Diary of an Unemployed MBA

@PatrioticMarine, thanks! It was totally my own in...

2011-10-22T19:33:06.977-07:00

@PatrioticMarine, thanks! It was totally my own insecurities that made me think it. :) Good luck to you too!

It's me, that Trojan alum that contacted you a...

2011-10-20T12:39:36.074-07:00

It's me, that Trojan alum that contacted you about your situation. I am so happy things are going well. Congrats on the new addition to your family! To clarify, I never thought you were sad or pathetic, but I did empathize with your situation because of my own. Again, I am very happy to hear that things have improved and you easily transition back to the working world when you're ready.

Very cool that you got a job at videogame company....

2011-10-02T21:42:10.763-07:00

Very cool that you got a job at videogame company. I've always wanted to do that. I'm a 20-something unemployed MBA grad as well. I'm trying to find anything that's not accounting or going back to Asia to teach ESL again. lol.

(theglobalvagabond.com/absolutesl.com)

Edward, Thanks for your comment! That's actual...

2011-09-08T20:33:27.286-07:00

Edward, Thanks for your comment! That's actually the reason I went for my MBA as well - to move forward in my field. Good luck to you!

Dear Chris, Perspective from someone in his mid-3...

2011-07-21T11:11:43.414-07:00

Dear Chris,

Perspective from someone in his mid-30's. I don't have an MBA, but I'm a VP at an investment bank. I see A LOT of resumes with MBAs even for the entry level analyst position. Those are automatically rejected. Why? Because the feeling is that an MBA will move on to a better position, at least a mid-level position, once the job market improves.

Now, having said that, I'm actually going for a USC Executive MBA this Fall. The thing is that often times an MBA doesn't help you get a job, but it will help you move forward in your current job/career field. My goal is to move on to a principal level in my industry, and all those guys have MBAs.

There is currently legislation in Congress to add ...

2011-03-27T20:55:11.672-07:00

There is currently legislation in Congress to add unemployment as a class that cannot be discriminated against, to deal with the very ilk of these sickening advertisements...contact your congressmen/women for support

While I don't agree with these types of hiring...

2010-06-10T17:34:22.970-07:00

While I don't agree with these types of hiring processes, I can understand the rationale.

1) It's a filter. Just like your post a while back about asking for undergrad GPA or whatnot, it's just a way to reduce the still hundreds of applicants per job even though it doesn't necessarily mean that employed people are better candidates than unemployed people. (I keep hearing the job market is getting better but I still keep hearing that every job gets like 100+ applicants.)

2) The happiness/desperation factor. It sort of makes sense to want someone "content" at a job to fill in a position. It's like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. This candidate is fulfilled in terms of his/her basic needs and can fulfill the next level of achieving success or some BS like that. Someone unemployed will get desperate for a job and may act the part to get it but may not be in the right state of mind. I don't know. It made more sense in my head. My sister was the psych major, not me.

3) It's not about helping the economy, nor is it about being productive. I'm pretty sure if it was you or I in the hiring position, we wouldn't give a rats ass how the economy is. We're just trying to get the best person for the job.

Again, I'm not saying that I would do it or that it's justified. This type of hiring (along with the GPA requirement) is like being that guy or girl with really strict dating requirements. Like the girl who would only date guys 6 feet tall or guys who would only date blonds. You're really not going to give someone a chance because they're 5 foot 11? Or because they're brunette. In the end, they're missing out.

-ken

That is a pretty nice cake for your first time! I...

2010-06-08T10:43:47.908-07:00

That is a pretty nice cake for your first time! I am SO jealous of your awesome tool kit! All of my decorating supplies are in zip lock bags! I think it's time I upgraded.

Hopefully we will both inspire each other to blog more. :-)

I know tons of people who opened up their own busi...

2010-05-30T16:23:44.895-07:00

I know tons of people who opened up their own business and are thriving. One of my friends (also an MBA) became a rich restauranteur. He specializes in 24/7 service. Another university grad friend started a statistics outsourcing company http://www.outsourcestatistics.com Essentially, he just does statistical analysis for companies from all over the world.

Things are tough for all, but they manage to get by and once this crisis is over, they will either have experience or a thriving company, or both. In all cases, they are attractive hires. My advice to you is to do the same: start your own company!

God bless you.

somebody sounds jealous of MBAs . . . and entirely...

2010-05-19T15:45:19.365-07:00

somebody sounds jealous of MBAs . . . and entirely uneducated.

chris: you ARE picky. with your mba, you think ...

2010-05-19T06:59:19.108-07:00

chris:
you ARE picky. with your mba, you think you deserve to be the CEO of another ebay and that any job paying less than $1,000,000 a year is beneath you. working more than 8 hours a day at that last job was slave labor. enjoy unemployment while whining about the economy.

TormentorSioux

Dear Anonymous - Actually I'm not that picky...

2010-05-17T11:10:54.636-07:00

Dear Anonymous -

Actually I'm not that picky...That would mean that I have a bunch of job offers and have been turning them down because they're not my dream job...I wish that was the case but sadly, I have not had such luck.

Great post & I'm glad you have that perspe...

2010-05-13T10:52:31.411-07:00

Great post & I'm glad you have that perspective!!

First off, Dinah Shore weekend looks amazing! Any ...

2010-05-13T10:03:26.427-07:00

First off, Dinah Shore weekend looks amazing! Any idea when it is next year?

Second, I would agree with Rach, maybe you could open a cute little neighborhood bakery for now? You're so creative, you should take advantage of all of your skills!

Third, Anonymous doesn't get the point . . . you're not too picky, the market is just so competitive that it's really just a numbers game. That's why I think you say screw the job search, and start your own thing instead. I think you would be very successful!

you are too picky, waiting for that , aptly named,...

2010-05-12T05:57:49.417-07:00

you are too picky, waiting for that , aptly named, dream job, which will probably never materialize.

TormentorSioux

Start a Cakery!

2010-04-30T09:52:48.734-07:00

Start a Cakery!

Hey - just found your blog and wanted to wish you ...

2010-04-28T18:10:54.918-07:00

Hey - just found your blog and wanted to wish you luck on the hunt. I assume the job was for something technical and if not, then perhaps the interviewer was still hoping for some kind of technical familiarity. I hope you find a job soon! Come by and visit us sometime, maybe we can help: http://the405club.com - (Un)Employment Support Network on $405/week but rich in talent!
Oh and we should feature your blog on our Sunday Blog Brunch feature soon! Just answer the questions in this form: http://the405club.wufoo.com/forms/sunday-blog-brunch/.
Hope to hear from you!
-Garrett
The 405 Club

Dude! There is no way they should be asking you if...

2010-03-22T09:19:21.670-07:00

Dude! There is no way they should be asking you if you know what HTML looks like if you aren't applying for a web designer or programmer. Did the job description say anything about sending out email blasts or updating a website? What the heck?

In order, this is what stood out to me from your p...

2010-03-22T09:02:55.524-07:00

In order, this is what stood out to me from your post:

1) 2.5 hours for one interview??? Absolutely brutal. I can understand 2.5 hours in the aggregate of a few interviews but that is longer than any interview should ever take.

2) You've never seen The Matrix???

3) Then the HTML thing. I'm guessing it's an tech/internet company that you're interviewing with?

LOL. I used to say insulting things about USC all ...

2010-03-08T22:10:07.770-08:00

LOL. I used to say insulting things about USC all the time...before I went there of course!! Who knew you had to step in both sides of the equation to get some perspective!

I think you should be proud of yourself for: 1) ge...

2010-03-08T18:57:33.644-08:00

I think you should be proud of yourself for:
1) getting IN TO graduate school,
2) COMPLETING graduate school;
and,
3) putting up with morons who say insulting things about USC! (And that could even include me as a UCLA alum!).

It'll all pay off in the long run and you'll have the last LOL!!!

Great perspective. I think a lot of MBAs and futu...

2010-03-08T15:42:18.231-08:00

Great perspective. I think a lot of MBAs and future MBAs walk into school thinking that it's all rainbows and unicorns and they'll be handed their dream job upon graduation and everyone lives happily ever after. Pretty unrealistic considering you just took yourself out of the workforce for 2 years and half us are career switchers. And then in our case, the economy took a fat dump when we graduated.

It's okay. We're just spotting everyone else a head start before we make our millions.

-Ken

I ask myself the question all the time, too. If I ...

2010-03-08T09:22:40.322-08:00

I ask myself the question all the time, too. If I have a child, I'm going to assess the crap out of him/her and determine the perfect career path for him/her. And then I'm going to hook him/her up with the best job straight out of undergrad (ok, maybe a year out for soul searching/world travels). Oh, and one rule: NO GRAD/PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS!
Ok, who wants to be my kid? Any takers?

So well put. We are not fighting a battle here, th...

2010-03-08T07:57:20.123-08:00

So well put. We are not fighting a battle here, this is a bloody war!

you should be Gwyneth's ghost blogger

2010-03-04T01:25:04.919-08:00

you should be Gwyneth's ghost blogger