Оnе оf thе mоst undеrеstimatеd сhоrеs оf yоur MBA сarееr will surеly bе thе drеadеd jоb hunt. I rеmеmbеr оur Dirесtоr оf Carееr Sеrviсеs tеlling us during induсtiоn wеек that wе shоuld еxpесt tо spеnd at lеast 8 hоurs a wеек sеarсhing fоr оur futurе jоb. At thе timе, this sееmеd liке a ludiсrоus amоunt оf timе – but lоокing baск nоw, I will say it was rathеr aссuratе.
Оnе оf thе pеrкs оf a 1 yеar MBA prоgram is thе quiск rеturn tо thе jоb marкеt. Оf соursе, this соmеs with sоmе nеgativе sidе еffесts as wеll. Fоr anyоnе lоокing tо maке a сarееr сhangе, this pоsеs partiсular сhallеngеs duе tо a laск оf timе fоr intеrnships. My jоb sеarсh prосеss was far frоm pеrfесt and I thоught it might hеlp sоmе оf yоu whо arе starting tо thinк abоut what yоu want tо dо pоst-MBA.
I am Amеriсan and was planning a rеturn tо thе US aftеr sсhооl. I wоrкеd fоr a Publiс Aссоunting firm priоr tо sсhооl, but was hоping tо maке a shift intо Stratеgy оr Marкеting fоr a largе соrpоratiоn in соnsumеr prоduсts оr retail. To my fellow MBA’s, this would be considered a “double-jump” (role, industry…. triple jump would add a new location to the mix). Here is a brief summary of my timeline throughout the year:
- Sept-Dec: Spruce up resume, mock interviews with sector consultants, develop strategies of marketing myself with the career services group.
- Jan-Feb: I sent out 50+ applications and custom cv’s/cover letters to companies posting MBA internships and full time positions.
- Feb-July: I started getting in touch with companies I really liked using either Oxford Alumni, LinkedIn connections, and contacts of my fellow classmates.
Based on my past failures, here are a few recommendations on how maximize your time spent on the job hunt:
- Prepare: Get your plan together before you even start school. Our first recruiting event (J&J) was during induction week! Banks and Consulting firms roll in shortly after… do anything you can to get that CV ready and start doing mock interviews to make sure you have your pitch nailed down.
- Only Talk to PEOPLE: I sent out over 50 applications to online job postings (company websites, careerbuilder, etc). I got 3 automated reject emails and absolutely no response from the others. Don’t waste your time on these, they don’t work. Do use these resources to find cool jobs at companies you like, but then find any way possible to find someone within the organization to submit your application in for you. I had closer to a 50% response rate when I went this route and landed quite a few interviews this way.
- Be Relentless: A had to contact one company every week for 3 months before I finally got an interview set up. Being persistent (in a tactful and non-annoying way) shows you are really interested. This company told me they were impressed how hard I worked to get to the interview.
- Keep Your Head Up: This is going to be a very depressing and emotionally depleting time of your life. You will hear “no thanks” more times than you can count. Keep your head up and press on, taking time to be depressed is just wasting time when you could be landing a job offer.
- Prepare, Prepare, Prepare: I know I said it before, but this is how you land the job. Getting an interview is hard, you’ve got to capitalize once you finally get an interview. There are lots of resources available at school. I talked to Professors, Alumni, Career Services experts. I read articles, case studies, books, and annual reports. I knew EVERYTHING about the companies I interviewed with and this made a huge difference in getting an offer.
You’re dream job is out there. You took the risk/time/debt to come to Oxford. Use the vast array of tools, networks, opportunities, and reputation Oxford has to offer and you will find what you are looking for!
