There are a lot of questions that are asked in a B-school interview, but this one seems to be the most favourite among the interviewers. It's asked in almost every interview. The Interviewer knows that the Interviewee is not going to give an honest answer, but asks the question as it has been a sort of tradition. The Interviewee knows that whatever he says is not going to be believed by the Interviewer, but tries his best by saying something like:
~ It'll provide an environment to grow as an individual and expand his horizon of knowledge.
~ It'll provide an opportunity to interact and learn with some of the best brains of the country.
~ It'll provide a holistic view of the functioning of an organisation..blah blah..
~ It's all about money. Honey! (kudos to this guys' honesty, but not sure if he gets through)
~ Why not? (this one's surely out)
Some even give it a Ms-India-contest touch by saying that after their MBA they want to serve the society. Ok, I know that was a bit exaggerated, but you got the point of its being so pointless.
Well, the question has been haunting me too for quite some time, but still I couldn't find a convincing answer. So, after a lot of brainstorming (one of those high-sounding-MBA-words) I've come up with my 4-Gs theory, much in line with 5-Cs of economics or 4-Ps of management.
Glitz n Glamour - One of my earliest memories of an MBA was a young guy in his early 20s, working as a top executive with an MNC, earning a fat pay package, wearing a formal suit, sitting in a plush office in a high rise. The image was created as a result of reading some business magazines, which sells on the success stories of young enthreprenuers and 30-something CEOs. Though this image gradually changed when some of my friends after completing their MBAs were placed in field jobs for sales and marketing. They used to say "glamour kya..sabun bechna ka job hi hai yaar!"
Ghostel Life - Don't even bother to look into dictionary, the 'G' is intentionally added. As I haven't been (un)fortunate enough to stay in a hostel for my grads, there has always been a feeling of missing that crazy life.
Gorgeous Girls - Due to dearth of nice girls in my Engineering college and later in IT industry, MBA seemed a lucarative option with some colleges boasting a boys to girls ratio as high as 1:2-3 in HR. Once again my MBA friends shattered my hopes by calling it a myth.
I've started doubting if this species really attends any college as everyone seems to agree with the 99%-of-girls-are-beautiful-remaining-1%-are-in-my-college school of thought.
Getting Back to School - After working for so long in the same company, I need a break from the routine life of project deadlines, office politics, appraisal issues, salary concerns, etc and going back to school seems to be the only escape route.
Some people say that I never had a genuine reason to go for an MBA and I just say "Wait, till I come up with another reason".
I've already started looking for words starting with the alphabet 'G'!
3 comments:
- Getting out of IT
- Get a two year vacation (paid one, of course !)
- Getting to know yourself better (Peer competition, peer interaction adds immense value. The very reason why people want to get into good college.)
Right now can think of these many reasons only.
My answer in the interview was - "To leverage on my two years' experience in industry. And to get better responsibilities."
No idea if its the right one. Doesnt matter! Because it got me into one of the premium B-Schools of India !
--
Second Year Student of Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
one more G : Great learning experience: I think one of the reasons is a learning experience .... the MBA course is designed in such a way that it gives you a lot of opportunities to have numerous interactions with your peers and you get to learn different perspectives which opens up your mind to a great extent ..
I don't know who endorses these ratings of MBA Institutes.... more often than not which are weird!... take example of PROF. Arindam Chaoudhary founded Institutes, each of which claims to be among the top 3 under some equally weird categories...
Coming down to your question - Nobody COMPLETELY knows why MBA?... those who have already done know still less!... atleast till the time you aspire for it, you have certain set of dreams & so called challenges to support your aspirations... when DONE... its mostly a different story altogether. Actually the person who's asking this question in an interview was himself not able to convincingly answer this question at the time of his interview... may be he tries to find a justification by asking you!
You can add a few more 'G's... I am sure almost all will fit in...
Haan... for Subjects less meaningful, you can visit my blog : www.sketchesandimages.blogspot.com
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