Tech Layoffs Continue To Mount, And B-Schools Are Standing By To Help

As Tech Layoffs Mount, More B-Schools Offer Admission Support

Full-time MBA students at the University of Virginia’s Darden School. The school is hoping some laid-off tech workers consider joining its next MBA cohort

Through the first six weeks of 2023, nearly 140,000 in the tech industry have lost their jobs — more than half the total layoffs in the sector for all of 2022.

That’s according to True Up, a website dedicated to monitoring the tech bloodbath that includes major layoffs at Amazon, Twitter, Microsoft, and most recently Dell, which fired 6,650 — 5% of its workforce — on February 6.

Amid the historic downsizing, business schools have rushed to grab some of that unemployed talent. More than a dozen top U.S. schools have made admission easier for the laid-off via entrance exam waivers, extended application deadlines, admission counseling, and even fellowships. In mid-January, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business announced that its third round would switch to rolling admission, with three separate deadlines through the spring. On February 16, the University of Michigan Ross School of Business added a Round 4 to its full-time MBA admissions calendar, with a deadline of May 1. “In the midst of these uncertain times,” the school writes in announcing the move, “Ross welcomes potential applicants that could be considering a career pivot and may need more time to consider the next steps for their work and education.”

And on February 20, the University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business joined the throng, adding a fourth MBA admission round, with a deadline of May 11.

AT DARDEN, ROLLING ADMISSION IN ROUND 3

Led by Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, which made highly publicized overtures to laid-off techies in November (and extended its test waiver in January), one by one the leading U.S. B-schools have reached out to the masses of newly unemployed product managers, engineers, and other tech staff at companies large and small; see the bottom of this page for links to our coverage.

With few exceptions, tech is one of the top three most-sought-after sectors for graduating MBAs, after consulting and finance. At Virginia Darden, it is third, with such mega-companies as Amazon, Microsoft, Dell, Facebook, and Google among those listed by the school as hiring the most 2022 graduates. In 2021, 18.9% of Darden’s MBA class went to work in tech, with a mean base salary of just over $130,000.

Darden’s biggest offer to laid-off techies in 2023 is a major change to its spring application schedule. Rather than a single deadline of April 5, the school is slating three separate Round 3 deadlines:

  • March 1, with decision notification by 31 March
  • April 1, with decision notification by 30 April
  • May 1, with decision notification by 31 May

Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke, writing an announcement January 13, adds that the school will continue to consider applications even after May 1.

DARDEN ‘COMMITTED TO TEST FLEXIBILITY’

As for entrance exams, often a sticking point for those with ample experience and little time, Darden “remains committed to test flexibility in the application process,” according to the school’s admission page.  The school accepts scores from a range of standardized tests, and “students who are able to present strong alternative evidence of their ability to thrive in the Darden community may apply for a test waiver.”

“Amid rapid changes in the employment market, it’s clear that there are many prospective students who are reconsidering an MBA — or exploring the degree for the first time,” Dawna Clarke says in a January blog post.

“These changes to our traditional Round 3 are simply an effort to accommodate our applicants, offering the potential security of admission to a top MBA program on the timeline that works best for them.”

SEE MORE OF P&Q'S COVERAGE OF THE TECH LAYOFFS AND THE RESPONSE OF GRADUATE BUSINESS EDUCATION:

DUKE FUQUA ADDS FOURTH MBA ADMISSION ROUND

DARTMOUTH TUCK OFFERS TEST WAIVERS FOR LAID-OFF WORKERS

INSIDE NYU STERN'S UNIQUE OFFER TO LAID-OFF TECH WORKERS

2 TECH-HEAVY B-SCHOOLS JOIN THOSE WOOING LAID-OFF WORKERS

MORE B-SCHOOLS MAKE OVERTURES TO LAID-OFF TECH WORKERS

UCLA & CORNELL ARE THE LATEST SCHOOLS TO MAKE A PLAY FOR TECH WORKERS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS

IN THE HEART OF SILICON VALLEY, A SOFT LANDING FOR THE LAID-OFF

ATTENTION LAID-OFF TECH WORKERS: THIS TOP-5 B-SCHOOL WANTS YOU TO CONSIDER AN MBA

KELLOGG EXTENDS TEST WAIVER THROUGH ROUND 3, CONTINUING ITS OVERTURE TO LAID-OFF TECH WORKERS