Beyond the MBA Hype: A Guide to Understanding and Surviving B-Schools: Indian Edition by Sameer Kamat

Author:Sameer Kamat [Kamat, Sameer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Booksoarus
Published: 2013-11-30T18:30:00+00:00

Unless a company is looking for highly unique and specialized skills that you possess, be ready for stiff competition during your job hunt. In almost all mainstream professions, there are more employees struggling for a few good jobs than you can imagine. Also, with geographical constraints dissolving rapidly and with more people willing to relocate for the right role, the supply pools for such opportunities become vast. Your strong alumni network within the company may make it easier for your resume to float to the top of the applicant pile, but the rest of the journey still remains to be traversed. If an employer has to choose between a non-MBA with the right experience (and you can be dead sure that this species does exist) and an absolute greenhorn from a top B-school (or someone with limited experience in the field), the choice is pretty clear. In most cases, however, there will be many who have both – the experience as well as the qualifications.

For the urgent positions, the employer will be less likely to wait for six more months till you finish your academic commitments. If they can find someone who can join in a week’s time or in a month, they’d make that offer right there. The show and the business must go on, right?

If you are an Indian candidate hoping to land a plum job in foreign-land, there are other kind of hassles (or challenges, as you’ll learn to call them). For starters, you’ll need a work permit. And for your prospective employer that means not just a substantial amount of money to be pumped in (dealing with immigration lawyers who charge on an hourly basis) but also a whole lot of paperwork and legwork. Bigger companies that have been recruiting MBAs from the good schools would have the processes and the infrastructure in place to manage this annually. But everyone will not be as enthusiastic to get you on board when they can get local resources cheaper and faster. Plus there’s the pressure on recruiting firms to give preference to local talent before considering international applicants.

Some roles might have a cultural bias. For instance, if you are getting into a marketing role where you are expected to connect with your clients (prospective and existing) before you can see a sale happening, then you’d better know what it takes to establish that rapport. As a cricket-enthusiast, if you start showing off your knowledge about Tendulkar’s world-class statistics during business meetings, expect a blank stare from the multi-millionaire American client you want that contract from. If you’ve grown up watching NBA, NFL or MLB, you’d still be able to hold a mutually interesting conversation. But if these acronyms sound like Greek and Latin to you, probably you are in the wrong role.

Issues related to dignity of labour can also throw a spanner in the works. ‘How can they expect a top MBA graduate to do THAT work?’ Ego issues can put a whole lot of opportunities (even if

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