Current Employment Trends and Their Implications for Business, Society, and Individuals
February 12, 2025
An important decision that confronts all aspiring management graduates is about the kind of business school that they would want to join after clearing the entrance procedures. This decision must be taken after due diligence is done on the various business schools and after careful thought has gone into the selection process. There are many […]
Introduction For most management graduates and students in business schools, working for the world famous Big Five management consultancies such as McKinsey, Booze Allen, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Price Waterhouse (PWC), and Anderson consulting is a dream come true. Indeed, the fact that these consultancies are often given the Day Zero or the opening slots […]
Knowledge management has been a buzzword amongst modern day companies for a few years now. However, many companies are still skeptical about investing significant sums of money in a knowledge management system. This is because the return on knowledge management can be difficult to measure. When companies undertake other cost-cutting or business improvement activities, the […]
What is the Marshmallow Test and Why We are Living in an Age of Distraction We live in an Age of Distraction. Our Smartphones give us “never ending” pleasure and thrills, and dulls our senses and takes away our ability to focus on a task for more than a few minutes. Research has shown that […]
The purpose of organization assessment programs is to evaluate the potential of employees for growth and development within the organization. Many organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Ford, Intel and IBM use such programs to fulfill their staffing requirements. Since these organizations are known for continuous innovation, they need special target groups in order to […]
The reason why students enroll in management programs is that apart from graduating with a degree in management, they would want and like to be placed in a good company of their choice. This means that the goal of placement in their dream companies spurs them to do well and perform better than their peers. As the management programs evaluate their students on how well they performed relative to their peers rather than in absolute grading, it is important to understand that recruiters also look for candidates who are better than the others they have shortlisted.
Further, recruiters also look for well-rounded candidates and those with skills that they want.
In other words, the profile of the students who are recruited by companies is determined based on not only the CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) but also whether the candidate matches the profile that the companies are looking for. In many cases, leading consultancies and investment banks prefer candidates with a consistent academic record throughout their education as well as a well-rounded profile that goes beyond mere scores and instead, indicates how well the candidate has built himself or herself up until then. As many recruiters of the leading companies would attest, they are not looking for “flashes in the pan” wherein the student does well during the management program but does not have the credentials in aspects other than academics.
The next aspect of what recruiters look for in management graduates is how well the candidate can fit the job profile for which they are recruiting. The match between the requirements and the candidate is very important as this determines the eventual career progression of the candidate in the organization. This means that companies like P&G or Proctor and Gamble and Unilever look for recruits who can jell with their organizational culture and can seamlessly make the transition from the management programs to the jobs. Indeed, these companies are always on the lookout for candidates who are polished, have excellent communications skills, and are generally well-rounded meaning that they had or are having a life beyond their academics.
Many consultancies and investment banks look for candidates who are good at problem solving and have exceptional analytical skills.
In other words, as these companies need their employees to consult with the industries (consultancies) and to advise them on quantitative aspects of deal making (investment banks); they are inclined to recruit those with superior analytical and comprehension skills.
The third aspect of what recruiters look for in candidates is that they must be perform under pressure which means that the companies test the candidates basing on how well they work under stress. As most of the premium jobs entail pressure cooker working environments where the employees often have to work under tight deadlines and under intense pressure as well as cutthroat competition, many recruiters often give importance to how well the candidates can take and withstand pressure.
Many companies in recent times are emphasizing the fact that taking courses is one aspect and doing specialized term papers and research papers on specific topics is an added skill that would add value to the resume. This means that recruiters often give importance to the fact that they need candidates who are more focused on topics like Finance, Marketing, and Strategy by not only specializing in these niches but have also done specific term papers and research papers on sub topics in these fields.
Finally, the fact that many recruiters prefer students from premier business schools that also have done their undergraduate degrees from reputed institutions is a reality that many business school students face. Therefore, if one is from a school that is second tier or third tier, the best way to wangle a good job is by adding value to one’s resume and profile by being better than the ones from premium schools. This can be done by excelling in academics, taking electives in a strategic manner, publishing research papers and doing term papers, and by participating in extracurricular and co curricular activities to build one up.
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