Kellogg Welcomes Applications from Laid-Off Tech Workers
Tech employees had a banner year in 2021, but the industry did a complete 180 in 2022. As of mid-November, massive cuts have left 67,000 workers in the U.S. tech sector out of a job. Yet this bitter pill could turn out to be the proverbial blessing in disguise for some professionals ready for change. The Kellogg School of Management has announced it will accept applications from recently laid-off tech workers—and waive the standardized test score requirement for this group, too.
On Monday, Greg Hanifee, associate dean of degree programs and operations, relayed the details of this option for impacted workers. “At Kellogg, we have a long heritage of acting with empathy and valuing collaboration,” Hanifee explained. Therefore, the school “is stepping in to help chart the next chapter for this high-performing talent, whose skills can help transform business around the world.”
Laid-Off Tech Workers Can Pivot at Kellogg
Here are the specifics:
- The standardized test waiver is for recently laid-off tech workers and applies to Round 2 applicants only.
- Applications are due January 4, 2023, for Evening and Weekend and January 10th for Full-Time applicants.
- Applicants from the impacted tech sector can apply by providing their transcripts, resume, and application, which will also include a brief essay on their work experience and most recent role as well as what they hope their transformation will be and how it will advance them.
- Applications for all Kellogg full-time programs, including one-year, two-year, MMM, and MBAi (joint degree programs with the McCormick School of Engineering), as well as the Evening & Weekend part-time program, will be accepted.
The Kellogg School also reminds interested candidates that not everyone who applies will get in (this is a top-tier business school, after all). The initiative is about giving affected people the option to apply over a short period of time.
“At Kellogg, our team and our graduates are renowned for a ‘pay-it-forward’ ethos and unending support for one another from the first moments on campus through lifelong career journeys,” Hanifee noted. “As a school, we are here for our alumni throughout their careers.”
Accordingly, Kellogg encourages all alumni impacted by these layoffs to contact Kellogg Career Services for support in navigating their career evolution.
Beth Tidmarsh, the former director of MBA admissions at Kellogg and current SBC consultant, told Poets & Quants that Kellogg’s move shows the school learned some things from its last experiment with test waivers at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
“It reads to me that they have several guardrails in place versus spring 2020 when they let anyone apply with no score,” said Tidmarsh. “This time they are certainly more targeted on competitive employers, and reaching out to former employees who may be scrambling.”
Please reach out to the admissions officers at the Kellogg School for more information about how to apply.
