MBA & Beyond: Steps to get into a good B-school & make a successful career

Steps to select B-School

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By Dr C N Narayana

MBA from the traditional mind-set of a magic wand to fetch a corporate job with fat salary is slowly moving towards reality of advancement of business from Administration. Many aspirants who cannot afford good business schools due to higher fee, prepare diligently with a desire and dream to land there by cracking entrances like CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT and finally get disheartened if they don't get selected at a good business school which can help them to learn, apply, and master the art of managing business problems to a great extent before they take-off the Corporate flight. There are more than four thousand PGDM and MBA institutes in India which hard sell and many of the business schools have vacant capacity. As an MBA aspirant, one has to seriously prepare for entrance examination with the clear thought process of learning and applying management concepts and business ideas in this two-year tenure which is supposed to be an investment rather than the cost.

Newer aspirants are who are willing to experiment beyond the boundaries of placement by looking at entrepreneurship, business ventures and start-ups, are really the future business leaders in the years to come. They will grow much faster than those who land up in the corporate world as job seekers. It is therefore important for the aspirant to have clarity about his/her future before selectinga 2-year PGDM course. If you closely observe the job market in the last 3 years, you will realize that manufacturing is not growing which limits industry in creation of newer jobs. The economy is not growing at the desired phase. This slows down the job market for MBA graduates. In India, many of the MBA degree holders believe the myth that they have a superior degree; but in reality they require good leadership quality, ability to manage pressures and the challenges thrown at them to manage human capital which is far below the desired level. But if the business schools and the learners come forward together, when the economy picks-up the job creation will automatically follow. The focus has to be on learning orientation, curiosity to learn and apply the learning at workplace and bring newer ideas and ways of doing things--be it a process, product usage, coupled with technological tools. There is certainly euphoria and enthusiasm, and rays of hope that MBA will deliver it again in the future.

Know about top MBA colleges in India

Basic steps to get into a good business schools and become successful management graduates are:

PGDM/MBA aspirant needs to ensure exceptional performance in communication while undergoing the course and while competing in the placement process before embarking the journey into to the Corporate World. They must demonstrate an edge over the other candidates with an impressive communication skills. To achieve this goal, one must read a lot-- it could be any magazine, newspapers, and should never fall short of vocabulary and words. You need to keep adding new words to your kitty every single day. You can pick up words while watching English television series or any other TV program as a part of your learning process and goals. You need to have patience and resilience even if you make mistakes but ensure you learn in this process. Never feel embarrassed, once you are comfortable you will move fast in communication; both verbal and writing. You need to be confident and always adopt the right attitude. Motivate yourself by treating yourself with a toffee when you achieve certain milestone in your communication enhancement process. This will also help in your GD and PI stage of interview process.

You must be a patient listener which will help you to communicate effectively and will also clear your thoughts on a subject. Never speak for the sake of speaking. You need to be choosy in selecting appropriate words and phrases. Keep things simple instead of complicating. This is the second secret of cracking PI process.

As an MBA aspirant and later as a student during your academic tenure you need to be at your best in presentation skills and seminar. Towards this end, you need to practice- as a speaker by using every opportunity to take a lead and show your leadership skills and organizing ability. You need to ensure that you stand out in the crowd without panicking. You need to create a friendly atmosphere and ambience. You need to make an eye contact with the audience while greeting them with a warm smile. This will be the hat-trick ball for both GD & PI process and also during placement process.

MBA is not only learning about product life cycle and four P’s of marketing. It is much more than that. You need to first market yourself in the crowd by creating a sustainable brand called “ You” or “ Me” and then pitch it carefully with the right tone for people to accept. You need to be heard too. Make sure that you are audible. Ensure that there is enough visibility and presence while staying calm and composed. Ensure that you have the right combination of product and human life cycles to strike the right tone.

One may be good in academics as a management graduate but to carve a niche in today’s competitive world, one needs to have the right attitude, good clarity of thoughts, great communication, desire to excel through learning, patience and willingness to apply learnings. If you combine all these with your MBA, nothing can stop you from reaching the pinnacle of success. In KIAMS we ensure that you transform yourself in the next two years to reach your pinnacle of success through holistic development while making you industry ready.

Why study at KIAMS?

KIAMS has always been ranked in the Top 50 Business Schools of India in various surveys and rankings. We are known for our experienced faculty members who have relevant industry experience and research/training background. We focus on the holistic development of students which includes overall grooming of students along with industry-oriented curriculum and practical approach to solutions, apart from normal classroom concept teaching.

KIAMS is one of the very few B-Schools which introduced a long summer internship programme, spanning over four months (vis-à-vis two months). This ensures a proper industry immersion for the students while the corporates are able to judge their performance in a better way.

About the Author:

Dr C N Narayana is Professor of HR & Principal Director, Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies. (KIAMS Pune and KIAMS Harihar).

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