How to manage job-hunting as a "backup plan"?

[zadigblue]

Anyone else faced this problem or have any input?

 

I'm finishing my undergrad this spring and hoping to leap directly into a Master of Public Policy in the fall, but am job-hunting on the side as a backup. Since it's a professional degree, more work experience could only help my application, but as I already put off my final semester to work for two years as a policy analyst, going right into grad school is my preference.

 

However, I'm not sure how to deal with this in the hiring process. The public service in particular starts their post-secondary recruitment very early in the year to allow time for public service exams, security clearances, etc. so I could end up interviewing before I get my grad school admission results back.

 

What's the etiquette here? Should I be disclosing my grad school plans at the interview stage? If I actually did get a job offer before hearing back from my grad schools, is there any non-awkward/not-inappropriate way to say that I'm waiting to hear back about my admission status first?

 

Has anyone else navigated this kind of situation before?

Edited October 16, 2014 by zadigblue

[peachypie]

I think you could explore both avenues right now at the same time especially since it sounds like you are looking for a job that could require a lot of lead time to get to the position later.  First, I'd like to say that while interviewing you can disclose it if you'd like but its not like you may not also be applying for other jobs so if you get a positive response from them but got into grad school you could just decline the offer.  I am not sure what your program's timelines are but for me I had already received acceptances post-interviews for school in January and early February.  Even though schools tell you by April 15th, you will have a good idea of what is happening by the time you may be getting to the interview point.  However if you get a job offer before knowing I think it would be pretty much a no-no to say you are waiting to hear back from grad school.  At this point I think I'd wait to cross that bridge once you get there since it could be a lot of unnecessary stuff to try to tackle a "problem" now that may not even end up being a conflicting situation.  Just apply to both, I'm sure grad schools and job interviewers understand that you are looking to take the next step.  Applying to anything doesn't mean you have to commit to it or explain why you didn't end up taking an offer. 

[TakeruK]

I agree with peachypie -- you can and should explore all options right now. Applying, or even being accepted to grad school, is not something you have to tell prospective employers because it does not mean you have committed to anything yet. Applying to grad schools at the same time as applying to jobs is no different than applying to many jobs at the same time (i.e. normal in the job hunting process). Every employer should know that every applicant they get is also pursuing many different opportunities and that the applicant will choose the opportunity that best fits them.

 

In my opinion, unless you are legally required to, even if you accept an offer from a grad school for Fall 2015, I would say that you are not required to tell them that you plan to leave in X months. However, your reputation might be important, especially if you want to go back and work for this employer or use them as a professional reference for other work in the future etc. In that case, my opinion would be that you only tell your employer that you have plans to attend grad school in Fall 2015 after you have accepted a school's admission offer.