Going back to school for an MBA is always a big decision that can have far-reaching repercussions in your career and life. While many MBA aspirants can easily spend a couple of sleepless nights pondering their approach toward an MBA program, many might be apprehensive about the use of an MBA degree in the post-covid new normal.
However, the data shows that the demand for MBA graduates will not dwindle any time soon. The Corporate Recruiters Survey 2021 by GMAC portrays an enthusiastic picture of the upcoming MBA hiring trends. Most corporate recruiters expect to see an increase in the hiring of MBA graduates for at least the next five years.
What’s more encouraging is the fact that about half of the European recruiters (54 per cent) share such optimistic views, followed by their American (34 per cent) and Asian (32 per cent) counterparts. Even the median MBA salary is expected to reach the pre-pandemic level sooner than expected.
Read further to know the potential reasons and factors likely to sustain the demand for MBA graduates in the post-covid world.
Impact of COVID on Businesses
The drop in sales figures across the industries, lay-offs, and poor policy support in low-income countries are some of the negative impacts the Covid-19 has on businesses. However, businesses worldwide have been remarkably resilient to the Covid-19 crisis and fought hard to score some brownie points while facing the pandemic.
- Going Digital
Nationwide and prolonged lockdowns in many countries came as a massive shock to many businesses in the initial days of the pandemic. Businesses that were otherwise reluctant or slow to adopt modern digital practices were forced to choose between embracing digital technology faster or simply perishing.
As a result, technology adoption took the driving seat and the changes, such as shifting from physical meetings to zoom conferences, that would have otherwise taken months to implement happened overnight.
- Accelerating Innovations
Innovations, especially the ground-breaking ones, can sometimes face resistance during the initial phases, which is why firms generally act cautiously while implementing them. However, the pandemic allowed firms to implement innovation in all departments such as manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, and general administration without much resistance or reservations.
As a result, many companies were emboldened to launch new products and explore new markets fearlessly. Many companies experimented with their business models as well.
- Witnessing Rise in Productivity
Large corporates worldwide have witnessed a general rise in productivity among employees while working from home. This has effectively put the traditional idea of employees becoming lazy when not supervised to rest.
- Saving Money
The sudden halt in business activities and the resulting financial stress had made companies re-visit their expenses. The companies started to pull back on unnecessary spending and concentrated on investing in infrastructure, training, supply chain, and things that matter most.
Simply put, the pandemic was a financial lesson well learnt by the corporates.
Demand for MBA grads Post Covid
While the pandemic did affect the hiring process across different fields of study, MBA grads from leading US B-schools still managed to bag job offers from leading corporate firms routinely.
The following data shows the top 10 employers across 24 US B-schools.
| Rank | Name of Employer | Industry |
| 1 | Mckinsey & Company | Consultancy |
| 2 | Boston Consulting Group | Consultancy |
| 3 | Amazon | E-commerce |
| 4 | Bain & Company | Consultancy |
| 5 | Deloitte | Consultancy |
| 6 | EY-Parthenon | Consultancy |
| 7 | Technology | |
| 8 | Microsoft | Technology |
| 9 | Accenture | Technology |
| 10 | JP Morgan Chase & Co. | Banking |
[Source:- Poetsandquants ]
It can be noted that some of the biggest names in corporate America, such as Meta, Adobe, Goldman Sachs, etc., are missing from the top 10 recruiter’s list despite hiring a sizable number of MBAs. This only reinforces the fact that the
Hirings might continue for years to come.
[READ: MBA Programs with Highest Employment Rate]
What can MBA Grads do in the Post-Covid World?
- Leadership
The post covid corporate world will need exemplary leaders ready to face and tackle a potentially new set of problems. The MBA grads in this new world are expected to go beyond mere supervision and management.
Instead, they will be expected to share their vision and strategy with their subordinates and create an atmosphere where they can fuel the company’s growth and the individuals reporting to them.
- Flexibility
The post-covid world will undoubtedly belong to the firms that can quickly respond to the changing market conditions. Hence, the new age managers might be expected to have the flexibility and agility to be flexible with their roles in the organisation.
- Critical Thinking
The upcoming MBA recruits will stare at a future where the companies will compete for explosive growth and global expansion to sustain their operations. Such organisations will require managers who can deeply analyse every possible situation in a business and critically think of different solutions to a problem.
- Emotional Intelligence
Academic and business intelligence will remain a top priority for recruiters. However, new age managers will be expected to empathise with other people’s emotions and behaviours. The cliche manager’s lines like ” I want this now, no matter how” are unlikely to work on people returning to the office after a long stay at home.
- Creativity
While most traditional jobs and responsibilities are taken over by AI-powered software and automation tools, innovation and creativity are unlikely to be replaced.
Recruiters in the post-covid world will prefer managers who can think out of the box and provide unconventional solutions to problems. Furthermore, they should be ready to try out new business models that can help in revenue growth.
[READ: How to Grab Post-pandemic Opportunities for MBA Graduates]
The post-covid world can witness exponential economic growth globally across many sectors as the economies of different countries are slowly getting back to normal after a long slumber. In such a scenario, large firms will continue to build a robust management team for overseeing expansions and other management operations, which will drive the MBA recruitment process for years to come.
Besides, an MBA degree from a good B-school can immensely increase your earning potential right from the beginning of your career, and you can be poised to catapult your career to new heights once the Covid-19 ripples are settled.
