Ask the Experts: Studying to Get Grades Higher Versus Job Hunting
Question:
I am a college senior and have not yet decided whether to go to graduate school next year or enter the workforce. To get into, my grades have to be as high as possible. They will suffer if I spend a lot of time hunting for a job. Should I spend my time studying to get my grades higher or job hunting?
First Answer:
What a dilemna you have!!! Of course, you should use your time most
effectively and that means continuing to learn. However, you cannot ignore
the call to work and you have a few choices:
-
Make a decision to go on to Grad studies and keep on getting top grades Decide not to go to grad school and you still will need the grades in case
you change your mind, now or later -
Concentrate on your academics, but keep an ear and eye out for suitable employment opportunties but do not get distracted from you main focus which
is maintaining your academic record. If you cureently have a part-time job,
you may be able to convert it into a full time position following graduation.
Would attending career fairs be too time consuming? If there are other less time intensive ways to get your feet wet into the job hunting mode, it is
definitely worth some effort BUT not at the expense of sacrificing your
academic track record.
To put your mind a little at ease, create a Plan B for post-graduation. Say that you decide to not go directly to graduate school, think of what options
you have for an interim job until you can devote the necessary time to
finding a great one. Figure out your priorities in terms of salary required,
location, field , industry, corporate culture, etc. This will provide all
important direction to your job search and you may be able to see ways to
satisfy some if not all of your goals. Speak to your career placement office
and professors about helping you to implement plan B. The fact that you are
thinking this far in advance will impress them and you may be surprised at
how much help they are able to give you.
— Debra Feldman, founder of JobWhiz, creator of the JOBWHIZQUIZ, and specialist in cyber savvy strategic job search consultations.
Second Answer:
You really don’t have the luxury of abandoning one activity for the other. If you are applying to graduate school, the research and application and decision-making process can be as onerous, if done properly, as a job search.
The decision to enter graduate school directly after college or get some work experience first depends upon several factors, most importantly your field. If you intend to pursue a PhD in order to teach at the university level, or because you need it to practice in a field such as psychology, or are targeting medical or law school, going straight to graduate school makes sense and focusing on grades is critical. If you are on a business track, know that most MBA schools want you to have several years of work experience first; the average age of students starting full-time MBA programs is 28.
A second factor is money: you may need to work for a while to put aside money for graduate school and/or pay off undergraduate loans. Not everyone wants to complete her or his education with a six-figure debt.
A third factor is the economy. When the economy and therefore hiring are down, many students decide to continue their education rather than compete for fewer jobs and depressed salaries.
However, grades always count. Premier firms recruiting at top colleges may be interested in interviewing only those students in the top 5-10% of their class, so you can’t ease off on school work to job search. Plus, competitive graduate schools may require a minimum undergraduate GPA in order to consider you even if you decide to go to graduate school after working for a few years.
I’d advise you to balance study and job search, and pare less critical uses of your time this year, such as partying, going home on the weekend, and other social activities. Multi-tasking is an important career skill, as are self discipline and the willingness to crank up your level of effort for important projects. If you currently function best when you can concentrate on only one task at a time, seek out a time management course on campus.
— Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City.
Third Answer:
I depend on my intuition a great deal when asked questions such as yours. It is my belief you have the answer but you are looking for someone to
reinforce your decision or perhaps give creditably to the decision you are
fearful of saying aloud.
My feelings tell me you want to stay in school. Maybe because you know your chosen field expects/requires advanced degrees to be accepted. Social
service, higher education, research come to mind. Alternatively, perhaps
you are not ready to leave the protected environment of academic life. Only
you know the answer.
Ask yourself some questions, examples being:
- Do you have the resources necessary to pay further tuition? If you plan to borrow the money, be sure to factor the cost of interest into your return
on investment equation. - Will you recoup the cost of an advanced degree through higher future earnings? Some programs are very expensive, possibly costing as much as two
years of lost salary. - Do you have marriage and family plans that may be strained due to the time and monetary expense?
- Advanced degrees earned at the less than top universities may not carry the weight you feel an advanced degree should carry.
- If you have thoughts of starting your own business, an advanced degree may not help you.
- Will the advanced degree place me in a better future position for promotion and increased responsibility?
- Is the advanced degree necessary to get me in the door of my chosen specialty?
- Will an advanced degree work in reverse with employers? Some employers think advanced degree holders are over-rated, lack technical skills or
expect higher salaries than they are willing to pay. Employers may also
think such employees will leave quickly for greener pastures.
Give some thought to working and attending classes at night or on weekends. Many universities offer advanced degree programs tailored to
working people. These classes are made up of like-minded motivated
individual who may be more focused on their goal of the degree. Within such
an environment, you may find stimulation and experiences that are lacking
in classes of younger less directed students.
I hope that these questions have stimulated your thinking and perhaps caused you some introspective moments.
— Robert C. Resch, Career Center, Triton College.
Fourth Answer:
Many students manage to earn grades that are worthy of grad school
while also looking for a job during their senior year. If you make
up your mind that you cannot look for jobs while maintaining
good grades, your mindset will become a self-fulfilling prophesy, and you’ll
end up as one those students who goes to grad school — not for the right
reasons — but for lack of any other options. Don’t set yourself
up so that you have only one option. By managing your time efficiently
and setting goals, you can leave your options open. Set a goal to make
one small effort toward job-hunting each day. Samples of these small steps
might include the following:
- Develop your resume if you have not done so already.
- Brainstorm a list of potential networking contacts. See if you can come up with about 250, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t. Any number is a good
start, and the list is sure to grow. set a goal to contact a certain
number each day or week. Arrange to meet with as many contacts as possible, and always ask each one for more referrals. Send thank-you notes, and update your contacts regularly on your progress. - Make a list of companies you’d like to work for and start thinking about whom you know who might be able to help you break into your dream companies. If necessary, narrow your list of dream employers based on geographic preferences, and strategize ways to contact key people in your dream companies.
- Sign up with one or more networking site on the World Wide Web, such as Company of Friends (http://www2.fastcompany.com/friends.html). Search for and
contact people in your prospective career field and geographical preference.
Join one or more online discussion groups in your area of professional
interest. Ask members’ advice on breaking into your field. - Find out if your campus career services office keeps a database of alumni that could be added to your network. Check the alumni files of your fraternity
or sorority, too. - Find out if your university or academic department has a formal mentoring program and ask to be matched with a mentor. If no program exists, try to scout
out a mentor on your own. Alumni often make especially good mentors. - Conduct informational interviews. People working in your dream companies are excellent targets for interviews. For more about what an
informational interview
is and how to conduct one, see: http://www.quintcareers.com/informational_interviewing.html - Consider creating a “networking card,” a business card for those not yet employed, so you have something tangible to hand out to people you meet.
- Introduce yourself to every guest speaker you encounter in classes. Give them your networking card, and, if appropriate, your resume.
- Network with professors, students, and employers.
- Meet with your adviser early in your senior year for an in-depth discussion of your career goals, and ask for his or her suggestions
for people to contact. - Become active in professional organizations.
- If you have not yet done an internship or otherwise obtained practical experience in your field, set the wheels in motion to do
so before the middle of your senior year, and make as many contacts
as possible at your internship workplace. - Sign up for on-campus interviews at your university.
— Katharine Hansen, former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for the Web site, Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters.
Fifth Answer:
Without some more information about your personal circumstances, this is a difficult question to answer. You will need to determine what your priorities are, both short-term and long-term. Weight the pros and cons or your decision – let me help with that.
The pros of landing a position – you would instantly secure a source of income, which would enable you to purchase items and make life plans. However, it is probably not the best time to be looking for work — the economy has worsened and many companies have a hiring freeze on. Statistics indicated that individuals with Master’s degrees tend to make secure a more lucrative compensation package in the end. As you mentioned, your grades will suffer if you conduct a job search – another downside.
The pros of continuing your education are, you’ll be able to obtain good grades and this will open as many doors as possible for the future – you will have more options.
It is time for you to do is some “soul searching” and determine what is best for you.
— Candace Davies, Director and Founder of Cando Career Coaching and Resume Writing and All Trades Resume Writing.
