Job Profiles offered to 90% MBA Graduates in India

“You are a Future Manager. You need to manage things, after all MBA is all about management”

— A Famous Proverb from Indian B-Schools –

Indian B-School classes often echo with similar phrases to keep the morale of students virtually high. Such proverbs are actually drawn from Top B-Schools where students possess professional work experience. But, in India, irrespective of student credentials, this phrase easily finds its accommodation.

Also, some common discussions among MBA students are about their desire to get into “core” job fields. Every marketing student wants job in niche fields like “market research”, “market communications” etc. whereas students in Finance, dream about “Corporate Finance” or “Investment Banking”.

But when we look into job market, reality is absolutely depressing.  What we found is nearly 90% MBA graduates from a particular specialization are into similar functional area. Let us analyze the job profiles of graduates with the popular specializations.

1. Marketing – Marketing is one of the most popular specializations among students. Marketing covers areas like Sales, Advertising, and Branding etc. but when it comes to job majority of students have been employed by sales (in the name of marketing). Retail Sales (B2C), Institutional Sales / Corporate Sales (B2B) are the job profiles offered. Also, “Inside sales” is the profile offered to students with solid communication skills where task is to sell products through tele conversation.

2. Finance – The scene in finance is no more different. Banking & Financial Services are the major employers but with the profiles centered on Sales. In Banking, it’s about selling CASA (Current Account – Saving Account) while in Financial services, the responsibility is to sell Demat Accounts, Mutual Funds, Insurance Policies (in the name of investment portfolio advisory).

3. Human Resources – In Principle HR is popular among students those who are not willing for a field job. But, the reality is major of HR pass-outs have been employed as “recruiters” where the responsibility is to fill job vacancies by lining up suitable candidates for hiring managers. Many job / manpower consultants also hire HR graduates to line up candidates for their clients. Whereas HR as a field also offers crucial roles & profiles like HR Generalist, Employee Rewards & Benefits, Grievance Handling, and Statutory Compliances.

So, if you are really looking to get into the niche job profile then you should aim for Tier-I B-Schools.