Transitioning from non-profit to corporate

I have five years economic development experience and I will be attend business school in the Fall to transition into either strategy consulting or real estate/public sector consulting.

My big issue right now is that I was laid off last fall and have not been able to find a new job since then. I have already been accepted into a business school that is starting this August, but now I start school in five months and I am still trying to find a job. Should I give up on trying to find a high-profile full time job and just take a job in retail to make some money before grad school or should I take an unpaid internship at some local company (I haven't had much luck with this either)? This 7 month gap on my resume looks horrendous and I don't want that to be a strike against me as I pursue recruiting opportunities this fall.

15 Comments
 

This will weaken your chances very much, that is true. Banks love IB internships and many times they hire the summer interns in large portions. The question will rise, why you haven't done anything related to finance while in undergrad. They want commitment and it is hard to tell you have it with only non-profit experience. It would be very wise to contact alumni, friends, etc...anyone you can, to arrange informal interviews and come up with a story to tell them, how you die getting into banking and how regret you have not realized this sooner.

Never give up! Watch Pursuit of Happyness (Will Smith)!

 

I have banking internship experience but am recently in between jobs and thought doing some nonprofit work while looking to secure a new one would 1) be a way to give back and do something good and 2) banks must look as it as a feather in their cap to say that they have someone who worked in a nonprofit (ACS, Peace Corps, Hunger Project, etc)..it would show they actually do care about the world as opposed to just making money off deals, which is all that does really matter to banks of course. I appreciate all the thoughts so far however.

 
Best Response

I co founded my non-profit while I was still at school and prolonged my graduation to run it and hand it over to a local hospital organisation in Haiti. I was not looked down upon by any bank in particular. Having said that, you do need a strong story of how this experience further prepares you to excel as a banker. I can say that because I am currently working in a BB. Although mine was more of an entrepreneurial venure (A social enterprise type), just treat it as any experience and extract key take aways on Leadership, Project Management and Team work. If you relay this to any interviewer effectively I think you should be fine.

 

Consider an MBA

"You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right." -Warren Buffett
 

It can be done, but you'll have a tough fight to get there. Search the forums to see if there are any relevant threads.

"Everybody needs money. That's why they call it money." - Mickey Bergman - Heist (2001)
 

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