There is one recurrent question which candidates have to face during their interviews for admissions into their choice of B-Schools and also during their interviews during Summer Placements. That question is, “Why MBA?”
This is a question which requires a lot of thought to be put into it before blurting out a reply because whatever one says can set the foundation for the next set of questions which one would have to be ready for. In this article, we will be looking at the ways to answer this question both from the point of view of freshers as well as those with work experience.
For candidates who are freshers:
This question can be answered in a way which can highlight the fact that you wanted to get a holistic approach across all the business domains before deciding upon a career of your choice. It would be easier for you to justify this once you decide your long-term and short-term goals. The long-term goals are the ones which you want to achieve within ten years and the short-term goals are the ones you plan to achieve within five years. Think well before you plan your goals and it is a plus if you can factor your achievements until now to align with your goals.
You can say that an MBA at this point in life fits into the scheme of things because you would like to contribute to an organization in a dedicated manner and to the best of your ability by grooming yourself to make yourself suitable for the decision-making roles that an organization has to offer. By pursuing an MBA, you get exposure to the domains of Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, Consulting, and HR. This would also provide you the clarity to decide upon which role would suit you the best and in which domain.
For candidates with work experience:
The starting point here can be about first figuring out your long-term goals (your target within ten years’ time) and short-term goals (your target within five years’ time) as mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. Since you must have already worked for an organization before, it is definitely a plus if you can plan your long-term goals and short-term goals based on the insights from your work experience.
For example, if you have prior work experience in a technology role, then you can say that you decided to opt for an MBA at this point in life because, during your work experience, you learned that it is not only the technical expertise but also the learnings and expertise across the other domains that would help you contribute effective to the overall performance of an organization. You can also tell that just technical expertise makes you myopic in the long-run when it comes to you being in a position to contribute effectively to an organization. So, in order to broaden your knowledge base and learn about the other domains like Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, Consulting and HR you decided to go for an MBA.
In addition to these, you can also follow these links to frame your answer to ‘Why MBA’ better:
- 'Why MBA' & Factors That Matter To MBA Aspirants While Selecting A Business School | InsideIIM Recruitment Survey 2018
- Why MBA? - Understanding The Value That An MBA Degree Adds To Your Career
Also, you can follow the list of stories under ‘Why MBA’ that InsideIIM has to offer.
Hope it helps. All the best!
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