GeekMBA360

A reader emailed me for help:

"This year is really tough in the job market, especially for us international students. I’m looking for financial analyst,technical/engineering consulting and market/business analyst(IT/high tech related companies) jobs so that I could keep my engineering background and work on marketing side more or less. I just can’t fall in love with programming. But a little bit programming is OK."

Reply #1:

The 3 job areas that you mentioned are rather different so my first suggestion would be to narrow your focus. Otherwise, you’ll drive yourself crazy during the job hunt So please spend some time thinking about what you want from your next job, and where you want your career to go. We can then discuss which path makes the most sense as well as define next steps. I’d also like to understand any other relevant factors such as geographic preference, compensation expectations, and what you feel your strengths and weaknesses are.

Reply #2:

I was in your shoes when I came out of college. I think you’re better off to start with a technical consulting or sales engineer role. You might not like pure technical roles, but you need figure out a way to leverage your strength/skill set. Also, I tend to discourage new graduate from taking product management role — product management is a very political role and requires broad-base skill set. I think it’s better to gain some experience in a functional area such as sales engineer before taking on Product Management roles.

What advice would you offer this new graduate? Post a comment.