There must have been hectic preparation schedules behind your success. So, once you lock your MBA seat, it must be time to relax for you. But can you really afford to take it easy before you actually enter your B-school?
As MBA programmes are the gateway for your entry into business and management domain, the next two years would prove to be very crucial for you to transform yourself into industry ready professionals. After your MBA degree you are supposed to demonstrate qualities in key management areas such as team leading, strategic thinking etc.
During your MBA programme, you would need to finish multiple assignments, presentations, prepare for surprise quizzes and revise all that has been taught in a single day. While B-schools play catalyst in this process of transformation, a budding manager should be ready with a few basic things which may help them in big way to learn management skills faster.
As new session at most of the B schools will start from July-August, one still have around 3 month time gap.
So, how best can the B-school aspirants utilize this time gap to equip themselves with the desired qualities? What entrants in the B-schools are expected to be ready with? What they should already know before joining their MBA programme? How should they prepare for their eventful B-school journey of next 2 years?
Here follows tips to utilize your pre-MBA time gap.
Bridge your knowledge gap:
Like any other course, MBA program also expects some prerequisite academic background in various disciplines of business. Your faculties at the B school will assume that you have these proficiencies and would plan their classes accordingly.
To meet their expectations, you can opt for a pre-MBA bridge course.
There are various bridge courses or mini MBA programmes that cover fundamental concepts of various important subjects of management like Fundamentals of Accounting, Business Maths & Statistics, Economics - Basic Concepts, Essentials of Business Communication, Managing Human Resource, Principles of Marketing and Business Strategy, etc.
The first year of MBA course will focus on generic subjects like business statistics, economics (Micro & Macro), business studies, accountancy, etc. These subjects are common in all types of MBA programs and are also one of the most dreaded subjects among MBA students coming from non-engineering background.
These Pre-MBA courses are also beneficial for MBA aspirants who are in the process of preparing /applying for an MBA.
While there are some domain experts running these courses, some top B-schools like IMT Ghaziabad also offer such programmes online.
“Once the foundation module starts, there is very little time a much distance to cover. A pre-foundation module will equip them with the necessary mental orientation towards the programme,” says Dr Nilanjan Chattopadhyay, Head-New Initiatives at, IMT Ghaziabad.
“A pre-foundation module also equips students from non-engineering background to come to a level playing field and bridge any gaps that may exist, before the classroom sessions begin,” he said, adding, “The Pre-Foundation module at IMT will demand about 35 hours of time for a participants. They will not be required to come to the IMT Ghaziabad campus. They can carry on doing whatever is it that they are doing, while getting mentally attuned to the programme, at their own pace.”
Although these short-term Pre-MBA courses are not yet popular in India, but students can still try to find out ways to learn the fundamentals of these subjects through self study/coaching/tuition before joining a MBA Institute.
Figure out your specialization:
MBA/PGDM degree requires one to choose a specialization in the 2nd year of the programme. You must do some brainstorming beforehand on which specialization to choose in your MBA programme.
You must choose a specialization subject correlated to your prior work field or interest. You can go through online articles, analyse industry trends and growth prospects, and discuss with your mentors. This will give you clarity of thought. This will also help you to direct your energy towards the same during first year and developing a good understanding of the same by the time your reach second year of your MBA programme.
Read success stories:
In these 3 months, chances are that any of the friends, peer groups or relatives might have a different or a negative viewpoint regarding pursuing MBA or for the particular B school, etc.
It’s advisable that since you have taken a decision you should focus on your goal. You must be in a positive frame of mind and stick to your decision.
To make your opinion further strong and motivate yourself, read success stories of people who have succeeded in their respective fields after doing MBA from various B schools of the country. It will make you more confident and
would also help you counter negative thoughts.
To read various success stories of successful personalities like Raghav Bahl, Prasoon Joshi, Harish Manwani, etc. who have done MBA and are now holding vital positions in their respective industry, click on the below link:
http://www.mbauniverse.com/article.php?id=6522
http://www.mbauniverse.com/article.php?id=6488
http://www.mbauniverse.com/article.php?id=6454
http://www.mbauniverse.com/article.php?id=6544
Read management related books to sharpen you intellectual treasure:
Yu can utilize this crucial time gap in reading some famous iconic management books that changed the way people thought about MBA. Reading these books will change your perspective and thought process and will help you to broaden your thought process and capacity during MBA course.
Some suggested books to read are:
• ‘Guerilla Marketing’ - by Jay Conrad Levinson
• ‘The Six Sigma Way: How GE, Motorola and other Top Companies are Honing Their Performance’ - by Peter S. Pande, Robert P. Neuman and Roland R. Cavanagh
• ‘Competing for the Future’ by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad
• ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen R. Covey's
• ‘Connect the Dots’ – by Rashmi Bansal
Improve communication and soft skills:
As a manager you are expected to be effective in your communication skills –writing, discussions, presentation etc.
Make yourself familiar with standard business communication formats, letter writing, proposals, tenders, etc. Good familiarity with computer operation will also help a lot.
Assignments and presentations are a vital part of MBA curriculum. Student would have to finish multiple presentations in a single day and hence prior knowledge of Microsoft office i.e. PowerPoint, Excel, Word, etc would prove beneficial in the long run.
Various functions of Excel like pivot tables, goal seek, statistical functions, formulas, etc can be easily prepared with the help of self-guided tutorials.
Student can also opt to go for any other short term courses like tally, ERP, CRM, etc which is related to their field or specialization. While you will receive instructions on specific technical software, it will be very helpful if you are familiar with word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software when classes begin. You will have to use Microsoft Office products throughout your MBA course.
Excellent writing skills will not only help you in earning good marks in exams but will also assist you in building good relations with your faculties or corporate representatives. Expertise in writing skills will work in your favor during your Summer Internship too.
Get insight from seniors
Seniors of the respective B school or who have completed their MBA/PGDM degree are the best people to provide you the right suggestions. They have done it successfully; hence they will share useful insights on pursuing MBA course which will prove very beneficial.
Connecting with seniors will not only provide you various insights but will also help you in connecting with alumni and various other people who hold responsible positions in various organizations. This will also give you an edge during placement season.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more news and updates on admission 2013.
