Research: How Important Is Previous Experience in the Job Hunt?
Applying for that dream job despite a lack of experience? It might be easier to try for an internship first. if you want a job as an investment banker after getting an MBA, you’re better off if you’ve already worked in investment banking. But just how important is this background? And is there any point in applying if you have, say, a consulting or even a nonprofit past? In a recent study, Paul Oyer, an economist at Stanford Graduate School of Business, found evidence of just how much hiring companies value industry experience, and which factors make them more or less risk-averse. Along with University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School's Camelia Kuhnen (who earned her PhD at Stanford GSB), Oyer examined how MBAs at a top business school applied for and received offers for summer internships and then full-time jobs. Their findings support the assumption that companies want to minimize risk when it comes to hiring decisions. For example, they found that a candidate with industry experience is 1.66 times more likely to land an internship than one without. For full-time job offers, the odds of securing an offer jump to 2.38 times more likely for a candidate with industry experience. On the other hand, the research also pinpoints the types of companies that are more willing to take a chance on someone with less certainty around their specific industry fit. Oyer’s research has direct applications for anyone looking to make a career switch via an MBA program. Read more: http://stanford.io/1PZl1mw Watch the full interview: http://stanford.io/1LPLSAC
