Getting a job after MBA is not a difficult task but the right one that would take your career into the horizon of success needs in-depth analysis and speculation. There are multiple job opportunities after MBA but you need to weed out the thorns meticulously to weave the path of success so that you can leave footmarks for others to follow.
There are so many questions which need to be answered while assessing a job offer. Will the organization be a good place to work? Will the job be interesting? Will I get the opportunities for advancement? Is the salary fair? Does the employer offer good benefits? If you have not figured out exactly what you want, the following discussion will help you to develop a set of criteria for judging a job.
Factors for Getting the Right Job After MBA
You should consider the following factors before you take up the job after MBA.
The Organization
After MBA, to grab the right job in the ocean of opportunities, you have to conduct a thorough research to find out information about the organization that will help you decide whether it is good place for you to work. See, whether the organization provides an environment which is conducive to your development or not, because the seed of talent does not sprout, if the environment is not congenial to its development. Stories about an organization published in magazines and newspaper can present you a crystal clear picture about its success, failures and the future plan. In addition to it, you can get the details of a company from its website. You can also identify articles on a company by looking under its name in periodical or computerized indexes in libraries. However, it will not be useful to look back more than 2 or 3 years.
Organization's beliefs vs your personal beliefs
As an MBA student, first of all, you have to do brainstorming to set your professional goal as well as discover the area of work you enjoy doing. It is very important to know your true desire and talent because it will help you decide on the job that is best suited for you. It is easier to apply for the job if you are enthusiastic about what the organization does.
Size of the Organization
As an MBA professional, you may like working for a small company, but it is in your interest to work for large companies with thousand of employees. Large companies generally offer a greater variety of training programmes, career paths, more managerial levels for advancement and better employee benefits than a small company. A large company may also have more advanced technologies and specialized workforce. Large Companies present opportunity for networking because the more people you get to know on a personal level, the better chances you have for success in the future.
Apart from this, jobs in small company may offer broader authority and responsibility, a closer working relationship with top management, a chance to clearly see your contribution to the success of organization.
Start-up or an established organisation
It is said that adversity always presents an opportunity. New businesses have a high failure rate, but it also gives you liberty to do experiment to pull out the company from troubles. It is the right place to apply your knowledge and expertise which you have acquired during the MBA course. However, it may be just as exciting and rewarding to work for a young firm as the established one because the latter gives you specialized training whereas former gives you to apply.
Public vs Private company
An individual or a family may control a privately owned company and key jobs may be reserved for relatives and friends. A board of directors responsible to the stockholders controls a publicly owned company and key jobs are usually open to anyone.
Nature of the job
MBA course provides specialization in many areas that need to be considered while selecting a job. The nature of the job holds importance in order to make a successful career. Even if everything else about the job is attractive, you will be unhappy if you dislike the day-to-day work. Determining in advance whether the nature of work suits your skill or not? Whether it will utilize your skills or not? Will you enjoy your work to the fullest or not? Work on this aspect before you accept or reject your offer.
Job Profile
Applying all the knowledge and vision that you have acquired from the MBA course, you must create a title for professional life. Try to target only the intended job, rather than evaluating every single job opportunity that comes your way. Instead of taking a job based on pay, you should think about taking a job based on your title because it will help you rise on the path of professionalism.
Location of the Job
If the job is located in another part of the country, you need to consider the cost of living, accommodation and transportation, and the quality of educational and recreational facilities in that section of the country. Even if the job location is in your area, you should consider the time and expense of commuting.
Working Hours
Most jobs involve regular hours—for example, 40 hours a week, during the day, Monday to Friday. Other jobs require night, weekend, or holiday work. In addition, some jobs routinely require overtime to meet deadlines or sales or production goals, or to better serve customers. Consider the effect the work hours will have on your personal life.
Opportunities offered by employers
A good job offers you opportunities to learn new skills, increase your earnings, and rise to positions of greater authority, responsibility, and prestige. Lack of opportunities can dampen your interest in the work and result in frustration and boredom.
The company should have a training plan for you. What valuable new skills does the company plan to teach you?
The employer should give you some idea of promotion possibilities within the organization. What is the next step on the career ladder? When opportunities for advancement do arise, will you compete with applicants from outside the company? Can you apply for jobs for which you qualify elsewhere within the organization, or is mobility within the firm limited?
Salaries and benefits
In order to know if an offer is reasonable, you need a rough estimate of what the job should pay. You may have to go to several sources for this information. Try to find family, friends, or acquaintances that were recently hired in similar jobs. Ask your teachers and the staff in placement offices about starting pay for graduates with your qualifications. Check the library or your school’s career center for salary surveys.
If you are considering the salary and benefits for a job in another geographic area, make allowances for differences in the cost of living, which may be significantly higher in a large metropolitan area than in a smaller city, town, or rural area.
Take into account that the starting salary is just that—the start. Your salary should be reviewed on a regular basis; many organizations do it every year. How much can you expect to earn after 1, 2, or 3 or more years? An employer cannot be specific about the amount of pay if it includes commissions and bonuses.
Benefits can also add a lot to your base pay, but they vary widely. Find out exactly what the benefit package includes and how much of the costs you must bear.