MBA – Things to Keep in Mind Before and After Joining – Guest Post

In this blog, we have mostly tackled with engineering and its related fields with a bit and piece of creativity splattered around. Today, I bring to you a guest post by Tamalika Banerjee who is currently an MBA student in this special segment of the “Through the eyes of a student” guest post opportunity.

This article gives a small overview of some of the things one should keep in mind if you are trying to pursue an MBA. Before we get started let us know a little about the author.

I know there are a lot of questions juggling in your mind before joining MBA. I have got so many queries from newly fresher grad. So my today’s post is dedicated to all those fresher graduate who want to join MBA. Hopefully, this blog will suffice all your doubts.

Why an MBA makes absolute sense?

Career progression: An MBA degree will help you to make a quick transition in your career from mid-level to senior management. MBA provides a lot of job opportunities in different sectors. Initially, you will get an opportunity to work with the higher management team who deals with the business decision and strategic planning. The depth of syllabus and curriculum is maximum when it comes to two years MBA.

3P’s that are very important to successfully do your MBA-

• Patience
• Performance
• Persistence

So before joining MBA the first question that comes in our mind is what is the best specializations to choose an MBA? And the answer is – choose the one that fascinates you and fits according to your personality. Do not follow the trend. Like I have done my bachelor of technology in Electrical Engineering and now I am pursuing MBA in Power management. So it becomes easier for me to understand the entire concept of the Power sector additionally I have got exposure to both fields, technology as well as business. I hope you already know that the market is already overwhelmed with thousands of MBA. So in order to succeed you need to stand out from the crowd.

Types of MBA

There are different types of MBA courses available in India, which you can select as per your area of interest and your work experience. It will be good if you choose the right one which will match your skills and experience.

You can also opt for MBA in Finance/Marketing/Human Resources/Logistics and Operation/oil & gas/International Business/Business Analytics and many more.

Distance or Regular MBA

There are two kinds of students in MBA – Fresher and Experience. Though it will no way affect your placements. Work experience will help you to get little more from the program, you can actually relate the number of case studies and strategies taken by the companies which a fresher can’t initially take.

Many of you may be stumped whether to go for distance MBA or regular MBA. Distance MBA is a correspondence course you can do it from home. It can be beneficial for working professionally in rare cases, but if you are fresher I would suggest you go for the Regular MBA program which helps you to develop your professional skills. The great advantage of doing regular MBA is to interact with teachers, professionals, guest faculty and a large scale of students. Industrial visits, factory visits will help you to develop your interpersonal skills.

However, the course fee is much less than the regular course, but distance MBA in India will only end you up with the degree without any skills. Master of business administration is not meant for getting a degree. Interaction and networking with professionals play a vital role in MBA and students career and success.

I would strongly recommend you to speak with your seniors before joining. Ask them questions related to specializations, opportunities to grow, placements and overall lifestyle.

Develop a habit of reading a newspaper or an article each day. One thing that MBA will do at its best is to cultivate the habit of reading. The more you read the more you learn, but it must be relevant. So start reading from now. You can get plenty of articles, blogs, write up available in the internet. Choose you area of interest and start reading.

You will face a good deal of case studies in your MBA program which actually let you to analyze the implementation of strategies an organization take in the complex situations. In this case, your reading habit and analytical skills will comes into the picture and will help you to find a solution.

Prep up yourself with a good resume. Though every B-school has their own formats and they will teach you to make an effective resume which actually help you to get a good job.

Some Unknown Aspects About MBA

Those who are from a technical background be ready to face accounts and finance. I understand that it is quite hard to accept these subjects for a technical background student,  but if you are opting for an MBA then you need to keep in mind that MBA is all about business. Make an habit of reading business news and articles.

Do join clubs ( marketing/HR/cultural) once you enter. It will help you in networking and will also help you to develop your soft skills. Try to be a part of a sports team. It will teach you leadership, teamwork and much more.

Try to improve your communication skills before joining MBA. If needed, join some courses, like personality enhancement, MS Office (excel, power point presentation, word). Make sure you have a good knowledge of MS office, they are used in all MBA programs. Once you are in MBA you will find a competitive environment and sometimes you will get bet, no matter how hard you try. But always remember you are here to gain experience. Just treat it as a learning curve and move on.

Summer internships are of utmost importance for those who do not have experience. Be careful to choose the company as your final placement interview will be based on that and sometimes many of the companies gives Pre Placements Offer (PPO) based on your skills. For freshers, it will be a platform to gain experience from the real business world.

Skills or Marks: What is more important?

MBA is not meant for grades or gaining the highest CGPA. It is all about value addition to your skills. Gain practical world knowledge as much as you can in the 2 years. Mark sheets cannot define your ability but the knowledge and experience can unscrew everything. Marks can only help you to fulfil the criteria for some companies. So discover yourself and have a realistic view.

There could be a possibility of bias among business schools, but once you enter for a job, your next advancement will be based on your performance and your additional skills.

PGDM or MBA

Most of the students are in a dilemma whether to go for Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) or Masters of Business Administration (MBA). It’s a never-ending debate. I would not say that PGDM course is equivalent to MBA because I have seen many students doing MBA after their PGDM. Both courses will make you ready for the industry, but a one year PGDM course won’t be equivalent to MBA course, it is a diploma course.

If you are student it’s ok to have demoded social media filled with funny stuff. Recruiters these days actively scourge the account of potential candidates. So clean up your act and share some relevant stuff related to your domain. Finally be ready for sleepless nights, loads of stress, may sometime get tetchy, as you are required to do so many things simultaneously, but at the end of the day, all that matters is that you enjoy your course and make it more practical.

Practice yoga, go for a walk, hang out with friends, visit new places will help you to get rid of stress. The most important thing is hang out with friends, go out for an excursion, unplanned trips, movies. Do not dominate your one part of life for others. However, MBA is far more hectic than your undergraduate course

Knowing Thyself

MBA will give you the platform to do different things as compared to graduate studies to enter into a corporate life. During these two years, you will be able to understand yourself and find what you love. MBA will help you to understand your strengths and weakness which will serve you well throughout your career. It is very important to do a self-evaluation to understand oneself.

Long term and short term goal both are equally important. Though we can not relate the short term to the long-term goal, the balance between two is a crucial test of management.

All the best!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

            -Dr. Seuss

So there you go. All you need to know about an MBA in a small article. I hope you enjoyed this article by Tamalika and it will definitely help you get a glimpse of MBA in India. Make sure to visit her website www.girlwithasoul1.blogspot.com to know more.

If you enjoyed this article please make sure to share it with your friends and fellow students who are looking at doing an MBA. It will definitely help them! If you too want to contribute to posting an article on my blog go to https://www.nupurspeaks.com/work-with-me/ to find out more.

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