude, Economics, average state school
Target schools:
Kellogg
Sloan
Haas
Possibly Booth
Thank you!
I was laid off earlier this summer after a series of steady professional advancements. I immediately started working 50 - 60 hour weeks as an independent contractor/consultant within my field. Thus, I didn't search for a new "job." Soon after, I was accepted into a selective fellowship program that took up most of my summer. Now I'm getting ready to submit applications, but I'm worried that my self-employed status will hurt my chances of success.
I am highly involved in extracurricular activities (probably my strongest point), I am about to start a great apprenticeship program in agile software development (I'm in the tech field), and I continue to work on contract-based side projects that generate an income and provide leadership experience. I'm also using this opportunity to embark on an entrepreneurial project that I've been wanting to pursue for awhile, but didn't have time to do while I was working full-time for someone else.
I'm definitely not the type of person who sits around idle when I lose my job, and I'm actually quite happy to be working for myself at the moment. However, I've heard that top MBA programs have a strong bias against self-employed individuals. Some people believe that self-employed is just a nicer word for unemployed.
Could someone tell me if I have a chance of getting into a top school? What's the best way to position my story? Should I be up-front about being laid off, or should I focus on how I chose a path of self-employment, entrepreneurship, engaging in a fellowship program and industry-specific training, etc?
Stats:
720 GMAT
3.67 GPA, magna cum laude, Economics, average state school
Target schools:
Kellogg
Sloan
Haas
Possibly Booth
Thank you!
