Career

Bye, Bye B-School

Economic Times Mumbai; Date: Feb 13, 2006; Section: Leaning Curve; Page: 13

HUNDREDS of lectures, presentations, projects, discussions and interviews later, you have finally earned on of the most popular qualifications going around today – the MBA. Most of you will have even landed one or more job offer by now. Congratulations. Others, hopefully, will join that club soon. All the best.

Before entering the corporate arena, however, here’s some fodder for thought.

For those who’ve already pocketed a job from campus, this is one of those rare ‘free’ times to sit back and think hard about the job offer. And this time let’s not answer as if we are writing essays for a Bschool application. Let’s be realistic. The process begins by admitting that the campus job need not necessarily be the best for you. In the heat of the moment, one may have made the wrong choice on placement day. So, catch up with alumni or acquaintances that work with your current employer. Find out more, not only about the job offer but also about any other suitable or better opportunities that are available in the market. This is in the best interest of you and your employer. If, on deeper probe, you realise that the current job profile is not what you expect to do, decision-making is quick and timely. Resigning a few months after you have joined creates problems for you and the employer.

For those who haven’t yet got a job offer, don’t give up. The basic source of despair is thinking of the offer from campus as ‘pay back’ for two years of hard work. This is short-term thinking. Who knows, you may end up with a better job than your classmates. Speak to alumni and professors and you will find numerous examples of students getting better jobs than those on offer on campus. Moreover, when doing an independent job hunt, one can take well-informed decisions about the offer, since there is no hurry to get placed on day x, y or z. So, lage raho.

This is also one of the best times to revisit those hobbies and interests that you’ve ignored during your MBA. Never underestimate the value of these. I say this through personal experience: I had once written an article for my B-school website. Later on I continued to write in newspapers and on websites, which helped me bag one of the most sought-after job profiles, that of an investment banker.

Finally, always remember to keep your mind open to all ideas. Never trap yourself and your abilities by measuring them with the yardstick of an MBA or its specialisation. You have acquired MBA skills that are expected to help you make business decisions given all the variables and uncertainties. The degree doesn’t demand that you need to do so-and-so job only. Often the pressure of “what will others say” deters us from doing what we have really want to do. This applies especially to those who have a creative bend of mind. If, fortunately or unfortunately, you realise that your skillset and the demands of your job are poles apart, don’t hesitate to seek out a profile change.

And if you ever feel, as most of us do, that what you really want out of life isn’t clear, take heart, you’re not alone.

The author is an alumnus of VJTI and NMIMS, Mumbai, and works for a Mumbai-based investment bank.