Hey all. I'm a first year associate at a VC firm, and I'm considering going to business school after 2 years here. I'm wondering whether it makes sense to share this information with my bosses or whether it makes sense to keep it under wraps.
So I used to work at MBB, where it's very much the norm to be very upfront and open about your intentions to go to business school, so it didn't even occur to me to try and be secretive about it at my current job until I had a conversation with a friend of mine who's at a hedge fund.
His stance was that it would be stupid to tell people that I'm thinking about leaving for business school, because they would screw me over during bonus season if I already had a foot out the door.
Would love some other opinions on this.
You want to maintain the option to do either - MBA or continue working long-term. There is no upside in telling your employer your intentions before actually applying. However, once you are in the process of applying, you would ask for a recommendation from your boss (but not until you know 100% sure you are going). If the firm asks you about your long-term career intentions, you could say you would consider earning an MBA but would prefer to stay at your current firm long-term (even if you don't).
An issue could arise if you apply to schools and don't get in or choose not go go. They were expecting you to leave, then things out of your control happen and now you are shit out of luck. Saw it happen to an Associate who only applied to 2 top schools and didn't get in. He was forced to lateral because the firm already had already hired a replacement for him.
So seems like a bit of a catch-22. If I ask my boss for a rec letter, they then know, and if I don't get in to the schools I want to go to, I'm screwed.
Any way to mitigate that?
And is there any validity to my friend's theory on getting screwed on your bonus if they know you're leaving? Is it better then to apply R3 so bonuses are over and done with?
Any way to mitigate that? You need to figure out how serious you are about business school. I always suggest people apply to at least 2 safety schools. If you do some honest (stress on the word honest) self-reflection, general research and networking you can easily determine which schools are a longshot for you and which are a sure win. If you’re serious about an MBA and will leave regardless because you want the education, you should at least have one acceptance if you hedge your bets by applying to 2 safety schools.
And is there any validity to my friend's theory on getting screwed on your bonus if they know you're leaving? Is it better then to apply R3 so bonuses are over and done with? Dude – you need to navigate your own professional relationships and firm culture. The answer to this question can be drastically different depending on who you work for. Your friends experience, for the most part (not entirely), is somewhat irrelevant. We can’t blanket every situation based on your friends experience. When I did PE recruiting I was very open and honest with an MD at my BB. He was supportive. I knew we had a strong relationship and I could leverage that. Others who go through PE recruiting can’t be that open with their BB MD. The same applies here. Figure out the dynamic at your firm. The best people to talk to would be junior people who have left your firm already. They will be much more insightful about what you may experience at your shop than your friend will. Also, applying R3 to any top school is generally always worse than applying R1 or R2.
On a separate note, at some point in your career you will not be able to preserve multiple paths/options. The more experience you get the more pressure you have to commit to something. If you can somehow preserve both paths, that’s awesome. Otherwise, do some reflection on your long-term goals and commit to MBA or not. To be frank, your firm may decide they don’t want you beyond 2 years. In that case, they may be helpful getting you into a top program.
Appreciate the response. You're right, I need to navigate my firm's relationships/culture for myself, but at the same time, I don't see the harm in crowdsourcing to see if other's had gone through a similar experience.
I think that my firm has a very supportive culture, and it never even occurred to me to be secretive about anything, but my friend's comments were so out of left field that I can't help that think that I might be being naive.
Do not apply third round. I think he means you need to be committed to going to business school before you ask your boss for a rec, which is absolutely true. So you would need to have taken the GMAT and taken care of everything else (choosing your schools, lining up your bschool resume, getting everything in order).
I made the mistake of telling my boss I was thinking about business school about a year into my job and he convinced me not to go. I work in the O&G space and he knew I was unhappy with my position (pay, opportunities, etc.) and he knew I was thinking about leaving for anther job or potentially applying to business school a year later....which got me added to the most recent lay-off list. Big mistake to let your boss know you're thinking about business school - he is not your friend, don't ever forget that.
I'd make sure that you have your ducks in a row(resume/application prepped, GMAT done, etc) and basically only need to ask your boss for a potential reference.
If you're a first year, I'd also wait until you're a little closer to needing to apply.
To me the best time to float the idea is if you have any form of 1 on 1 with your boss where you're talking about your future and pose it as a question to him. So if he asks about your long term plans say that you love tech/venture thinking about staying in it forever, maybe work at a port co blah blah and then say another route some of your peers have taken is B school. What are his thoughts on B school?
To me that would be a soft way of seeing what his thoughts are and whether or not they would keep you around at the fund. If you end up loving VC and have the opportunity to move up at the same firm(even though that is pretty rare) that door might open up if you do well enough.
Long short of it is, don't say anything now, try and gauge a response from your boss on his opinions on Bschool/your future at the firm, if you decide you want to go, ask a month or so before you need a req and have a good story as to why you're going to Bschool.
I agree with this guy.
Agree with the logic that there is no upside to telling anyone before you are 100% sure. Also, if you can't get into a decent B-School after working for a VC, B-School isn't going to help you either way.
Also curious - why are you considering B-School? VC is generally seen as on the far right end of the distribution, as far as placements go.
Telling your boss (at buyside firm) you're thinking about business school? (Originally Posted: 10/09/2016)
Hey all. I'm a first year associate at a VC firm, and I'm considering going to business school after 2 years here. I'm wondering whether it makes sense to share this information with my bosses or whether it makes sense to keep it under wraps.
So I used to work at MBB, where it's very much the norm to be very upfront and open about your intentions to go to business school, so it didn't even occur to me to try and be secretive about it at my current job until I had a conversation with a friend of mine who's at a hedge fund. His stance was that it would be stupid to tell people that I'm thinking about leaving for business school, because they would screw me over during bonus season if I already had a foot out the door.
Would love some other opinions on this.
Fair question. It's really 2 main things.
1) The network. I value this a lot, not just from a professional standpoint, but also a personal one.
2) The opportunity to take a step back, try some shit in a low-risk, structured environment (including possibly starting my own company), and come out with a clearer sense of my career goals.
Hell, I may come to the realization that my current firm is exactly where I want to be and come back if the offer's on the table, but I know I would feel better about that decision if I took a step away and gave it some more serious thought first. Now, I know you don't get to keep doors open forever and at some point you have to pick a lane, but if the option is there to go to a great business school and explore a little bit without closing any doors, that's a very attractive option for me.
Frankly, I think it's more than likely going to be an ROI-negative decision for me and likely won't lead to a "better" job, but maximizing my net worth and the prestige of my job title aren't the only two things I care about.
Totally makes sense. I've always been committed to trying to start my own company down the line. I figure, if you can be debt free and own some cash generating assets in the 25-30 age range (which is totally feasible if you work IB -> buyside), there's very limited downside.
That said, if I were going to use an educational program as a launching point, I'd probably go for one of the longer term coding academies (not cause I have any delusions about becoming a coding whiz kid or that translating into instant success, but more for the network and the lower opportunity cost). The time I spent in MBA classes in my MSF program turned me off from the concept; however, I assume the quality at a top 5 program (vs. my top 20 program) would make a significant difference in the network quality.
Good luck man, cheers!
depends on the boss man. some will stick out to help you, and others will box you as much as you can and make you a slave of their salary and "growth within the company"
From what I've seen, most VC firms only want you to stay 2-3 years and then have you leave to go work at a portfolio company or launch your own startup. It's not like an investment bank or accounting firm where they might want to grow you into a MD/partner. Given that, they should be quite supportive of whatever your next move is.
That being said, you do need to feel out the situation and your boss. I wouldn't start talking about a MBA or your next job if you just started at the firm. On the other hand, if you've worked there a year or two and are on good terms with your boss then definitely bring it up.
Depends on your relationship with your boss. If it is strong, you can spin initial conversations as trying to get advice. If it's not as strong, simply approaching him about your plans should be fine. Naturally, people who went through MBA programs themselves tend to be more perceptive of the idea.
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