6 Things You Must Do Before Joining Your MBA Program

By Ashi Jain

A year of preparation, followed by a series of competitive exams and two months of GD-PI round has finally led you to your dream MBA college. This was one hell of a journey. This is an earned break before your delve into the rigour of an MBA program. However, it is essential to utilize some of this time to work on a few things so that you have a distinct advantage over other candidates.

1. Build your Resume: Most B-schools start their summer placements after a period of 8-9 weeks upon the commencement of the program. Hence, it is important to draft your resume ready and analyze the gaps which will give you a clear indication of where should you direct your efforts.

You will not have a lot of time at your disposal once you enter the college – as you will be swarmed by a plethora of tests, assignments and much more and even before you realize it, top firms would start visiting the college and you might end up losing big opportunities.

2. Learn Advanced Excel and Powerpoint: While a lot of us are comfortable with these tools, it is required that you progress further and master them. In your MBA program, you will be loaded with a lot of assignments and national level case study competitions, which will require you to extensively use these tools.

3. Volunteer with the NGOs: Working with an NGO is a quite fulfilling experience, and more so it helps you sharpen your social and leadership skills. You will gain confidence and knowledge, which will help you improve your overall personality. More so, it is a great place for Networking and also adds that extra point to your profile.

For students without prior work experience, an NGO gives a close simulation of the various opportunities and challenges such as day to day operations, fundraising that a start-up faces.

4. Complete a Short Term Course: Choose a domain of your interest and start exploring. Doing such a course will have a two-fold benefit: you expand your learning curve and it also provides you with a valuable certification. For someone who does not have a background in management, it is a big add-on.

5. Read Newspapers: You would have developed the habit of reading newspapers during your GD-PI preparation. It is important to continue doing that and stay abreast of the latest news. As future managers, you should always stay informed about what’s happening around in the world.
You should ideally subscribe to a financial newspaper such as Mint, Business Standard, Economic Times, etc. A lot of these newspapers provide a subscription to students at a subsidized rate.

6. Create a LinkedIn Profile: If you have a stellar LinkedIn profile, you can move to the next point. However, if you do not already have one in place, it is time you start building it. This will also help you expand your network; you can connect with the alumni and seek their guidance in times of need.
Also, LinkedIn rolls out the opportunity to become the LinkedIn Campus Editor for your campus, for the assessment is based on your profile.

With all these in place, you are ready to kick start your MBA journey. These two years will provide you with various opportunities for learning and growth, utilize them and make the most of it.

After all, You Bschool Only Once!