If you are a student in a one-year MBA program at any of the Business Schools, then you have signed yourself up for a program where you are going to spend one of the most hectic years of your life. Though the one-year MBA is a boost to your career, it is extremely fast-paced and highly demanding.
It is like getting an MBA on Steroids.
The course curriculum is densely packed with topics that are difficult to comprehend, will keep you on your toes as you juggle assignments and group projects and will leave you with very little time to revise your strategies of how to tackle it. While you are enjoying the mad dash to complete the curriculum requirements, you will have to prepare for your placements in parallel. Often the student does not have a clear strategy for the placement preparations and it becomes difficult for her to catch up once the placements start.
Thus, we are listing a few tips that might help you with your placements.
- Select your target domain or role
In most cases, students have a target domain and/or a role in mind when they apply to MBA programs and try to convert jobs in their target domains or roles. I am mentioning this just as a reminder if you haven’t selected a domain or a role, it is high time to do so. There is however a caveat to keep in mind when you select your target domain. “Your previous roles will have an impact on your appearance to your prospective recruiter”. Thus, if you wish to continue in a similar role and the same industry, it becomes relatively easier to convince the recruiter of your skillset. Your CV shall speak of it. This being said, it is not impossible to change roles or domains, many a student has done so. If you do wish for a domain or role change, it is a tougher challenge. You need to start thinking about how you can align your skillset or acquire new skills that make you an attractive candidate to your potential recruiter.
- Choose a target company
Though companies that come for recruiting may change every year, it is a good practice to get an idea of who are the companies that come for placements at your campus. Going through past data of which companies recruited from your college and what roles were offered by them will give you an idea of what roles or companies you can target. Please keep in mind that it is always possible that a company that has recruited from your college in the past may not recruit in the current year. Thus, it might help if you aren’t too rigid about your target company.
- Go through past Job Descriptions
It would be a good practice to go through the past job descriptions posted by previous recruiters. This will help you get a better understanding of the kind of roles, the relevant skillsets, and the level of experience the recruiters are looking for in candidates.
- Exclusive for PSU candidates.
If you are a candidate from the PSU sector, you need to understand what part of your work experience needs to be highlighted to make you an attractive candidate for a potential recruiter. In some situations, candidates with PSU experiences may find it difficult to highlight the necessary skills that make them stand apart from their peers who come from the private sector. People in the private sector are used to measuring performance in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that may vary from how your performance was judged in a PSU. You should be able to showcase your relevant experience in measurable KPIs that highlight your talent and skills.