Looking for advice/opinions here,
So this past December I received my MIS degree from the University of Florida and want to obtain a position as a Business Analyst. After I graduated I was offered a place to stay from my older brother in Orlando, FL. I accepted his offer and this is an amazing set-up for myself as I can pretty much live rent free while I search for a job, and when I find a job I will be paying an INCREDIBLY low rent to stay here. Additionally I enjoy the central location in the state, as well as being in a metro area.
Now as you can tell it's mid-March… and I still haven’t found any decent leads into a Junior BA type position in Orlando. I realize the Orlando job market is greatly service based, and “corporately” is considered “weak” or at best isn’t as strong as other metro cities in the US. Also I have done some light reading (read: internet skimming) about the economic status and how the job market isn’t the greatest right now.
Which brings me to my dilemma: do I start looking nation-wide to just focus in on getting that first Jr. BA position -- while giving up my extremely low cost of living, and numerous other personal positives for staying in Orlando -- or should I stick it out in Orlando until I find a position here?
Thanks if advance guys!
Give what you've explained about the Orlando job landscape you should consider working for one of the large consulting firms (Accenture, E&Y, Deloitte, etc.) as a junior consultant/analyst.
Here are the benefits as I see it:
I'm assuming you're not married and have no kids => this is the best time in your life to try this type of career; it is hard work but you'll gain awesome experience which will give you a great springboard for your future career.
- Adrian
Funny you mention that Adrian ;)
During my last semester in school I had checked out KPMG based out of Tampa, FL (before my older brother's offer). To make a long story short I passed both on campus interviews, was accepted to their office visit, had an aditional three interviews and was told decisions would be made within a week. Well almost two months passed and I finally received a corporate (read: very short and ambiguous) "We're sorry we can't hire you at this time, good luck." letter.
Now I'm not sure why but until you brought it back up, I simply hadn't even thought of applying to the other members of the "Big 4". I've gotten right on that however...Thanks for reminding me!
I'm open to all ideas guys, keep 'em comming!
Havine been through the lengthly interview process myself with the Big 5/Big6/Big4 firms (it has changed over time) it appears you were very close to receiving an offer. I would guess that the downturn in the economy caused them to cut the amount of hiring they were doing. With that said you should absolutely interview with others and also consider reinterviewing with KPMG or ask if they would consider hiring you now based on the state of things.
Surprising, I think the Big Firms are still doing much better than they anticipated a few months ago. While many of them thought that the weakening economy would take away IT project (and it has some) they haven't seen the drop off that they anticipated. I know an account manager/recruiter that works with Accenture to staff projects and the projects are still coming in though at a slightly slower rate.
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