This is one of the most frequently asked questions by students gearing up for CAT prep. Working 12+ hours, 6 days a week, and then coming home to study for the CAT can initially seem daunting and make you consider this question. Students who couldn’t perform as expected this year might also think they could dedicate more hours to prep if they quit their jobs. While CAT preparation requires immense dedication and calculated planning to score in the 99th percentile, as it is more difficult than other MBA entrance exams conducted in the country.
Quitting your job creates more problems than solutions. It can create gaps in your professional career; panelists in all your interviews would raise this question. So, for most candidates, the answer to this should be NO. However, there are certain circumstances when you are determined to do more than just CAT prep, and quitting your job can be the best for you. Let’s explore some factors you should consider before making this decision:
You are burned out and drained
If you are constantly working for 10 to 12+ hours and feeling burned out, facing micromanagement, a toxic environment, your mental and physical health are bound to suffer. You are more likely to have difficulty focusing on studying and give up on CAT prep. If this is going to be your final attempt and you are determined to do an MBA, then quitting can help you clear your mind and reset your CAT prep.
However, you should be ready to do more than just CAT prep. Saying you quit your job due to stress doesn’t reflect well on your application. It gives the panelists a chance to doubt your capabilities and can impact your chances of converting a top college even after scoring 99 percentile. You should plan your career break well by indulging in activities that will enhance your profile and help you present a great pitch to the question - Why did you quit your job?
Will you be able to bounce back if the CAT doesn’t go as planned?
With close to 3 lakh people giving CAT every year and a total of 5,500 seats across all IIMs, the acceptance rate is very low. You need to be in the top 2% of candidates to have a considerable chance at getting into any of the IIMs. If you are someone who only wants to go IIM ABC, the acceptance rate drops even lower. With all these numbers in mind and the fact that CAT has become a highly unpredictable entrance exam, quitting your job is very risky.
If you have been unemployed for 8- 10 months, and for whatever reason, things don’t go your way in CAT. You will have to spend another 1-2 months looking for jobs, reaching out to people for referrals, and justifying in interviews about this career gap. Interviewers everywhere, not just in MBA interviews, will consider this gap a red flag and be hesitant to consider your candidature. Asking yourself what if it doesn’t work out before thinking of quitting your job is very important.
How will quitting affect your chances?
Even if you do any certifications, social volunteering, or internship while preparing for CAT during your career break, it won’t be equivalent to the work experience you would have had otherwise. Applying to IIMs with 10 months of work experience alongside someone who has been working for 24 months, the latter would naturally receive a better score as per the selection criteria. Not only for selection, MBA colleges put significant emphasis on work experience to maintain their placement stats as well. They want to select people who will make for better candidates than those present in the market. Thus, being able to bring in more recruiters for the college, in turn, boosts their placement statistics and subsequently improves the college's ranking. If you have a career gap that obviously recruiters won’t be too happy to see, then that automatically puts you behind and affects your selection chances.
Too much CAT prep is harmful
Realistically, most people attest that CAT prep requires 4 to 6 months of preparation. CAT is a 120-minute aptitude exam, with all three sections covering questions similar to most 10th-grade boards across India. It is in no way comparable to other strenuous exams conducted in India, like UPSC or ICAI. Even if you are planning to quit your job, you don’t require more than 3 months to prepare for CAT, if you plan to study for 8-10 hours in place of a job. Spending more time than the timelines mentioned above will end up with you getting more stressed and anxious. Doing too much of anything, even CAT prep is harmful. You are more likely to negatively impact your performance if you spend too much time preparing the same three subjects over and over again, even after covering the entire syllabus and working on your weaker areas.
In the end, you have to make your decision. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to whether or not you should quit for job for CAT preparation. However, you should consider all these factors, reach out to your mentors or people who decided to take a career break and converted to a top IIM, take a note of their personal experiences, and then take the call to quit or not.
Read More:
- FMS Vs IIM Calcutta
- Online vs Offline Coaching: Pros and Cons
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- DILR Strategies to Score a 99 Percentile
- Free Formula Book for Quants
- From a Failed UPSC Attempt to IIM-C
- From Journalism to IIM-K
- VARC Guide For Engineers
- 5 VARC Strategies to Begin Your Comprehension Game
- Staying consistent with the 6-month-long CAT journey
