Last week, I had former student in my office. He was about to graduate and he was talking about getting his MBA. He wanted to do it part time while he was working, but he did not have a job lined up yet. When he told me that he planned to start in the Fall, I asked why he hadn’t considered starting this summer.
He looked at me quizzically and asked, “Why would anyone want to start in the summer?”
On one level, I understand the sentiment. I enjoyed my summers off too and I understand that many students are just trying to graduate, but at your graduation dinner, your mom is going to ask what you are going to do next. You want to tell her something better than “I don’t know.”
It would be great to tell her you have a job lined up and you are starting in two weeks, but very few students are lucky enough to have this arranged on the day that they receive their diplomas. Worse, you will be competing with an entire crop of new students who will be flooding the job market at the same time.
Imagine that it is mid-July, and you are still searching for a job. This is statistically likely. It takes 3-9 months for most graduates to find their first real job after graduation and roughly half of new graduates will have to live at home (which may be why mom is so concerned). You are in an interview at Awesome Job, Inc. Your prospective employer asks, “What have you been doing since you graduated?” What are you going to tell him?
If I was an employer and I had to choose between a graduate who had taken the initiative to begin a graduate degree and an equally qualified graduate who had not improved his résumé since commencement, I would look more favorably at the hard charger. Starting now demonstrates your value to your future employer as past performance is one of the best indicators of future performance.
Start now. Even without a job, you could tell mom you already have a plan in place when she asks, “What you are doing next?”
If you are interested in getting a MBA or Master of Arts in Org. Leadership, contact Richard German cgerman@csuniv.edu and he will get you started. You can complete your degree part-time on campus or online. Just get started.
If you are not going to continue with formal education, do something with your time that demonstrates growth. Volunteer for a non-profit related to your industry. Read a dozen books specifically about your target industry. Begin an internship while you are searching for the right job. Even an unpaid internship will set you apart from the pack. Just do something. Your future-self will thank you.
-Darin Gerdes
______________
Dr. Darin Gerdes is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the School of Business at Charleston Southern University. All ideas expressed on www.daringerdes.com are his own.
