What Skill Sets do Recruiters Seek in MBA Graduates?
Prof. Rajeev Sharma (View Full Profile)Chairperson – Centre for Corporate Relations (CCR)
Assistant Professor of Operations and Decision Science
We are aware of the current Covid 19 pandemic crushing national and global economy. But not everything is falling apart. This lockdown period is considered a great time for various activities. People are not only spending quality time with their family, but some also honing their skills for being future-ready; some are creating new hobbies and thus many constructive activities are getting done during this short, yet long period.
A Good Time for ‘MBA’ Tag
Many experts holding expertise in various fields like marketing, sales, IT, media, entertainment, etc. are considering this period and the post lockdown period as a very good time for people who wish to continue their further studies. It is highly recommended that one should really look forward to getting higher education especially MBA in the upcoming year.
Industry proponents like Mr. Sanjeev Mehta (Chairman and MD, Hindustan Unilever) mentioned in one of his webinars that recruiters hire MBA graduates because they believe that MBA gives skills on leadership and management of organizations. It’s a year of learning that can be packed into 2 years of MBA.
Another industry exponent Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha (Founder & Chairman, Harappa Education) has also mentioned that the recruiter now looks for MBA graduates who are enthusiastic people and who know how to use their connections for the betterment of the business of the company. And no doubt, it is agreeable because post-COVID, you will be required to use your connections and networks as much as you can for individual growth and better opportunities.
Being technological and creative is the trending requirement in today’s market. If you are good with machine learning, AI and are willing to bring new ways to work with a virtual team, then you are indeed a hot cake in the market. These skills have also been mentioned by Mr Mehta (Chairman and MD, Hindustan Unilever). He also mentioned that one should be compassionate about his work for the company. One should also be able to take initiative for the dynamic environment- Expertise and Domain Skills, Ambition Skills based on Intuition and Experience.
Apart from subjective skills, one should also be prepared with the objective and analytical skills, especially if you are from a technical background and want to continue it in your career, go for Data Analysis, Tableau, and other certified courses like Six Sigma, Block Chain, and believe me, you are ready to fly high.
Recently, I attended a webinar where Brian Tellis (Director, Fountainhead Promotions & Event Pvt Ltd) was sharing his experience and a faculty asked him a similar question, “how should we prepare our students for the placement?”, to which his thoughts were to ask students to discover themselves so that they can understand their strengths, weaknesses, and passion.
You have to agree with the fact that in today’s market recruiters are not looking for people who are focused on daily needs but are more into people who are serious with their goals, growth, self-actualization, and esteem.
At an MBA level, the corporate world would expect candidates to have the professional capability, be able to manage a team and act as a leader with clienteles.
To cut it short, you can take it in this way that now recruiters are looking for a go-getter, an achiever, not just an average performer. Thus, it would be a good idea for MBA graduates to start their career planning accordingly.
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