IIM graduate reveals he has applied to over 250 jobs and been singlehandedly rejected: ‘Not one callback’

He has an MBA degree from IIM. But not a single callback, let alone a job offer, from the 250 companies he has applied to. Taking to the subreddit MBAIndia, a frustrated MBA graduate shared his story. An engineering graduate, he had worked for three years in the field of data analytics before getting an MBA from the prestigious IIM Kozhikode. He is dissatisfied with his current job, so he decided to apply to other companies – however, despite his best efforts – applying via LinkedIn and cold emailing hiring managers, he hasn’t been able to hear back from a single recruiter so far.

He said that he had made more than 250 applications and had faced rejections, though many recruiters have also decided to ignore him. He has yet to receive a callback.

“I don't really have a network to fall back on for referrals, so I figured I'd try my luck here too. I've also run my resume through a bunch of ATS checkers, and it's sitting at 75+ consistently, so it's probably not a keyword/formatting thing at the base level, which honestly makes the silence more confusing…” he added.


One Redditor understood his frustrations, noting they were in the same situation even though they had over eight years of work experience, a top-tier MBA, and were currently working in a strategy role. They said they've been looking for a new job for more than a year without luck and even considered taking a lower pay, but the tough job market made it really hard to switch jobs. They say that an MBA might make it hard to stand out in the busy non-technical job market, since getting jobs often depends a lot on professional connections.

Another person mentioned that the job market is really tough right now and explained that recruiters are more focused than ever on finding people whose past work experience fits closely with the industry and job duties of the position they're applying for. Since the MBA graduate had just finished their degree, they admitted that it might be hard to gain a lot of relevant experience right away. They recommended using alumni connections and personal recommendations to increase the likelihood of being shortlisted, especially for highly competitive positions.