New Age Professional’s Survival Guide

People who started their professional journey 30 years ago have very different rules and work ethic, as compared to the young, working professionals of today. The dynamics in the companies, the work hours, the interview and evaluation process and the duration of an average stint with a company, are all highly different from how the scene used to be three decades ago. The number of graduates going to a MBA college to pursue higher education too has drastically gone up in the last ten years. People today want to leave no stone unturned when it comes to their career and lifestyle in general. The mantra today is definitely go big or go home. With more and more new millionaires falling in the 20 something age bracket, the pressure to perform is higher than ever before.

Succeeding in a big organization has a lot to do with your ability to perform with a team and get along with others, whether it is your seniors or your juniors. The ability to tactfully deal with teams, clients and bosses is something that just cannot be taken for granted in today’s competitive world.

People that are innately mild-mannered and soft spoken often feel the need to go against their natural behaviour in order to survive in a corporate. While it is not imperative for one to be very head strong and aggressive, in order to succeed and climb up the career ladder, it is important to get noticed and rewarded for the efforts you are putting forward. Avoiding conflict and work dynamics altogether may be virtually impossible if you want to work in a team. Taking on roles that are more in sync with your nature and abilities is way better than choosing something radically different and then going against the grain.

For example, a person that usually prefers to work with facts and data and likes coordinating with one or two people in the whole day should not take up a marketing job where he has to constantly reach out and meet new people. This person’s strength probably lies in the accounts department or the admin division. On the other hand, a professional who is really fond of making pitches, business proposals, connecting with new people, should definitely not be stuck in a back end job. While it is good to don multiple hats to survive and thrive in an organization, it is also imperative to work with your skills to succeed and sustain growth. 

It is not possible for a big company to work its way around the nuances of every employee. The people who join the organization have to get into the flow of the system and work their way around it. A highly organized person, who prefers to do her work on time and balance other areas of her life, may have a really hard time in a media company where it is not uncommon to burn the midnight oil and sacrifice the weekends. At the same time, a dynamic person who doesn’t mind the long work hours and the travel should not be chained to the desk at a dead-end job.

It is better to choose a company whose ethics and culture match with your ethics and value system. Working for a company that is totally different from how you prefer to do things, may need a lot of adjustment.

However, it is also important to be flexible and scrutinize any opportunity that comes your way fully before accepting it or rejecting it. You may have always worked in a law firm, but may be you are meant to do something completely different.  

Is Distance MBA worth it?

Internet has changed the way we can do things and has made so many more things available to us. With the help of internet and internet businesses, it is possible to have access to international entertainment, international brands and high standard of education, without ever leaving your own city or country. Getting good education without breaking the bank or moving to a new city can be extremely challenging for those who live in places where there is no availability of good colleges, management institutes or MBA courses. For these individuals, distance MBA from an accredited institute will ensure that they get their post graduate diploma or degree without uprooting their entire life.

It is a common misconception that long distance studies do not add enough weight and credibility to the resume. And when they will try to get a job based on such education, the opportunities will not be enough. As long as the course is undertaken from a reputed and recognized institute, there is nothing that can devalue the worth of the degree or diploma.

Here are some tips to keep in mind while deciding to study long distance MBA:

Distance MBA is a great option for anyone who wants to take further education from a specific institution, without leaving their current location. It is ideal for people who wish to continue working full time while acquiring higher education.

It is also a great option for girls and women who have taken a sabbatical from work to start a family. This way they can juggle both worlds without attending classes or leaving their home.

Moving to a new city to do your MBA, figuring out the accommodation, the utilities and other payments can be very expensive. With distance MBA, you don’t have to worry about moving or about following a very stringent time table. You are free to manage your own time and keep pace with the curriculum.

While choosing a MBA program, in distance learning, it is extremely imperative to go with an organization that has its credentials in place and is especially known for its distance learning programs. Things like email access to the faculty and office, opportunities on completion of the course and commitment needed to pursue the course should all be discussed with the management institute before taking a final call.

While there are plenty of really reputed institutes providing distance MBA learning, there are also tons of pseudo institutes giving misleading information. With the internet, it is very important to verify the authenticity of the MBA institute, to avoid a bad judgement. If anything on the website looks dodgy or unclear, make sure to verify the details before making the payment.

Some distance learning programs may actually have the option for you to complete part of the curriculum in the actual university or go to the University for a Graduation Ceremony on completion of the course. Also, with communication channels being wide open on the internet, there is no denying that keeping in touch with other students who are pursuing the same course as you would not be difficult at all.

Taking on Distance MBA, studying from home and juggling it with a job or other responsibilities is a huge commitment. There is no point in doing the course, if you are not going to commit to the required time and effort needed to successfully finish the requirements. Just like with a regular MBA, distance MBA too needs a lot of hard work and dedication. It should not be considered a short-cut or the easy way out.    

Entrepreneurship Do’s and Don’ts

We have more young entrepreneurs than ever before. A lot of people feel that commencing their own venture is so much better than working in an organization. Those bitten by the entrepreneurial bug are willing to take all sorts of risks to ensure that their project takes off from the ground. There are millions of start ups created and some of them don’t survive more than a year or two. Start ups are extremely challenging and difficult and as an entrepreneur one is expected to wear multiple hats instead of just being in charge of their own deadlines and tasks. Managing human resources and money are also extremely crucial for a venture to sustain growth and success. Let’s look at some of the entrepreneurship do’s and don’ts in detail.

Do’s

• Do have a business plan in place. Whether you are in a very nascent stage, seed stage, growth stage or any other stage in the business cycle. You have to know in which direction you want to continue growing.
• Do form a code of conduct. Work culture and work ethic are always passed down from the top management. It is very crucial to have a code of conduct so that the management and team members know exactly how things work in your organization, instead of everyone doing as they please.
• Do stay grounded and focussed. While dreaming big and having huge expansion plans are great aspirations, it is important to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. Whether you are hiring new team members or raising money, make sure not to get too ahead of yourself.

Don’ts

• Don’t go overboard in the initial phase. Whether it is hiring too many people or borrowing too much capital, make sure to take small steps in the first few years of operations.
• Don’t shy from micromanaging. In the initial phase, in all likelihood, you will have a small team. Feel free to delegate and give responsibility, but make sure to hold all the reins of the business till your team members have completely won your trust and respect.
• Don’t talk a big game. It is important to walk the walk instead just talking the talk. Guard your plans and resources with a lot of care and caution instead over sharing with everyone.
• Don’t be disheartened by failures and setbacks. Let’s face it – things are not going to always go your way and sometimes you will feel that everything is like swimming against the tide. Accept that that’s just part of being an entrepreneur and do whatever needs to be done.

When it comes to running your own business, the learning is endless. There are always new challenges and milestones to be conquered.

Contributed by a Student at MET Institute Mumbai.

Myths about MBA

While everyone has heard about the one million and one benefits of doing MBA, one hardly ever discusses or debunks the myths attached to this “magical” degree. There is so much controversy surrounding MBA and PGDM – which one has more value, which one will be recognized abroad and which one is the ticket to millions of dollars once you become an investment banker. The truth is (drum roll please), in the end it only depends on you. No matter how much you study or how hard you work, if you do not access your full potential you are leading a half-baked life, with or without a MBA. While it may sound very brutal, there is no denying that the right education and experiences always open the right doors, but don’t hold your breath! There are many other factors at play; let’s look at some overhyped MBA myths.

MBA plucks you out of the “masses” category and puts you in the “classes” category: Well some people think that simply doing MBA will make them conversation prodigies and networking geniuses, as they will know how to approach opportunities and create a leverage. Well, while these things may work in a professional environment, if you try to convert every social interaction into a professional opportunity, you will soon find your name being dropped from all lists.

MBA will finally give you the tools to implement that multimillion dollar idea: A lot o aspiring entrepreneurs think that if they go ahead and do their MBA before starting their own venture, then there is no stopping them. While it’s good idea to be positive and ambitious, it’s best to take off the rose tinted glasses in the start up phase. MBA or no MBA, it’s going to be a rocky ride – your idea may not generate the response you thought it would, you may have to shelve the company altogether or start from scratch for the third time in two years of operations.

It will all become smooth sailing and easy with MBA: Nothing could be further from the truth! It’s never going to be easy, especially after your MBA. Today’s corporate world is all about deadlines, strategies, crisis management and cash crunch. So if you think that life will be all about holidays and luxurious lunch meetings after MBA, then think again.

The degree matters, not the institute: Choosing the right institute for doing your MBA is extremely important, if you want it to add to your profile while applying for jobs. It is all about the institute, the syllabus and what you could extract from the whole experience. 

Choosing the Right Vocation

The need to create value and the desire to make a difference in the grander scheme of things; these are two things that haunt most people. For some this need to define themselves and their purpose starts at a very early age and somehow magically the right career and vocation finds them instead of it being other way around. For a lot of people, however, it is a constant challenge to find their ultimate purpose in life. They change jobs, get promoted, are good at what they do, but something is always lacking. Is it really possible to combine your career and your vocation aka your true calling? Or will the career always remain something you “have to” do to pay the bills and the vocation will always remain a passion area / creative pursuit?

In order to find one’s true calling or vocation, it is important to correctly define it first. The term vocation is always confused with other correlated terms like job, work profile or career. All these terms, however, mean different things to different people. A job is something you do in order to get a paycheque at the end of every month; in short it is a means to an end kind of proposition. A career on the other hand can be best described as a ladder –promotion, more responsibilities, higher designation are all steps ahead. The rewards in a career are definitely higher than rewards in a job, where you don’t exactly have a sense of direction.

A vocation is something you may invest time, money and effort in, even if it is not really adding to your job or career. It is something that you are really, really passionate about and something that you want to do without snoozing the alarm three times before rolling out of bed.

Everyone is born with a unique set of skills that differentiates them from the crowd. These are gifts that people are born with, but they may take time to identify these gifts in themselves and turn them into a passion or a career. Choosing a vocation has a lot to do with having access to these gifts – it could be attention to detail, time management, being in charge of plans or simply throwing magnificent parties at home. These are the same people that become highly successful in everything from e-commerce ventures to running a cute little bakery to mastering the business of event management.

It can be really frustrating to find satisfaction in what you are doing professionally while you are still trying to figure out your vocation. That’s why it is important to be patient; it is also essential to hold on to your day job till you know exactly where you are headed.

How to find out the right career for you

What we do somehow always forms a large part of the puzzle when it comes to answering who we are. We are living in a society where our professional life and identity define to a great extent our social standing and background. With so much importance on career, it goes without saying that there is immense pressure to choose the right career. Not that you cannot change your career, but we all know what a lengthy and time consuming process that can be, especially when there are other financial and family responsibilities. This is exactly why it is important to carefully choose a career and get the right academic qualifications. Hard work, overtime, sleepless nights and deadlines all seem a lot more meaningful when you actually love your work.

Here are some tips to identify the right career choice for you.

• Capitalizing on your strengths has a lot to do with the right career choice. For example, if you have a really analytical and mathematical mind and love numbers, then accounting, risk consulting, audit, etc. may be the right industries for you. But if you choose this career only because everyone else thinks it has a bright future, then you are obviously going down the wrong road. Nobody knows your strengths better than you; so it is best to define what comes naturally and effortlessly to you.

• The next thing to identify is what do you see yourself doing every single day? Some people love the idea of sitting in a fabulous office in a glass building while others simply cringe at the idea of having a desk job. Do you have a more outgoing personality or do you prefer a desk job with a small team? How are your interpersonal skills? What about your convincing abilities? These will all define whether you will do wonders at a back-end job or as front end person.

• Some jobs involve a lot of traveling, moving around and adapting in new environments, while others may involve constant thinking and analyzing of strategies. Depending on the type of personality and attitude you have, you can decide what kind of high pressure situations you will be best equipped to manage. 

Some of us are luckier in the career department than others. Some people just know at a very early age what they are meant to do when they grow up. If you have always known what career you are meant to live and breathe, by no means take a second guess. Go ahead and become a voracious consumer of all the possible information and knowledge in your industry and dive in head first. 

The Myths about PGDM Colleges

 Post Graduate Diploma in Management or PGDM is usually a two year full time course ideal for fresh graduates, working professionals, or those wanting to get back to studies after a break to kick-start a new career. There is a lot of confusion hovering around the discrepancy between Masters of Business Administration or MBA and Post Graduate Diploma in Management or PGDM. Well, the main difference between the two is that MBA is a degree and PGDM is a diploma. The institutes and management colleges, which offer PGDM courses, are autonomous bodies that are not affiliated with universities. They have different types of accreditation but they are stand alone institutes that do not require any permission to update their syllabus and faculty from time to time.

Here are some common myths about PGDM courses:

1. PGDM courses not have as much value as MBA degrees: Now this one is absolutely untrue. Some of the most renowned colleges in India offer PGDM courses. Depending on the course you choose and the institute you get into, a PGDM can be extremely rewarding for your career.

2. PGDM is not valid for further, higher education: A PGDM done from an accredited university is valid and accepted in all international universities. So, you need not worry at all about your diploma not being recognized if you do decide to work or study abroad.

3. An International university will make the student take another exam with just PGDM: Nope, you are safe here. Even if the international university is unaware of the diploma concept, all you need to do is obtain a AIU – a certificate known as Association of Indian Universities. This additional certificate will ensure a secure admission in international institute of your choice.

4. You cannot obtain a student loan for PGDM: You can very well apply for and be eligible for a student loan for PGDM as long as you do your paperwork properly; which would be the case with any type of loan.

5. You cannot get a government job with a PGDM: Wrong again. As long as you are the right match for the available position, you can get a government job on your diploma.

So there you have it. As long as you have verified the authenticity of the institute, you are good. Now, let’s look at some of the benefits of doing PGDM:

1. PGDM is offered by autonomous institutes, which have liberty to change and update their curriculum as per industry standards without waiting around for approvals.

2. PGDM can offer amazing infrastructure facilities, state-of-the-art classrooms and top level faculty. In short, PGDM from the right institute will ensure amazing exposure to the industry of your choice in a word class environment.

3. PGDM may offer courses in industry verticals, which may be impossible to find in degree colleges. So you can actually specialize in a niche of your choice and get the right environment and syllabus for it.

As a student, you must always keep your options open and gather as much background information as possible. PGDM courses will help you launch your career in the corporate world in the industry of your choice. In this highly competitive world, it is very important to be passionate about your work; arming yourself with the right knowledge for your passion area is like icing on a rich chocolate cake.