What after MBA – How to create your Personal USP?

By Prof Bajpai

MBA has been considered to be the cherry at the top of the icing that would complete one's academic career, making him or her a professional person. Those who are of my generation have grown up in an economy of shortages. This was further compounded with an upwardly mobile and burgeoning middle class. This meant that we all looked for careers that would enable us to build our net worth over and above and may be much beyond what we inherited, if anything at all. We saw graduation in any of the discipline as a pre-requisite to the aspirational MBA program. Today, most MBA aspirants look upon their graduation more as a means to do their MBA without any consequence from their graduation.

What does the MBA do to us? It gives us:
a)    Skills to operate in a business environment
b)    An attitude to be competitive and ethical

The most comprehensive definition of management education given to me was by my Late Professor Ravi Mathai during my orientation program at IIM Ahmedabad.

"Management education teaches you the Art and Science of generating logical alternative and assisting informed decision making. No more, no less."

Every other day I owe it to Prof. Mathai whose words still echo in my mind.

Two more important learning from a placement perspective that I wish to share with my young friends:
a)    We do not hire for skills in an organization; we hire for potential and attitude
b)    Most personal interview outcomes are decided within the first thirty seconds of the meeting.

Let us spend the next few minutes looking at the present scenario. Indian Education Policy makers seem to keep getting things wrong. We are just attempting to imitate the West and mindlessly expand the arena. This leads to mistakes of plenty. There are over 4,500 colleges or institute of higher learning providing the MBA or PG Diploma in Management, which means every year we have a potential to produce 3,60,000 MBA graduates. PG Diploma in Management becoming easily available across institutes has led to a dilution of the value of the diploma. We have witnessed closure of many MBA institutions, and we are witnessing the reduction in the average and median salary gaps with non-MBA discipline. There has been an extreme despair in the faculty availability across all levels and tiers of business schools.

In an era where every second American multi-national company is headed by an Indian CEO, the average MBA in India is struggling to make a decent living. The MBA from B-schools beyond the top 50 is being hired primarily to fill in requirements such as front-line sales, team leaders, customer servicing agent in BPOs and back-end analyst at some consulting firms – tasks which were either handed over to ordinary graduates or even non-graduates.

Does it spell doom for everyone who aspires for MBA Degree? 'No'.
The race is becoming harder, the times are tougher and in spite of such stiff competition, we need to create our place under the Sun. We need to look for careers and not jobs. An MBA school should be a place where you acquire wisdom, you acquire skills to be able to face problems and solve tasks. You should get an ability to confidently rub shoulders with the best and be above all. We have to develop an attitude of ethical competition.

The job must be the beginning of a career spanning the next three decades. There has to be careful planning how you will achieve your goals in that career. Every student must aspire to create in himself a unique selling proposition that will generate a brand which will sustain for the next 30 to 40 years. How does one go about creating a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) oneself which will last forever? A few tips that may assist you in arriving at your USP.

1.    Identify your weakness:  Myopia about oneself is the most common phenomenon. At times, the obvious is not visible. I may be the most ill-tempered person and be completely unaware of it. Take feedback from friends, relatives, classmates, teachers, mentors and make a list of your weaknesses. The mere awareness of a weakness is a step in the right direction.

2.    Identify your strength: All of us feel we are Supermen and create a long list of strengths in the process without validation or verification. Introspect, gather feedback and create a list of areas of strength. Validate through others and zero-in on one or two strengths. These will help you create your USP.

3.    Look for pitfalls: Create for yourself a list of all those assets and liabilities in your life which may hamper your personal development and which may force-curtail your mobility. Seek a mentor to help you limit these constraints. Eklavya turned out to be the 'Great Archer' in the world. Dronacharya is known more for having this unsung disciple rather than Arjuna. A mentor would be your best guide and your director at all times urging you to excel.

In conclusion I would like to state the following:

i.    Choose your Institution wisely;
ii.    Take educated decisions, acquire technical skills imparted and extract learning from group activity and social interactions. Know your strengths and weaknesses and listen to your mentor.
iii.    Finally let your instinct drive you to success.

About the Author:

Prof. Anil Bajpai is director, KIIT School of Management. His academic qualifications include Ph.D., Post Graduate Diploma in Management, IIM Ahmedabad, BE, Electrical Tech & Electronics (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), B.Sc. in Physics- St. Stephen’s College (Delhi University).

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