Location and Education

It has occurred to me during my continued job search, as of late, that 2 issues have risen to the top of my mind.

The first is the question of strategy in terms of location. Location is an extremely important consideration for my job search. No doubt, I must be open to taking an opportunity where I can find it, but there is no question that there are certain cities I am more drawn to.

Thus, my strategy has been to reach out to complete strangers and ask to meet with them, and then visit my cities of interest and talk to as many people as possible in a 1,2 or 3 week period.

This approach has been successful in terms of securing interviews, but no offers yet. I take the responsibility for not performing to my potential in some interviews, but overall I have interviewed well and cannot expect perfection of myself. I have found that many companies I have interviewed with decide to put positions on hold or choose another candidate, telling me that they had many outstanding candidates to choose from.

Though I have been close to offers, I believe, on several occasions, I am certainly questioning whether or not to move to one of my cities of interest. Some think that this would increase my chances of receiving an offer, while others believe that I need to continue to do what I’m doing and that where I am living is not a make or break deal.

From a financial point of view, it is not practical for me to move without first receiving a job offer. I am willing to take an internship and work a second job, but if finance was not an issue whatsoever, I would undoubtedly move to a city for the sole purpose of networking more consistently. On the other hand, if I move to a city in my current financial situation and work 1 or 2 stopgap jobs, I seriously doubt the time and energy I have left will be sufficient to secure a job of interest.

I continue to grapple with this issue.

The other major issue on my mind has been education. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in English and many people have told me that a Master’s Degree in PR or Communications is not a substitute for experience. Many have said that if a hiring manager sees a Master’s Degree on my resume, but no long-term full-time experience beyond internships, that I will be at a disadvantage because it will seem that I require more compensation than other candidates.

Lately I have been seriously considering an MBA-Marketing. There are several top 30 MBA programs that offer this specialized MBA in Marketing. While the number of MBA’s is increasing, it remains an advanced degree in higher demand than an MA or MS. This seems to be the consensus among people I have talked with and the opinions I have read online.

Probably the most interesting viewpoint I’ve encountered on the MBA is that one should not consider it as a last resort when they cannot land a job. I think there is a lot of value in having a concrete reason for pursuing an MBA, mainly so that you can tell a hiring manager the specific goals you wanted to achieve by earning an MBA.

An MBA without a well-thought out career path may be a risky option.

However, for me and many others like me going through an extended job search, one has to look at all options on the table. If an MBA is a better option than a Masters, which it appears to be, I see no reason why I shouldn’t take the GMAT and be prepared to apply for MBA programs of interest. In all honesty, I am sure that I can think of specific reasons that I decided to earn a Marketing MBA. I know right now that because my background is in PR and journalism, it would make me more versatile.

The question of volunteering may be for another post, but it is something I am seriously considering.

The reality is that there is no ideal choice that is completely within my control–the job or internship offer is what I need, and any company that gives me that opportunity won’t be sorry.