2 Tech-Heavy B-Schools Join Those Wooing Laid-Off Workers

Two business schools where tech is dominant are joining the effort to lure to the hallowed halls of academia the reeling industry’s droves of recently laid-off workers.

UC-Berkeley Haas School of Business, the top-ranked public business school in the United States and a hub for tech recruitment for many years, and Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, which regularly sends between one-fifth and one-third of its MBA grads into the sector, are announcing new overtures to the tens of thousands of tech workers fired in waves of industry layoffs in 2022.

The B-schools join Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Indiana Kelley School of Business in making highly publicized enticements to veterans of Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Shopify and others laid off in the last year. One website that tracks tech firings estimates that more than 200,000 have been let go in more than 1,200 layoffs since last December; another counts more than 860 layoffs leading to more than 130,000 jobs lost since the start of 2022.

HAAS OFFERS APP FEE WAIVER & DEADLINE EXTENSION

Sitting in the epicenter of tech in the San Francisco Bay Area, UC-Berkeley is uniquely situated to take a leadership role in offering relief to displaced tech workers. The school’s full-time and Evening & Weekend MBA programs both have significant tech inclinations; the school’s Tech Club is a recognized platform for future tech leaders.

In its full-time MBA Class of 2022 employment report, Haas reports that 32.9% of graduating MBAs entered the industry, down slightly from 34.1% last year. Just under a decade ago, 43.4% of the Haas MBA Class of 2014 went into tech. This year only the University of Washington Foster school of Business, in Seattle, sent more MBAs into tech: 45%.

Eric Askins, executive director of full-time MBA admissions at Haas, points to the B-school’s defining principles — in particular going “Beyond Yourself” — as motive and motivation for Berkeley’s support for recently unemployed techies and others.

“We realize the recent layoffs have had significant impact right here in our own backyard,” he says. “So we have chosen to support our community — and communities beyond the Bay Area — by offering prospective candidates who have been laid off in the last six months, regardless of industry or location, an application fee waiver and more time to prepare to ensure that their applications can be successful.

“In addition, we’ll be providing some guidance on how candidates can address employment gaps — something that’s useful beyond simply business school applications.”

FEE WAIVER, EXTENSION FOR FULL-TIME MBA ONLY

What will that guidance look like? Askins notes that Haas runs an application prep series which includes framing one’s leadership experience. “We will cover ‘How to address employment gaps’ at these events,” he tells Poets&Quants. “We will follow with a series of short videos on how to position yourself, which I believe are useful beyond MBA applications.”

Askins says potential applicants can apply by visiting  https://applynow.haas.berkeley.edu/apply/ and selecting “Currently unemployed due to a lay off which occurred from June 1, 2022 to February 2, 2023” on the fee waiver page. Candidates will not be asked to “provide any proof of layoff,” he adds, “nor are we limiting by industry.” Rather, “Your resume should reflect your current employment status.”

Haas’ full-time MBA round 2 deadline is January 5. Candidates who have applied for the fee waiver will have until February 2, 2023 to submit their application for the program and still be considered in round 2. A decision notification will be made by March 23.

Only Haas’ full-time program — and not its Evening & Weekend, executive, or online programs — is open to the fee waiver and deadline extension, Askins says.

GEORGIA TECH OFFERS FELLOWSHIPS, TEST WAIVERS

Like UC-Berkeley but located on the other side of the country from Silicon Valley, Georgia Tech is a long-time tech feeder school. One-fifth of its past two graduating classes found work in the industry; in 2020, the total was closer to one-third. Scheller’s part-time MBA also contributes significantly to the tech world.

Fitting, then, that the Scheller College would join its peers in offering techies a place to land after their dismissal. Among the “areas of support” offered by Georgia Tech:

• A select number of designated fellowships (full tuition scholarships)
• Access to a specialized admissions counselor and career coach to guide in the MBA decision-making process
• An application fee waiver
• GMAT/GRE test-optional admission

“This economic downturn holds unique opportunity. Let us help you turn the tables,” says Dave Deiters, executive director of the Jones MBA Career Center at Scheller, in a blog post. “Beyond providing a future-ready curriculum, our top five ranked career services have a proven track record for helping students transform their careers, whether that’s through advancing in their current trajectory or making a substantial career pivot.

“The future is bright for you, and we’re eager to help in any way.”

Georgia Tech’s full-time MBA round 2 deadline is January 5.

DON’T MISS ATTENTION LAID-OFF TECH WORKERS: A TOP-5 B-SCHOOL WANTS YOU TO CONSIDER GETTING AN MBA and MORE B-SCHOOLS MAKE OVERTURES TO LAID-OFF TECH WORKERS