29 Ive League Grad Career Changer - Can I turn things around?
Hey guys, lurking here for some time. I'm trying to transition into Asset Management/investment banking, my career has been a shitshow but I'm holding out that there's still some hope and it's not to late to right the ship and turn things around
-29, Cornell graduate, Government Major, 2.94 GPA
-5 years online advertising experience, 2 years sales experience for Investopedia, #1 Sales Manager on the national sales team for new business won (ultimately laid off for drop in performance 2nd year)
-Additional experience as an Account Manager at Seeking Alpha (left to pursue raise at Investopedia) and Business Insider (laid off after 6 months)
As you can see my career and education has been filled with many highs and many lows. Not to mention, after I got laid off at Investopedia I went on a 9 month backpacking trip around the world. I just returned a month ago. So now I have this big gap on my resume. I want to apply to an MBA program and break into finance. Do you guys think I have a realistic shot at breaking into a program that can get me there? Any recommendations on schools I could apply to? Is it too late for me? Have I made too many mistakes in my career?
Before I left this job I was making about $140K at Investopedia - I can continue making that amount most likely if I break back into online advertising sales - but I believe my total compensation in my career will probably top out at around $200K. Is making this change even worth it if I'm able to pull it off?
Appreciate any insights and advice as I feel I'm really at a crossroads...
Yea, you have a shot. If you can get a good GMAT and piece together a compelling story, you'll be fine.
In short, yes you can.
Here's the steps:
Take the GMAT. Make sure you score a 700+ at a bare minimum, and ideally a 740+ given your low GPA. Do whatever it takes, retake the exam as often as you can until you can hit these thresholds (within reason - don't take it like 10 times or even like 5 times, but don't be afraid to retake it 2-3 times)
Apply to b-school. Don't limit yourself to just H/S/W. Look at 2-3 top 8's (Booth, Columbia, and one of H/S/W) and say 3 top 16's that have strong finance recruiting (Stern, Yale, Cornell).
Should you get in, join the finance clubs, make sure you do well on the finance and accounting classes in particular, go to all the finance recruiting events (as much as you can), network like crazy, and have your fellow ex-banker classmates convince you that going into banking is insane and that you'll regret it (which is why they're in b-school - to get out of banking, and some to get out of finance entirely).
Profit.
if you can get into a "quantitative" program (may be biased, but at least Booth, MIT, maybe NYU Stern and CMU Tepper) then it will really help with your credibility to do well in finance.
They let Cornell grads use the Ivy tag these days?
Pretty much, what MBAApply said.
Your GPA isn't horrible, but won't help you. You need to ace the GMAT for sure to even be considered for top 20 because your work experience isn't all that interesting. What do you mean by a financial analyst? Just corporate finance? You should be able to swing that at a F500 company right now where you can spin your "auditing" experience into finance-related stories. I can see why it'd be difficult though.
1) If you can get into anything Asset Management/investment banking now, I'd suggest you do it. That'll look great for post-MBA employer 2) You can apply for am/ib jobs and MBA at the same time. Don't do a MS in Finance, as their recruiting isn't as robust in general (unless you can get into the MITs of the world, which I doubt you can). 3) You won't be able to get into a big 4 right now, at least not for ib. Their recruiting for entry level is extremely structured, and there is no benefit to even have that on resume for a smaller accounting firm.
What I'd suggest right now is to work hard at your current job, get promoted, ace GMAT, and get great letter of recommendations, while putting the searching for a new gig on the backburner. You will get looked at for corpfin at a reputable MBA program, as it isn't really all that competitive (Most people want to do banking and consulting)
As above, you do have a shot to switch if you 1) study for GMAT and 2) get into B-school, but let me ask you something else: Are you currently employed or are you coming off the 9-month gap? What you do next really depends on that.
If you are employed, the above recommendations for prioritizing B-school make sense. If you are coming back from backpacking, you're in a tougher spot because you are likely looking at Fall 2017 matriculation which is more than a year away. What are you going to from now until then besides applying and studying for the GMAT and how will that look on your application that you will have been out of work for 2 years by the time you start?
Also, fully agree with not limiting yourself to H/S/W or even the top 16 schools. Given the negatives (GPA, work history) in your background, you may also need to think about schools outside of that range.
That said, the answer to "do I have a shot" is a resounding yes if you go out there right now and start pounding the pavement to make it happen.
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