Question about work experience / my profile

Graduate School Business School - MBA
1

Hi,

I’m a recent college grad, and I’ve recently decided to pursue a MBA in a few years – I realize I need to gain some work experience first. I’ve begun studying for my GMAT, however, since I feel I have the flexibility and time right now to prepare for it.

About me:

I graduated from NYU undergrad in 2014 in 3.5 years with a cumulative GPA of 3.869, Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Art History and minor in Italian Studies. I entered school early at a young age, so I graduated shortly after my 21st birthday, so I am pretty young.

I have just started studying for the GMAT, but my goal is to get at least a 700 since I have noticed that seems to be a minimum for most top business schools.

My top choice business school is Columbia.

My limited job experience: I worked 1 year at a top gallery in NYC as personal assistant to the owner – I did really well at the gallery and went above and beyond my job expectations and was promoted to a sales position but left shortly after because I realized I didn’t want to work in the gallery world. I realized my strengths were in client service and project management, so now I have begun working at a design studio, handling the business end of things and managing our team/client expectations.

I feel that my academic background is solid enough (especially if I can get 700 on the GMAT), but I know I have to build my work experience. I am not exactly happy at my current job (I actually really miss working in the art world) – it’s a boring desk job, but my boss is giving me a lot of responsibility and this seems like a position in which I could grow. The downside is the pay is really low and again, my total lack of interest. I am wondering if I should look for a new job or stick this out since I am sure it looks good to have several years of work experience at the same company rather than hopping around.

Would just appreciate some input on my profile so far and regarding work experience – I am somewhat confused as to what type I need and whether I am on the right track. Thank you for taking your time to read this and respond.

2

Find a place you are passionate to work at. Your academic credentials are fine, but the further away from graduation you are, the more important your work experience becomes. Think about where you will be 3 years from now if you continue your same path or stick with your employer. You are going to have multiple interviews with both alumni and admissions officers where the focus of your discussion will be what you have learned and how you reacted to different work situations. Will you be able to tell a compelling story with where you are now? If not, then you need to find a place that will provide you those types of opportunities.

Having consistent work experience at a single place isn’t as important as it used to be. Universities want students who are willing to take risks (not dumb ones though). You can hop around and still tell a really compelling story if you have great recommendations from those employers and showed that you were able to generate real impact during those short intervals.

3

Hi AoDay,

I really appreciate your advice! I definitely was more happy and interested in my work when I was at the gallery – I think that is why I was able to make so much progress there and actually make a lot of effective changes there. I feel like I am on auto-pilot at my current job, and I have no interest in my work and therefore no motivation to do great work. I think I need to head back to the art world and find something that I am passionate about.