5 Truths About Getting a Tech Job as an MBA
What you didn’t think about when you signed the $150k loan. Don’t worry, you’ll be alright.
Congrats! You’ve gotten into a top business school and you’re one step away from getting your dream job in tech. With ample opportunity in Silicon Valley — just ask the 205 HBS grads who are flocking to the Bay (Marc Andreessen says that this is a sign of the bubble, but I digress) — why settle for less?
The answer: you don’t have to. With the right head on your shoulders, you can do anything that you want to do. Sky’s the limit. While the business school firehose hits the moment you step onto campus, it’s important to remember these 5 truths if you want to land a job in tech.
Fact 1: Tech companies don’t come to school to recruit
You’ll quickly realize that most pre-IPO tech companies are not itching to send recruiters across the country. Hiring business people with little experience to do strategy work is just not their top priority, and you’re likely on your own (with the exception of select West Coast schools).
Do you only date people who willingly fall into your lap? If the answer to the question is yes, then off-campus recruiting is probably not for you. Off-campus recruiting is akin to courtship, and you must show the company your love for them before it will love you back. Put your heart on your sleeve and go with it. Seek out companies as you seek companions on Coffee Meets Bagel — be targeted, open, and assertive.
In reality off-campus job search isn’t so different from your on-campus job hunt, you just need to dig into the rolodex (yes, call your friend from high school who you haven’t talked to in over 8 years because he actually does want to catch up) and put your ego aside. Oh, don’t forget to sign up for a LinkedIn premium account and use the alum network. You are an MBA, right?
Hot tip: while a warm intro is always preferred, you should cold email liberally if your network is limited. Obviously don’t be an ass when you email, but note that it’s easy to guess the email of key execs (firstname@company.com).
Fact 2: Plan B is the new Plan A
Your school’s career services counselor will be drilling this into your head on day one, and it makes perfect sense. Priorities matter when you’re trying to set yourself up for success.
However, this message often backfires and delivers the wrong impression for students — that it’s more important to find a job than the right job. Subsequently, plan A (ie. consulting, banking) is only optimal because of timing and not because of opportunity. If you commit to spending time preparing for plan A, chances are that you will never have a chance to try plan B (ie. tech, off-campus) because tech jobs don’t start rolling until halfway into your first year of business school. That’s not to say you don’t have to do the work to nurture the relationships in the meantime. The best jobs take the best applicants, not plan B preparation.
B should stand for best.
If your priority is to get any job, then go for it — waste the only real opportunity that you have to chase your dreams with minimal consequences. Understand your priorities and your risk tolerance.
Fact 3: Gotta know a thing or two about tech — coding not required
Students from non-technical backgrounds always stress out about their inability to code. If you think every job in tech wants you to code, then you are absolutely delusional. Does Pfizer want you to be a chemical engineer/pharmacist to work in its finance department? No.
What does matter is that you know the difference between Windows vs. OS X, Fitbit vs. Jawbone, Glass vs. Oculus. Read tech news (Techcrunch, Crunchbase), listen to podcasts (a16z podcast), and understand the trends. This is the typical preparation that you’ll have to do to find a job in any industry. If you are not curious about the “why,” then why do you want to work in tech in the first place?
Hot tip: watch for the funding rounds on Crunchbase because companies tend to hire/increase headcount when they get money (duh).
Fact 4: Don’t confuse function vs. industry
Many first-year students often say “I don’t care what role I do as long as I get to work in tech.” This is where their plans go awry. Statements like that often convey the candidate’s inability to identify his/her strength or lack of interest in the company.
While you could be the most brilliant person in the candidate pool, it’s impossible to get across the finish line if you can’t get the message across. Though this process is a two way street and the company needs to make sure that a specific role sounds exciting to you, it also needs to know that you have the skills that will fit the role. Don’t work in any role for a company — go after the job that you want to do. This will not only help you narrow the scope of the research, but will also make more engaging conversations.
Fact 5: Build a portfolio
The best way to convince a company that you can do the job is by showing them your prior work. The resume is an obvious requisite, but for those who want to stand out and find the best job in tech (product manager, I know I’m biased), build a simple portfolio like this one with Squarespace, Wordpress, or HTML/CSS to share ideas that you’ve worked on. If you need a bit more structure, take a class in the design school or engineering school at your nearest campus. One day of work will pay dividends in the future.
I will be the first to admit that business school is the safer alternative to trailblazing my own path. While my risk tolerance isn’t extremely high, I took a riskier approach when it came to my career and stuck to my guns. Whenever I was derailed by the elusive consulting and banking firms, I put my blinders on and inched myself closer towards tech.
If you find yourself hedging your bets, you’ll soon learn from your strategy courses that straddling is never a winning strategy. Don’t sell yourself short and work in another job that you hate — we all know why you came to business school.
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