How to select the right career after MBA?

More than 3,50,000 students graduate with an MBA degree from more than four thousand business schools in India every year. MBA is one of the widely chosen educational degrees after graduate programmes in any subject by people around the world. While choosing where to do your MBA from, two main things need to be considered: first what do you want to do for the next two years, and secondly, what do you want to do after the MBA course of two years? Asking yourself these questions will help you decide the MBA program suitable for your career goals. Other factors that might be considered while searching for a college are: batch size, curriculum, career support, ranking and placements. Online MBA courses are also taken up by a lot of people who can’t manage going to college with their jobs in hand, every year.

Why is MBA a cherry pick by so many?

1)Talking about the latest scenario, many students opt for an MBA course so that they can acquire the skills necessary to start a business or a start-up.

2)Besides providing a wide scope for career development and skills, it kick-starts a good career.

3)Experienced professionals might take up an MBA course to switch careers.

4) It offers a wide scope for innovative outlook.

5) A MBA graduate has the capability to communicate and convey information and viewpoints, whilst developing a professional or personal connection with a prospect in the market.

6)MBA graduates have a brand value.

7)MBA degree not only promotes both professional and personal growth.

8)MBA graduates have a lot of chances to work outside their native places this helps them gain the exposure needed and understand the market conditions better. MBA for working professionals opens up a door for boosting up their corporate careers.

Top business schools like IIMs, XLRI, SJMSOM stay successful in remaining a bright spot in the eyes of big recruiters. Despite the gloomy economic atmosphere, there has been a 5% to 10% growth in the salary packages some of the top business schools managed to lure whopping salary packages of more than 30 lakhs per annum. New campuses of IIMs such as IIM Kozhikode and IIM Trichy are also able to keep up their game.

It has been noticed that pre-placement offers are a new method adopted by the companies to distinguish competent young talents through internships. The companies recruit students, who had done their internship as summer projects with them because they were acclimatized to the stress and style of the workplace.

After the economic slowdown from 2013 to 2016, we realized that there has been a substantial drop in the employment rate of MBA graduates. Skill gaps and less experience in the fast changing corporate world, also many colleges require hands on work experience after graduation as one of the criteria for selection, are some of the many factors contributing to that.

Every year after appearing in CAT exams only a section of students manage to secure 80 percentile or above and get admission in top 100 colleges in India , while the pool of the remaining students are left with no option other than settling for remaining Tier 2 or Tier 3 business schools in the country. Lack of education that is required to develop set of skills to meet the global standards for surviving in the ever changing and competitive market, lack of skilled and qualified teachers, and the lack of concern towards the updation of the syllabus are few of the many reasons why the students fail to get recruited by good companies.

So, in order to make a better use of our demographic dividend, the low tier colleges should help their students, who are mostly coming from nearby districts and villages to develop managerial, strategy making and entrepreneurial skills so they can contribute in the growth of small and medium sized enterprises , regional and local markets which have the potential to make it big.

Corporate Recruiter Survey 2019 gave a list of soft and quantitative skills like- oral communication, managing self, analysing data and budgets, measuring data, listening etc. that are taken into consideration while recruiting a candidate based on the company’s type- Fortune Global 100, Fortune Global 500, for-profit public, for profit private, Start-up; Industry- health, pharmaceuticals, tourism etc. ; Company’s size; Region- Europe, Asia Pacific.

Anyone with an MBA degree can manage to get a variety of jobs in any industry in private and public or government sectors. There are glistening opportunities in top sectors for work after completion of one’s MBA degree in India:

1. FMCG: fast moving consumer goods is the fourth largest sector in India. It deals with distribution, production, marketing, sales and contentment of customers for the products like food, pharmaceuticals, household products, plastic goods etc. People with MBA in finance, business analytics, digital marketing, operations, information technology, HR, supply chain management have great job opportunities in this sector with handsome pay.

Also read: Career as Supply Chain Manager

Also read: Career as Business Analyst

2. BFSI: Banking, Finance Services and Insurance is an evergreen sector just like FMCG even during a gloomy economy. It has employed 50-70 lakh people. People with MBA in business and finance.

Also read: Career as Bank Branch Manager

Also read: Career as Bank Probationary Officer (PO)

Also read: Career as Investment Banker

Also read: Career as Bank Clerk

3. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: It is one of the top ten most valued sectors in the world. People with MBA in IT and business analytics gave a good opportunity in this sector.

4. E-COMMERCE: E-commerce is a big step in the retail industry. It is currently a 3.53 trillion US dollar sector. It is a boon for low scale entrepreneurs. Amazon is one great example. An aspirant opting for an MBA in international business, business analytics, supply chain management or entrepreneurship can grow a fortune in this sector.

5. RETAIL MANAGEMENT: It’s considered to be the toughest sector. Maintaining profits, sales and stores. People with specialized MBA degrees in business analytics, finance, business operations can do very good in this sector.

6. CONSULTING: Business consultation is a growing sector. It deals with the organizing and making strategy for different companies for more profit. MBA in banking and finance, business analytics, international business can be an advantage for anyone who has these degrees.

7. HEALTH CARE/ PHARMACEUTICALS/ TOURISM: largest growing industries with great employable and revenue generating capacity. People with MBA in biotechnology, healthcare management, hospital management, hotel management, aviation management, hospitality management can be in the running.

Also read: Career as Health Inspector

Start-ups are great career options for those who are ready to take risks. Flipkart, PayTM, OLA are a few great examples from Indian start-up ecosystem. An MBA in entrepreneurship can be of great help if you want to start your own venture.

Factors to Consider Before Taking Up a Job:

While searching for job opportunities after MBA courses in India, it important to keep in mind some key points related to it: -

1. Organisation: When deciding whether to join an organisation or not, it is essential to inspect the nature of work in the respective organisation, the ambit for career development, success, failures and it's plans for the future, additional information about the company that you can obtain from a lot of sources and also ascertaining the company’s reputation. It helps aspirants understand and make the right decision.

2. Job Profile: Rather than saying yes to jobs or work that you come across, aim for the one that suits you the best. Even though searching for the right job can be a task,be patient. Also, do not be lured by the high pay, but choose a work profile that is based on your occupation, because it helps you grow on the path of professionalism.

3. Location of Job: If you are looking to relocate from your hometown and take up a job outside of the comfort of your native city, make sure you understand and compare costs of food, living and transport among others. In addition, what is important is that you compare your salary with the costs incurred on living in the new location.

Few other factors that you should consider before taking a job are: -

1. Salaries and Benefits (bonuses).

2. Working Hours.

3. Opportunities such as promotions offered to the Employees.

4. Job satisfaction.

The pandemic has imposed a serious threat on the world economy. It affected almost every sect of the society, ranging from economics to humans. Some of the worst hit sectors of the corporate world are – information technology, FMCG, Banking and Finance, Transportation (airways, seaways, roadways). Thousands of people have lost their jobs, saw big cuts in their salaries and big companies went bankrupt, people in this difficult time, especially in 2020 are not sure about pursuing an MBA degree because virtual experience won’t train them for the real industrial experience. Well, the good news is some of the leading economic firms and IMF, indicate a cationic growth for India as compared to other countries because it’s a consumption based economy. We hope that by the end of 2021 we see things getting back on track, with that there would be an increased demand for people with specialized skill sets in operation management, business development etc. which would require an MBA degree in operations, project management etc. It would also be wise to mention that the New Education Policy can change the face of administrative studies – the selection and recruitment process.