IIM Work Experience Criteria 2025: Know Work Experience Weightage for MBA admission 2025-27

IIM Work Experience Criteria 2025: Know Work Experience Weightage for MBA admission 2025-27

Team Careers360Updated on 27 Feb 2025, 10:14 AM IST

IIM Work Experience Criteria 2025: The IIMs for their evaluation process for shortlisting candidates do give weightage to the work experience. The candidates with significant work experience are provided with the points/marks as per their weightage for the IIM work experience criteria. The IIMs also have designated Executive MBA programs that are specially designed for catering the needs of working professionals across different industries. Read this article on how to get IIM admission based on the IIM work experience criteria

LiveCAT 2025 Result LIVE: IIM CAT exam results at iimcat.ac.in today, IIM Kozhikode confirmsDec 24, 2025 | 12:15 AM IST

IIM Kozhikode will announce the Common Admission Test (CAT 2025) results tomorrow, December 24, at 6 pm. Candidates can access the results on the official website, iimcat.ac.in.

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IIM Work Experience Criteria 2025: Know Work Experience Weightage for MBA admission 2025-27
IIM Work Experience Criteria

MBA for Working Professionals

MBA has always been considered a great stepping stone for getting the right elevation across the corporate hierarchy. Working professionals often go the MBA route knowing that it would help them climb the ladder faster and more effectively. Their work experience is also a key factor that works in their favour. IIM work experience criteria can vary from one IIM to another based on the selection criteria of various IIMs. They can either choose to go for the conventional MBA through CAT exam or go for the alternate executive MBA programs designed for working professionals. The list of various executive IIM MBA programs is provided in the table below.

IIM

Course

Duration

IIM Work Experience Required

IIM Ahmedabad

Post Graduate Program in Management for Executives (PGPX)

1 year

4 years

IIM Bangalore

Post Graduate Program Enterprise Management (PGPEM)

2 years

4 years

IIM Bangalore

Executive Post Graduate Program (EPGP)

1 year

5 years

IIM Calcutta

MBA Program for Executives (MBA Ex)

1 year

5 years

IIM Lucknow

Post Graduate Program in Management for Working Executives (PGPWE)

2 years

3 years

IIM Lucknow

International Program in Management for Executives or IPMX

1 year

5 years

IIM Indore

General Management Program for Executives (GMPE)

1 year

3 years

IIM Indore

Post Graduate Program in Management for Working Executives (PGPMX)

2 years

5 years

IIM Kozhikode

Executive Post Graduate Program (EPGP)

1 year

3 years

IIM Trichy

Post Graduate Program in Business Management ( PGPBM)

2 years

3 years

IIM Raipur

Executive Post Graduate Program in Management ( EPGP)

2 years

2 years

IIM Rohtak

Post Graduate Program in Management for Executives (ePGPX)

1 year

5 years

IIM Udaipur

MBA in Global Supply Chain Management

1 year

3 years

IIM Ranchi

Post Graduate Executive Program in Management (PGEXP)

2 years

5 years

IIM Visakhapatnam

Post Graduate Program for Experienced Professionals (PGPEx)

1 year

3 years

IIM Shillong

Post Graduate Program for Working Executives (MBAWx)

2 years

3 to 5 years

IIM Kashipur

Post Graduate Program for Working Executives (MBAWx)

2 years

3 years

Check out: MBA Admissions in India: Why Work Experience Matters

Work Experience weightage in IIMs

Different IIMs have different weightages for the Work Experience component of their selection process. The weightage for work experience at different IIMs is given in the table below.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How is work experience counted in IIM?
A:

Work experience is counted in different ways depending on the IIM. At some places it is counted in terms of total time and then scaled down as required. It is also counted as a grade point and then calculated by multiplying with a pre-specified work factor.

Q: What is the minimum work experience for IIM?
A:

There is no minimum or maximum work experience required for IIM. Work experience is an added advantage but does not come in the requirement list for admission to an IIM.

Q: How do IIMs verify work experience?
A:

To verify the work experience of a candidate IIM can use several documents like experience letter, offer letter, salary slips, etc. The candidate can also be made to go through a background check if needed by the IIM.

Q: Is 2 years work experience enough for an MBA in IIM?
A:

IIMs do not have any mandatory work experience requirement for MBA admission. Candidates are selected for IIMs based on CAT scores and overall performance in the various selection rounds.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

CAT does not restrict eligibility based on stream. Candidates from commerce, arts, science, engineering or any other background can appear for CAT and apply to MBA programmes offered by IIMs and other top B-schools.

The basic eligibility criteria for CAT are:
You must hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university with at least 50 percent marks (45 percent for SC, ST and PwD categories). Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply.

Being a commerce graduate can actually be an advantage in areas such as accounting, finance, economics and business studies, especially during MBA coursework in finance, marketing and operations.

After qualifying CAT, admission depends on multiple factors including CAT percentile, academic background, work experience (if any), performance in GD, WAT and personal interview rounds. Many IIMs and B-schools follow a diverse academic background policy, which means non-engineering candidates, including commerce graduates, often receive additional weightage.

Apart from IIMs, several reputed institutes such as FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, and many state and private universities also accept CAT scores for MBA admissions.

So, as a commerce graduate, you are fully eligible to appear for CAT and pursue an MBA, provided you meet the minimum academic requirements and perform well in the selection process.

If you want, I can also help you with realistic CAT percentile targets based on your academic profile or suggest suitable MBA colleges.


Hello aspirant,

With a CAT 2025 raw score of 84 and strong sectionals, your expected percentile may fail in the high 98 range , depending on scaling. Your excellent academics and 2 years of work experience strengthen your profile .IIM Lucknow calls are possible but competitive for EWS engineers , while FMS Delhi looks mainly at CAT score and VARC , so you have a reasonable chance there . Final calls depend on cutoffs and composite score.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutoff

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello aspirant ,

For MANAGE Hyderabad MBA , the OBC cutoff in CAT 2024 was generally around 85-90 percentile for shortlist consideration , tough exact figures vary by section and profile . For CAT 2025, if fewer candidates appeared , the cutoff might slightly adjust , but percentile based cutoffs dont change drastically year to year. A minor decrease is possible , but you should still aim for 90+ percentile to be competitive. Factors like VARC, QA-LRDI and overall profile influence the final shortlist.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutof f

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello,

For a raw score of 56 in CAT 2025 Slot 3, your expected overall percentile is likely to be in the range of the 90th-95th percentile. The exact percentile can vary slightly on the final normalization process and the process and performance of all test-takers. In this article you'll find more about the CAT result.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,
With a projected CAT percentile of 87% but not clearing sectional cutoffs, your chances at top IIMs are limited because they require both overall percentile and sectional minimums. However, you still have a good shot at other reputed management institutes and non-IIM B-schools. Consider colleges like NMIMS, SPJIMR, IMT, TAPMI, Great Lakes, and other well-ranked private or state-level B-schools that accept CAT scores and weigh your profile holistically. Your academic record, BSc in Animation with 80%, and 5 years of work experience at Ubisoft India are strong points and may help in institutes that value work experience in their selection process. Also, explore institutes that accept XAT, MAT, or CMAT, where your profile can be competitive.
Hope this helps you.