I saw this article today and began thinking… “What are all the GEPers going to do in 6 months?” We are nearly halfway through our program and will soon have to deal with the looming reality that “school” will be over and we will need to thrust ourselves into the real world. As a graduate looking at the U.S. economy with an unemployment rate over 9% and mountains of debt towering over me – I sit here in Starbucks in the middle of China wondering if I am going to succumb to the same fate as many of my colleagues from Bentley (my undergraduate university) - spending 6 months to year after graduation interviewing with every company within a 6 hour radius of Boston…
I have asked many of the administrators/ambassadors to the GEP, how employers are reacting to students entering into the job market with a “Masters in Management and Global Entrepreneurship” line on their resume. The feedback I keep getting is always the same, hopeful but not really encouraging:
“Employers are very intrigued and interested in the Global Entrepreneurship Program and the experiences of our students…”
…Ok, but are last year’s students being offered jobs with competitive wages? Are they out there launching businesses or are they having interesting conversations with employers that ultimately lead to the parting lines: ‘thanks for your time but we have found a more fitting candidate for the position?’
Let’s be honest, the program is only in its second year and in the professional market very little is known about the GEP. So where does that leave us in the coming months? …Sure, if it was 2006 I would say that securing a job after graduation is a sure thing, but now in the current economy employers are more risk averse in their hiring practices. They want candidates that they know will pay off in the long term. Perhaps they are looking for graduates from a program with a longstanding reputation they can trust (MIT Sloan, Harvard MBA), or just maybe the combination of three highly ranked entrepreneurial universities will prove to be enough.
I invite you all to weigh in on this topic:
Are you confident enough to start your own business after graduation or are you going to try and enter into the professional job market?
Are we going to fall into the same fate as many recent graduates or will our newly acquired, unique degree be enough to overcome the long standing high unemployment rate?
-Nick
3 comments:
Did the American Dream leave the US? Although I'm not depending on New England area jobs, I'm not as skeptical as Nick, but this is very instinctive and perhaps naive..still believing that there will always be work for good people. Nick, would you be able to list companies that would hire us in a heartbeat in 2006 that will not do it now? Those that would / will.. are they truly paying less at entry-level positions than they did some years ago, or are they simply hiring less people?
I understand the GEP is a very busy program, but how are the networking opportunities? Is it possible to work over seas after graduation.
I think it is all how you sell your experience and the degree to an employer. It is an incredible experience, let people know that with enthusiasm.
Hey, remember that u have been telling me that people with experiences in China are now very well welcomed in the States? I guess at least this could be an advantages of GEPers though it is just 4 months. Be optimisic and let's fight for the best!
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