Congratulations, you have just finished your undergrad, tossed your cap, and checked a box off for completion of a major life goal. Now it’s time to head off to grad school, get your MBA and land your dream job, right? Well, that’s one option, but life doesn’t really follow a bullet point outline format. Instead, you’re living your very own ‘choose your own adventure.’ The bad news is, unlike in the paperback edition after you “die,” you can’t just flip back to the previous section and make the opposite choice to continue with the narrative.
Related: Should You Go Back To School? 4 Factors To Consider
College is glorified in many ways, perhaps none more so as being a place where you can find out who you are while making mistakes. This is only true to a point, though—you can also completely screw the pooch—what you do immediately after college, whether it is grad school or diving into a career, will shape the rest of your adventure.
Why you should GET your master’s before jumping into a career...
There is not end all, be all reason for going or not going to grad school, but the fact is more of your peers are choosing to go. According to this graphic from Norwich University, from 2011 to 2012, almost 50% of MBA programs receive an increase in applications, and over 60% of MBA programs increased their program size.
But, like your mom always said, just because all your friends are jumping off a cliff doesn’t mean you should, too. Perform a self-evaluation and ask yourself honestly, what are your reasons for wanting a master’s degree?
If your school offers a joint undergrad and graduate school program, the decision to continue your education makes sense, especially in cases where the program allows you to complete your education faster saving time and money in the process.
If you landed a job while completing your undergrad that will pay for your education or that offers education benefits, jump on that opportunity. Although many employers won’t pay for a program in full, often they are able to offer some repayment.
Finally, even if you aren’t able to enter a joint program or secure any type of repayment, will the return on you education be worth the investment?
Assess the total cost of the program
Determine how long it will take you to repay that amount (factor in potential looming expenses—are you planning on getting married or trying to have a baby?)
How will you secure payment for the program
If you can’t answer these questions, or aren’t comfortable with the answers re-evaluate whether an MBA at this time is really your best option.
Why you should SKIP your MBA and focus on your career...
Not having a job lined up following graduation is not a good enough reason to go to grad school. Focus on your career and gain valuable professional experience. Some schools won’t even consider you for their MBA program until you have two years of professional experience, others might require up to as many as five years.
Take this time to find out if your current career path is one you want to stay on. If you’re on the company fast track, devoting time to an MBA could actually be detrimental to your career. However, if you find after a few years you have plateaued or are unhappy that might be a better time to shift your focus to an MBA in order to get a better position or work with a different company.
Do your research before committing to a program. According to Pepperdine University, specific managerial programs are projected to see greater growth than others through 2020. Management programs in general are on the rise, but the specialization you choose could either end up as a lucrative asset or a tremendous and costly detour.
The ultimate takeaway when deciding to get your MBA or not is: will the debt and commitment be worth it? The only factor you have complete control over is finishing the program. After that you can’t guarantee you will get the position or paycheck you want. If the degree is still worth it even then, go for it.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.