Hop Along: Applying to Business School as a Job Hopper
How many jobs have you had since finishing undergrad? Three? Four? Six? Is your resume stretching onto a second page in only 3-4 years because you’ve had several jobs? When MBA Admissions Officers look at your resume, what are they going to think about all of that job hopping? Will they understand your story or be left wondering about your ability to hold a job?
If you are a millennial (born after 1978 or so), you are likely to have had more jobs since graduating than any generation before you. Actually, some estimate that millennials will have on average nine careers in their lifetime – careers, not jobs!!! Young professionals are more comfortable changing jobs and companies after being in a role for less than 18 months,which used to be the typical minimum tenure. Millennials don’t identify themselves as much with their companies and have stronger work-life balance agendas. And thus are willing to look elsewhere to find what they are looking for. Add to that an economy that has yielded lots of layoffs, unemployment and underemployment; millennials are searching to find the right jobs and won’t be bound by artificial markers like months in a job.
When an Admissions Officer reads your MBA application as a job hopper, they will be thinking primarily about one thing: Employability. “Will you be able to get a job after graduation with this resume and an MBA from their school?” If the Admissions Officer can answer that question in the affirmative, then your job hopping wasn’t that big of a deal. Otherwise…”Houston we have a problem!”
Admissions officers aren’t going to freak out about a little job hopping – they understand millennials and know that job hopping is a reality for many young professionals. So don’t freak out about your job progression – it is what it is. Instead focus on what you can do to showcase yourself as well as possible and tell your story. You want to present your situation and your job transitions in a compelling way that the admissions committee can understand.
Resume – Your resume should clearly show where you’ve worked, how long you have worked there and what you accomplished while there. The Admissions Committee will look to your resume for a quick summary of your background. Make sure there are no gaps and minimize the red flags. That means, if you had a temporary job or a short-term role, you need to include it. You may want to note the reasons for your transition on your resume (this doesn’t work for everyone but I’ve seen it done effectively). I prefer resumes that are presented in reverse chronological order (listing jobs starting from most recent) versus topical resumes (that are listed by industry), which can be choppy and hard to follow.
Essays – every school asks for essays that detail your career goals and usually expect that you will talk about your past work experience. This is not the place to give excuses for the job hopping, but rather to explain your work history in a cohesive way that shows progression and growing responsibility and impact. Generally you don’t need to separately discuss job transitions unless there is a big red flag, such as a gap of more than 6-9 months or multiple jobs where you worked for less than 6 months. In that case, address job hopping very briefly in the optional essay.
Recommendations – I am a huge fan of using recommendations to address an issue. There is nothing like an “independent” third party telling me that the potential issue isn’t an issue at all and giving me an alternative theory. Ask your recommenders to highlight those qualities that are not often associated with job hoppers, such as loyalty and commitment to the organization as well as noting the impact you were able to have even in a short period of time.
