Recent MBA Graduate, Little to no experience

[compwhiz345]

Hi Everyone,

 

I just graduated in May 2016, and I have not been able to find a job recently, as I am sure several thousand other students haven't either. I have applied to some business establishments, and have my resume on several career and job websites, except they show only either lower-level job positions or I keep hitting a brick wall hiring with postings through large staffing companies. Is everything going through staffing companies now?

 

• I have a lot experience in Financial Aid and Retail, but nothing else.
  
• I feel that this puts me at a disadvantage, because no employer offers On-the-Job training anymore. (How can you expect students to graduate and have 3-5 years minimum experience in that industry, without learning or training?)
  
• I went to college for years, and can't find a income level that will help pay my loans.
  
• I do not want a job in sales or recruiting.
  

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for what types of jobs/career paths are still available in this economy for a recent MBA graduate, with little to no experience?!

[Moontiger]

Really you have to start with those "low-level" jobs to get experience. I've notice a lot of grads often feel "above" such jobs. So I would rethink your expectations. Why should anyone give you a high-level job when you poo-poo the low levels ones?

[Moontiger]

To expand on my answer, I recently completed my Master's degree and have only been able to find a part-time job in my field. But its experience that I can put on my resume.

[Wiseman2]

Just about anything in finance, business, etc. if you are willing to travel, relocate or start at an entree level.

[Doc Blaze]

what's your actual major

 

 

where did you do your internship at?

[BlarneyStone]

Like mentioned, you need experience and therefore you need to work a crappy job for a while. Most people with no experience out of school know someone if they're getting a job right away. If you're doing it yourself, you need experience on your resume. Swallow some pride and live below your means for a while.

[DancingFool]

A college degree means nothing without experience. In other words, you need to do what everyone else has to do - pay your dues, aka take the entry level job, break your back, work long hours, learn, do whatever it takes so that you can advance. A career is something you build, it's never something you just step into.

 

As an employer, I'll be blunt with you in that I'd rather hire a guy without any degrees and five years of hands on experience than one fresh out of college and no experience. There is no risk with the first one - I know he can work, I don't need to work on teaching him the job, he can literally start off and get things done on day one. With a college grad without any work experience, it's a huge risk and investment. I have to actually teach you, train you, and mentor you, and at the end of the day, I might discover that you might be book smart, but not able to handle the demands of a workplace. I have to actually literally break you in to the real world and to be honest, few companies and few employers want to take that on. The ones that do, generally have a training track so to speak, and that does mean starting at the very bottom. Even those companies are going to look carefully at your attitude. If you come across as entitled, I went to college so I deserve.....you won't get a job. You don't deserve anything and your degree without paying your dues in the workplace isn't worth the paper it's written on.

 

The few times I've hired recent grads without experience, it was purely because I saw the passion and willingness to do whatever it takes to learn and to succeed. They would have worked for free if I had asked them to. Of course I'm not like that, but the point is they were willing because they understand that they need to learn first and as long as they are learning, they are not really producing or earning their keep. If you can show passion like that, you'll get hired. If you act entitled - I'm an MBA guy so I need this and that and let me tell you how to run things because I heard that in school - you'll be unemployed and if you are unemployed long enough, you'll be applying your MBA at McD's.

[BlarneyStone]

A college degree means nothing without experience. In other words, you need to do what everyone else has to do - pay your dues, aka take the entry level job, break your back, work long hours, learn, do whatever it takes so that you can advance. A career is something you build, it's never something you just step into.

 

As an employer, I'll be blunt with you in that I'd rather hire a guy without any degrees and five years of hands on experience than one fresh out of college and no experience. There is no risk with the first one - I know he can work, I don't need to work on teaching him the job, he can literally start off and get things done on day one. With a college grad without any work experience, it's a huge risk and investment. I have to actually teach you, train you, and mentor you, and at the end of the day, I might discover that you might be book smart, but not able to handle the demands of a workplace. I have to actually literally break you in to the real world and to be honest, few companies and few employers want to take that on. The ones that do, generally have a training track so to speak, and that does mean starting at the very bottom. Even those companies are going to look carefully at your attitude. If you come across as entitled, I went to college so I deserve.....you won't get a job. You don't deserve anything and your degree without paying your dues in the workplace isn't worth the paper it's written on.

 

The few times I've hired recent grads without experience, it was purely because I saw the passion and willingness to do whatever it takes to learn and to succeed. They would have worked for free if I had asked them to. Of course I'm not like that, but the point is they were willing because they understand that they need to learn first and as long as they are learning, they are not really producing or earning their keep. If you can show passion like that, you'll get hired. If you act entitled - I'm an MBA guy so I need this and that and let me tell you how to run things because I heard that in school - you'll be unemployed and if you are unemployed long enough, you'll be applying your MBA at McD's.

 

[Snny]

I hate to agree with DF on this one, but I had the same problems as you when I graduated with my undergraduate degree. I worked from the bottom - sometimes worked two jobs - to pay back my student loans. I took temporary job assignments from inner-city high crime areas to extremely low poverty areas. I finally said enough since I was disposable with a Humanity-field degree, and went back to school in a field with a higher job market (mental health).

I worked and attended school full time despite some my professors' discouragement. I was working part-time while completing two different internships (back to back). I was career networking and building experience even before I graduated- and that's what graduate students are expected to do. If I didn't work while going to school, there was no way I would of been offered a career. The company wanted me because of my personal and work experiences of managing individuals with disabilities.

 

Experience is king. Unfortunately college normally doesn't tell this to students. This is why internships are extremely important- and finding a good school with reputable internship networks are the ones that get you the job.

 

The only thing you can do is to work an entry level position. If you have to go back to retail temporarily until a job in your field opens, you do so. There's no shame in that as long as you keep applying for other positions (and DO NOT tell anyone at your work that you are doing so). A person who is already employed holds a higher chance of being hired than someone who is unemployed.

[abitbroken]

Did you take on any internships/externships when you were in college, either at the bachelor's or grad level? I really find most people get their bachelor's in business, get out in the workforce and then get their master's while employed, even finding an employer who will offset the cost. MBAs are a dime a dozen with no experience. I would leverage my contacts - find out who you know - your former classmates, professors, etc, who could give you a foot in the door somewhere - even if that just means an interview, and its up to you after that.

[abitbroken]

The only thing you can do is to work an entry level position. If you have to go back to retail temporarily until a job in your field opens, you do so. There's no shame in that as long as you keep applying for other positions (and DO NOT tell anyone at your work that you are doing so). A person who is already employed holds a higher chance of being hired than someone who is unemployed.

 

Actually, if you worked retail at a chain company, you sometimes can go back with a degree and they may hire you for a higher level job. I know someone who did just that - worked at one of the big box stores through high school/college and then when she got a degree, they hired her in another city as assistant general manager at a store in a smaller market and she managed a whole store in a larger market in a few years time.

 

And financial aid - i don't see how that can look bad on a resume. You can be a financial aid advisor and when you find something else, jump.

 

Also, volunteering is a great way to make contacts. A lot of people I know have jumped companies/switched jobs because they are on the board of directors with someone who liked them.

[Jibralta]

Don't fall into the pitfall of avoiding "lower level" jobs. That's how you get your foot in the door. Swallow your pride and start fishing in that pond. Find the best "lower level" job you can find, and take it. Then stay there for two years or so and reevaluate.

 

It's really unfair about the student loans, I totally hear you. Loans were supposed to help people pay their way through college, but what they ended up doing was masking ever-rising tuition costs. And yet colleges still hound alumni for money. Where's all this money going? The quality of education has certainly not gone up! Higher education is a joke--and this is coming from someone with two master's degrees. People are getting better education in vocational high schools and magnate schools these days.

 

But for now, that's life.

[BlarneyStone]

Don't fall into the pitfall of avoiding "lower level" jobs. That's how you get your foot in the door. Swallow your pride and start fishing in that pond. Find the best "lower level" job you can find, and take it. Then stay there for two years or so and reevaluate.

 

It's really unfair about the student loans, I totally hear you. Loans were supposed to help people pay their way through college, but what they ended up doing was masking ever-rising tuition costs. And yet colleges still hound alumni for money. Where's all this money going? The quality of education has certainly not gone up! Higher education is a joke--and this is coming from someone with two master's degrees. People are getting better education in vocational high schools and magnate schools these days.

 

But for now, that's life.

 

No kidding, it's straight to trade school for my kids lol.

[thejigsup]

Trade schools, huh? What if they want to become a lawyer or a doctor? I wanted to be a teacher. Trade schools don't do that. Also, a lot of them are rip offs.

[Jibralta]

For professions, you obviously have to go to school. But even professional schools can be atrocious. I think architecture school was a joke, and am horrified at the level of competence of some of my fellow professionals.

 

The point I was making about trade schools was that you can come out with good math and critical thinking skills, and some practical experience. Plus no student loans. But these days, everyone is looking for a degree so it's a moot point.

[BlarneyStone]

Trade schools, huh? What if they want to become a lawyer or a doctor? I wanted to be a teacher. Trade schools don't do that. Also, a lot of them are rip offs.

That's obviously different. But they better have a damned good work ethic and be prepared to be broke well into their early thirties if that's what they want. Or they could just go to a community college and get an apprenticeship. Something that offers real work experience. Universities don't do that unless you get a good internship. But even the internships universities offer are trash most of the time.

[Snny]

Trade schools, huh? What if they want to become a lawyer or a doctor? I wanted to be a teacher. Trade schools don't do that. Also, a lot of them are rip offs.

 

Yea... like when my husband ran into this issue with an instructor who wanted him to strip down naked in front of his classmates. And his trade school got shut down with multiple lawsuits (LOL).

 

Always check on the school's reputation (online reviews) and accreditation. If a school loses accreditation (which has happened), then it is darn near impossible to find a job. Not all trade schools are bad though.

[thejigsup]

That's obviously different. But they better have a damned good work ethic and be prepared to be broke well into their early thirties if that's what they want. Or they could just go to a community college and get an apprenticeship. Something that offers real work experience. Universities don't do that unless you get a good internship. But even the internships universities offer are trash most of the time.

 

It depends on the university. I graduated from one of the top colleges in the country and got a free ride because I killed it at my local community college. My Alma Mater costs over 50k per year, but because I busted my butt (I had two jobs and was a single mother) at the community college level, I graduated with Honors and am now a respected professional. No trade school can do that for you. Most of them are diploma mills that most employers never take seriously.

[LiamLondon]

People do get "high level" jobs straight from uni. I for one, went straight from masters to job, so unless I have hallucinated the last 11 years of my life advice that suggest you have to carry a bag of bricks on your shoulders for doing a degree is bogus.

 

BUT... AND THIS IS A BIG BUT... the crux is what I did (financial maths) gave me very sought after skills few people had. Also what I did included a project on quant finance which used techniques I later on used on the job. Very few degrees give this level of training where I was productive and having an impact within days.

 

An MBA, in my experience, is a very generalist degree which will not give such training and tons of people have them. In fact one contact once told me that they are so common in India that some MBAs in India can only ever expect menial jobs afterwards, so your doing well with the "low level" jobs. Sorry to sound arrogant, but I always got the feeling with junior analysts on corporate finance teams that had just done MBAs that I could teach most school leavers within months how to do their job, which doesn't exactly spell "hired for their MBA skills". Obviously senior managers were a different story and had a lot of skills you cannot learn in school, but these came on the job over a few years and I could not train a school leaver in my own area as a quant unless they are seriously freakish.

 

One thing I would advise is to get the parents to help. They will probably give you out of date crap about it, but based on my own experiences in my masters (which weren't exactly rosy either) my prerogative with my kids will be to ensure they don't have debts hanging over their heads. One thing others have missed is that you have put yourself in a position where you have to earn a minimum salary to service debts, which is not ideal.

 

A better idea would be to go for another retail or financial aid job for now. I think it's a little silly playing up the idea of working your way up from these jobs in financial aid but the point I am making is that you could find a job in retail quickly, move home with parents and get a better perspective as it probably comes across in your applications that you are looking for "an MBA job" as opposed to targeting a specific role.

 

Also if you do try these "low-level" jobs do it properly i.e. at least ensure you are using whatever skills and knowledge you picked up in your MBA. Generally anything in finance, business origination will work. Maybe investigate these "low level" jobs as you would be surprised how many jobs sound "low level" but would quickly involve preparing stuff for board meetings etc. I know, for instance, in Project Finance many banks hire from "low level" jobs like admin as the first 6 months of being a Project Financier involves admin to get familiarised with the portfolio of business, followed by slowly blooding you into analysis and more useful skills.

[Wiseman2]

Join your Uni's alumni association, check with their placement opportunities. Get on LinkedIn, link a resume. Get recommendations from former professors.

I just graduated in May 2016

[RuedeRivoli]

You definitely sound inexperienced (I sounded exactly like you when I graduated college).

 

Have you tried finance?

 

Investment banks and other financial institutions are always seeking new graduates with solid numerical skills, a strong business acumen and good communication skills.

 

Corporate finance, investment banking, wealth management or even marketing may actually be good stepping stones with your degree even if it's not what you want.

 

I think you're holding yourself to a different standard with your MBA and are probably applying for jobs you're not qualified for. An MBA sometimes isn't enough. You have to pay your dues.