Let’s face it. The times are rough right now and the hiring mood is not very upbeat. For students across professional streams, these times can be really perplexing. Even for professionals looking to pursue MBA, the big question is: ‘Should I or shouldn’t I?’
Investing time and money in
MBA in times of recession can be tricky. One could feel that it might turn out to be a waste of both if the job market doesn’t improve. However, experts suggest that quite the contrary is true.
Now is the best time to hone your skills. Upgrade your skill sets and make yourself more relevant to the job market. While looking to do an MBA, the intention of the aspirant should mainly be to add to his skills and to get ready to explore other career options. MBA should not merely become an avenue to kill time. You have to develop a serious attitude towards the MBA degree to really derive anything out of it.
Adding supplementary skills will facilitate your return to the same or better salary and job-designation level that you were at before the slump. Remember that the rough times are not permanent and whenever the tide improves, your newly acquired skills will become a trump card for you in the job market. For instance, those who are in sales could pursue an MBA in finance and strategy and thus become employable for bigger roles.
God forbid, if you are a student who got his offer letter recalled due to the slump, you could still go for an MBA. Since it will be difficult to get job-experience before the MBA, one could look at pursuing a part-time job in an industry of choice while pursuing a part-time MBA. There are many good B-schools that offer part-time executive courses and other MBA courses. You can choose the one that suits you the best.
It is important to have your expectations from this education in the right place. You should remain confident that the MBA program will definitely provide a net value-addition to your profile and make you more attractive to employers in the next two years. You can talk to education experts and network with seniors to get any other apprehensions cleared.
If you are already employed, it may be a good idea to try and convince the employer to sponsor you. If you are a valuable resource and they want to retain you, they will help you develop yourself. This way, you would not have to burn a hole in your pocket to go for that MBA. If not, you can always avail education loans that are readily available and would need to be re-paid only after you have got a job.
However, since the job market is low, many like you are planning to do an MBA. Thus, the number of applications will be higher than usual. So, while applying for an MBA, widen your selection of schools to include a couple more. Choose the right course at a reasonably right B-school. Research about the curriculum thoroughly and then make a choice. Also, get to network with the alumni of many B-schools. They would be able to give you a fair idea. Also, find out about the placements of those B-schools. Get information on how many companies visit the B-school during the placement season. Remember the cost of sitting idle is more than the cost of going to an MBA school during a recession.
With the MBA, you will be sufficiently armed and your chances will improve in light of the strong competition that you would face in the job market. Also, the knowledge that you gather during the course will help you become a better professional in terms of crisis-handling, decision-taking and many other useful things that form part of the curriculum during the MBA. Thus, your chances of succeeding in your
career would also increase manifold. After all, an MBA degree is not just a time-pass. The course is especially designed and revised to help students meet the growing and dynamic demands of the market. So, an MBA during the slowdown would only help you be prepared when the market is up, when the hirings are on in full swing. That time, you would be ready better than your peers.
Geetika Jain writes on behalf of
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