Will an MBA help you achieve your career goals?
Between now and ‘then’, with ‘then’ signalling a period of 15 years ago or more, the MBA universe has changed even faster than the universe MBA graduates have sought to master. Quite simply, 15 years back, this article would have been telling you about “the five reasons you must do an MBA.” That, as we all know, has been answered by the thousands more who opt for the course every year. At a core level, this writer contends, the ideal MBA remains unchanged. You want to be treated ‘differently’ because you believe you bring something ‘more’ to the table for your employers. That, in an ideal situation translates into an employee who will look to make that extra sale, push for that innovation that saves costs/creates a competitive advantage, or simply does an existing task with fewer mistakes. In other words, a fellow, who, for all his sense of entitlement, actually does more. Does that describe you? If you are not too sure, then perhaps these next few questions will help take it further. Think of them as preparation for answers you want to give when appearing for your interviews, or some advice to make course corrections.
1. Do you want to go for an MBA to become an entrepreneur?
You don’t. And I will not even bother to dig out the stats that prove it. The two years you spend on your MBA, will almost certainly be better used learning the ropes and doing the groundwork for the venture you want to start. No MBA case studies, or ‘exposure’ to corporate life will prepare you for life as an entrepreneur. Period. At best, if you have gone to a good B-school, you will start with a strong network of ‘contacts’. At worst, you will have wasted two years learning to stifle everything an entrepreneur should have loads of, namely, risk taking ability, getting hands on, and backing your instincts. Yes, this does seem eerily like the time you were trying to get corporates to visit your campus or land a job for yourself. But if your best entrepreneurial instincts are spent finding a job, then you have a problem.
Of course, the answer is probably different if you want to open a financial services firm of your own, though even there, experience suggests an accounting background as a more useful tool than just an MBA degree.
2. How important is money to you?
For too long, MBAs seem have been linked almost solely with the higher earnings they are supposed to deliver. While leading B-schools might actually give their students a headstart on the financial stakes, most schools today cannot guarantee anything close to it. In the new ruthless world of performance-driven growth and incentives, you might get a slight advantage, but that can go very quickly if the non-MBAs do as good, or better than you. Specialists, unlike generalists that most MBAs are, are increasingly being appreciated for what they can bring to the table, especially if they can round it off with some of the quick MBA skills like point 3 below.
With education loans entering into the calculations of an increasing number of students, too many tend to pick their first jobs for the money, usually the most dependable way to lose your way during the first five years of your ‘career’. Yes, you need to keep in mind your going market rate, but for your own sake, don’t make money to decisive factor in opting for a job. If there is a loan to repay, look for anything else you can sacrifice for a short while, than a job you donot enjoy except for payday.
3. What do you think of sales?
If you are already moving to the next question, you have a problem. A big problem. You may not be looking for a career in sales after your MBA, but you have to learn the art of the sale still, and if even that is beyond you, to respect the guys who do. I have met too many young graduates whose first question at the interview is “will this require sales?” Frankly, even where it doesn’t, the question does not endear you to anyone for your attitude. Increasingly, you will find that selling to ‘clients’ is the easy job, when compared to selling yourself, your ideas, or your performance internally. And when it comes to selling the rulebook certainly does not change when it comes to internal or external customers. Hence, developing the skills is critical. And yes, sales is not just for ‘extroverts’!.
Some of the brightest start-ups have died because founders were not into sales themselves. And ordinary ideas have survived and done well with good execution and founders who kept their eyes on sales all the time.
Remember when you think of the biggest leaders in finance, HR or marketing, these people have all learnt the art of the sale. To a lot of people, leadership is simply the ability to sell your vision to your team.
4. What do you read?
Much as you would like to believe it, reading Chetan Bhagat is not enough. You can give all the reasons for getting your reading done on the run, through your mobile or even your (yeechhh!)textbooks, but there is nothing sadder than a student who fancies himself as great management material, but who has the reading habits of a twit. That old question about the headline in the morning paper is probably not asked as much now because interviewers have given up on getting the right answer. Which is a real pity. Thanks to a whole lot of ‘global’ or generalised subjects , reading well will give you the headstart to truly get a better view on your goals, understand the softer issues better, and eventually work better at your employer firm. And if you don’t develop the habit, then too much of office work will seem like, well, work. Some of the most shocking instances of corporate naivete, or seeming insensitivity would not have happened if someone at the firm had read up a bit about the local environment concerns, customs, or historical issues.
There are enough writers and publishers who have understood your need for speed, and brevity. There are a whole host of books for ‘dummies’ on all subjects and issues. And of course, pocketbooks and one-minute managers. Read the best of those if nothing else. It will be a start.
For students who give their prepared answers on dealing with multiple cultures, it is even sadder when you realise that they have absolutely no knowledge or intention to understand such multicultural environments. Trust me, after all the globalisation, there is a vast difference between working for a family held firm, a Japanese firm, a British firm, an American firm, or even a Russian firm.
5. Like sales in point 3, does finance put you off?
Sure, you have decided to make a career in marketing/sales. So does that mean you don’t need to understand finance at all? That accounting is all jargon now? If you want your worst sales nightmare to come true, then it is. Because, just like sales is important, you will do better than track your clients/future employers/competition and their finances. It will certainly help you avoid career threatening decisions like joining a firm doomed to fail, making a sale that makes no money, or worse, a sale that never gets the money at all. Don’t let the bankers who made the sub-prime loans fool you. You do need to understand basic finance to do well in anything that an MBA does. You can start by taking charge of your personal finances yourself, at least keep an eye on index movements, and if it’s not too much of a stretch, listening to the noise around the union budget each year. A real manager will have more than a passing acquaintance with everything that happens under his watch, and trust me, finance is an area where you don’t need to mess up on. After all, finally it’s all about money isn’t it? Despite what you answered to Q 2?
The author is publisher and chief operating officer, Banyan Netfaqs Pvt Limited (that owns the website afaqs.com and the magazine afaqs! Reporter.)
