Over the past few weeks, I have received lots of queries in terms of how incoming MBA students should prepare themselves for B-school life in this VUCA world. In this regard, I feel that there are basic pointers that every student should follow in order to build a strong foundation for their career ahead. Here are 10 pointers to follow:
1.Getting into the B-school is the easiest part
Yes you have got your dream college. Many congratulations for that. However, this does not guarantee you success anymore. Covid life has confirmed one thing that jobs of future may involve more freelancers rather than full-time employees as location is no longer a constraint. Hence, do not be complacent and focus on continuously improving your skillsets.
2. Certifications matter
The summer placement season starts around September end, hence you will hardly have 3 months to build your profile. Summer placements are a major part of recruitment activities as many firms only hire during this period and then extend a PPO to the deserving interns. In such a scenario, certifications help in getting your CV shortlisted considering most B-schools in India these days have 300-500 students or more.
3, Read the placement reports
Read the placement report of your college of at least the last 3 years – Analyze the companies and select a bucket of companies where you would like to intern. Most B-schools have a loyal set of recruiters who hire each year from the same campus. Your preparation will help in improving your chances.
4. Study a sector or two
It is imperative to build your knowledge-base as it will help you in acing the interviews. Pickup couple of sectors such as Automobiles, FMCG, Real Estate etc. and make it a regular practice to read all the news about it. It will enable you to guide the interviewer towards your area of strength.
5. Know your alums
Reach out to your alumni on Linkedin and try to get their time for a zoom or telephonic call. It will help you gain lots of valuable insights and also build your network over time.
6. Focus on Corporate competitions
Most corporate competitions in B-school also include a PPO / PPI offer for the campus finalists apart from a hefty prize money. Build a good team of 3-4 people with different skill sets ( or specializations) to ace the event. Even if you don’t win, you will still gain lots of valuable insights about the firm and the sector.
7. Concepts and not grades
Your focus should be on building your concepts and not grades. If you have strong concepts, you will be able to solve real business problems that you will encounter. One needs to focus on application of the knowledge rather than memorizing.
8. Learn Excel and basic concepts of Finance
Finance is a new area that most non-commerce MBA student will encounter. It is therefore of utmost importance that you understand fundamental concepts like Balance Sheet, P&L, Cash Flow and Corporate Finance. These four elements are the fundamental building block for any area of finance. Along with this, improve your skills in excel – this matters a lot !
9. Corporate Projects & Student Cells
Corporate projects are a good way to determine your competency level. It helps you apply your learnings in the given business case. However, one needs to be careful to only do those projects which are relevant to your career goals and not for the sake of CV pointers or stipends. Student cells are a good way to network and manage events. Both these skills will be useful in your corporate career.
10. Enjoy with future leaders
You will be attending classes with future industry leaders – each one of you will be in a leadership role in next 15-20 years. Maximize your learnings by interacting with your peers and try to absorb their skills which you find are useful. This will also help you in boosting your own self-confidence as well as improving your presentation skills. Above all, enjoy your time in your B-school !
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