How to spoil your MBA internship search?

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There is a very good chance that a first year MBA would be putting in efforts looking for an internship at this time. An internship not just enables a candidate to get valuable experience but also to build contacts, have a sense of understanding the business and many more. However, not many realize that there are certain pitfalls that need to be avoided.
Try Too Hard
MBA students usually have high aspirations and often tend to put themselves under pressure as far as achieving their goals is concerned. At times it makes more sense to wait for the right internship rather than blindly opting for a one that has a big brand name and/or promises good and valuable experience.
This does not mean that one should do nothing during the winter. During this time they can actually work on their networking with people and researching companies that they wish to work for. Following the herd is not a wise decision to make in terms of looking for internships.
 
Be a Bad Networker
Networking is not something that has to be forcefully done. Attending random networking events without even getting to know and understand people does not help at all. No amount of research, mock interviews can actually replace the networking abilities as it is the human that is going to hire you for a job. Thus, there is a need to be able to connect with them.
So how can you do that?
Staying inside the four walls is definitely not a solution. Get out and talk to people, ask questions and most importantly, let them know about yourself.
 
Know nothing about Yourself
As mentioned above, you need to understand yourself very well to let others know about you. Failing to know yourself, your interests, and strengths can put you behind in the internship search. After this you move towards doing the final preparation, networking with the right people and pursue your interests. 
Apply to every opportunity available
Today’s MBA students are used to pushing through applications and résumés from the comfort of their home computers. Sometimes, they are tempted to click on “send” for every job they see because it’s so simple, says Nguyen. Applying to everything usually results in getting no job at all. Instead, customize your résumé and network and look for openings that appeal to you and for which you are a strong candidate. “What they need to be doing,” Nguyen says of MBA job seekers, “is getting out and knocking on doors.”
Unnecessarily stress yourself
Many MBAs are not used to relaxing and tend to stress themselves out at the smallest of instances. This often leads to silly mistakes that can cost a candidate a good offer. One should not be reluctant to approach people from companies that you would like to associate with.

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XAT 2013 - Last Minute Tips

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With XAT 2013 round the corner, the preparations for the same are in full swing. However, it would be beneficial if the student is familiar with the pattern and has a rough idea about what to expect from the test for mba.
For Reading Comprehension in XAT, one should focus on reading the paragraphs carefully, understand the meaning of the words. The questions are mostly analytical and thus practice for the same is essential. It would be advisable to skip the questions, if there is a slightest amount of uncertainty.
The essay writing section is important and cannot be taken lightly. The topics are mainly from current affairs- domestic or international. Thus being aware about the current happenings becomes imperative. As it is an essay, the basic idea has to be the focus and the construction of the sentences with a smooth flow that ultimately would create a good impact on the reader.
Apart from this, the general knowledge section will comprise of twenty to thirty questions , the questions will be from different genre’s such as business, economics and politics related to the business environment like mba.
In order to score splendidly in the examination, it is advisable for the candidates to focus on the areas such as present heads of major global/Indian companies, information on brands and companies, taglines of major global/Indian companies etc.
For the GK section, it is always safe to cover a wide array of topics from business, economics and politics. It would be advisable to be well-versed with the present heads of companies- local and global and information about them.
Lastly, solving XAT sample papers would do a lot of good just to get into exam mode before the actual test.

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3 Tips to Crack ‘Decision Making’ Questions In XAT

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The decision-making questions in the Xavier’s Aptitude Test (XAT) are considered to be the toughest ones to solve. Choosing the questions that comes closest to your sensibilities is just the beginning; the tougher aspect is to choose the right answer from the multiple choices offered. It takes an overall ability to solve these questions, a good knowledge base and at times some professional experience.

MBAupdates would like to give you few tips deciphered on the basis of the analysis and research of the sample XAT papers of the previous years.

The XAT 2012 paper showed nearly 25 questions in this section, lesser than the year 2011. MBAupdatesexpects 25 or more this year of XAT 2013 for mba, based on past years XAT papers. The expected cut of is anticipated to be 7-7.5 if the number of questions this year are increased for this section. Read on to how to prepare yourself with these amazing tips that will help you fight the dear of decision making questions in XAT 2013 for mba.

Familiarity with Similar Problems

The familiarities with problems like the ones that are going to be asked in the exam are very essential. This familiarity can be increased by nothing but intensely reading the questions and answers or solutions. Dig out all the possible decision making questions and solutions from old sample XAT papers and past year XAT papers. Even more important than merely reading the problems, the adequate deconstruction of the same with questions like why and results of a particular chosen answer by you will be the best way to figure out the correct answer. You need to get into the habit of structuring and deconstructing the decision making question from solve the available answers.

Reading blogs and articles related to solving

There are various detailed articles and blogs related to problem solving. Read decision making materials from business websites and other management school theory material available for free. The knowledge given there is exactly what will answer your question. This should be done because the material available in detail will open up keys to problem solving at a higher levels than desired by you to solve the question in the XAT papers. You will be prepared and familiarity with solving the toughest of the decision making questions posed in the XAT. After this exercise you should re-solve and the sample XAT papers and past year XAT papers.

Asking essential questions to the question itself

There are a set of questions that should significantly answer the questions on business strategy, ethics, morals, customer’s needs, the benefits, the cons, the timeframe to achieve results, the value added by the chosen answer, and the complexity and the consequences of the answer  chosen. Make sure to keep the legal, regulatory, social, economic and political set up of the chosen country concerned.

These 3 essential tips by MBAupdates will surely up your chances of getting more correct answers in the decision making questions with the help if the sample XAT papers and past year XAT papers.

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Higher (Management) Education- A catalyst to BRIC’s growth

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BRICs is a term coined by Jim O’Neill coined in 2001 that stands for developing countries like Brazil, Russia, China and India expected to be superpowers in the near future. This assortment of countries is expected to account for nearly 20% of the World Gross Domestic Product by the end of 2012. Taking a close look at the economic and political bent of the countries that make up the BRIC nations it can be observed that all of them are developing stage and being the developing countries they are each of them is striving hard to make their populace more productive by endeavouring to give them the best education like MBA. After due analysis of each country it can be affirmed that the Higher Education is instrumental in the collective growth of BRICs and each individual as well.

So, why does BRICs growth relies on its Higher Education?
Most of the developing countries are at a stage where their population is increasing but the respective governments are not spending enough on the higher education. Thus a need has arised for universities to put in efforts in setting up a system for higher education. This will not only lead to more research institutions and development organisations spurting the country’s growth but will also lead to innovation, research and development. This is the model of the development and growth adopted ages back by North America and Europe that has lost lustre there as these developed countries have already reached the echelons of development.

Brazil for instance is laying a great emphasis on its higher education environment. A major chunk of its universities for enrolments are public. These are the same universities MBA that are today the research powerhouses fuelling hopes, businesses and growth of the entire Latin America. Brazil is carving a niche for its self in the education space, especially higher education by employing sets of world class faculty coupled with superbly attractive salaries although private participation is still the need of the hour. Russia is amongst the lowest performing when it comes to higher management education. In contrast to this they are performing well with respect to medical education. Russia’s constraints are of a different order as its eco-political atmosphere is vastly different from that of Brazil, India and China. This is because Russia so far has failed to create an academic culture, freedom, faculty and salaries which are not really working in its favour. China and India on the other hand are making the correct choices and indulging in privatising higher education which although is asking higher management education more expensive but is still making a difference to the bright minds stepping out form the universities.

Thus, looking at the constraints faced by each BRIC country, building a tough foundation for higher management education could well be the answer to many development woes in each of them but the constraints hindering the capacity are not small in nature and hence a routed path specifically concentrating on making education as the medicine to growth worries could help the macro BRIC growth cause.

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Posted by samjohnson
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The financial fall of 2008 has changed the entire job scene. Firstly, there is a dearth of jobs in the market and the jobs that are available are paying peanuts. This is especially the case with jobs in the financial service sector and investment banking jobs. The world output has declined, countries suffer from heavy fiscal debts, liquidity is running on margins, banks and other financial services are cutting jobs, the base salaries are remaining constant. Costs of MBA graduates are not being covered even in a span of three to five years. There are many valid and real life reasons as to why an MBA graduate would decide to reject a job in the field of financial services and investment banking. Read on to find out more about the increasing sector-specific jobs.

Payments

The payments are made to banking sector and the Investment banking sector has been slashed to a great extent. Payments at entry levels are small and growth is extremely slow; heavily dependent upon your revenue achieving ability as well as your overall performances. Keenly analyzing the CTCs one would notice that the basic salaries on which bonuses and salary hikes are given are base notes while the other uncertain variables in the salary slips are hiked. This is especially the case with banking sector jobs as incentives make a heavy part of the salary. Increments after a year of work have been reported to be averaging out at low levels of 5%-8%, sometimes even lesser than the inflation rate in the country.

Stress

As banking and investment banking sectors are prone to a variety of job cuts, employees working with them suffer from immense pressure especially in the sales departments at any level and position. The markets don’t favour sales, of any product especially loan, insurance and new business investment proposals when the overall market is weak. Employees undergo tremendous stressful situation jeopardizing the longevity of their jobs. Working hours are prolonged in the face of sales and revenue crunches and the failure of the employee to meet his set of targets set for the month or quarter.

Responsibilities

A market survey by MBAupdates of fresher’s and even professionals with 4-5 years of respective experience shows that they have been bestowed with more responsibilities  in their work profile that is allotted as per their designation and position. This makes the small salary come to employee at a bigger cost. This trend has been witnessed in almost each nationalized banks in India. In fact the scene is better in government and state banks but the salaries offered here are not at par with private sector banks.
Thus, assessing the above analyzed factor one can say that a job in the financial sector or the banking sector in India is a clear case of lop sided cost-benefit ratio for an MBA graduate who probably still has to cover the cost of his education loan or maybe pay his parents back.

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Management Lessons from Sachin Tendulkar

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Sachin Tendulkar who bid farewell to his ODI cricketing career recently has not just won titles like the Cricketing Maestro, Cricketing Legend, Master Blaster and many more for his worthy cricket skills, talents and achievements alone. He stands for much more than what the eye can see. He stands for humility, he stands for excellence, his focussed mind, his ability to take criticism and endure it with all modesty available on the planet. He has invested in his play and flawless skill-honing with brilliant organization skills that all management students and aspiring gurus can learn from. Adopt his principles of management at work to realise what was the real talent behind the bat! MBAupdates searches to extract some lessons to learn from someone who will never be seen in coloured clothes fighting hard for Team India.

Search Beyond Perfection

Despite being perfect and scoring as much as he did Sachin Tendulkar looked for perfection beyond his own limits. This was reflected in his strict regimented routine of net practice every morning. His discipline and hard work got him what he achieved in 23 years of his association with cricket. Similarly, managers should look beyond the normal trends to something beyond, something being the clichéd to discover products; prices and strategies that boost productivities ad help them achieve their goals. Try different methods to reach the same destination as the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar did.

Failure nor Success Erred Him

Sachin Tendulkar has played a very long innings, during which he earned tonnes of accolades for his performance on the field. However, he did not have a great time as a captain. Rather one would agree that his stint was criticized by many for the failures of the cricket team. Did this failure affect him? Maybe it did. But he did not let it reflect the same on his batting after he was relieved of the captaincy. There were numerous occasions when the armchair critics pointed fingers at him for not contributing when the team really needed. Every time he answered them by coming up with a brilliant knock that forced the same critics to sing praises for him.
Secondly, remaining grounded when one has succeeded requires traits that very few people possess. Tendulkar manages to do this with utmost finesse on and off the field.
Thus, the key is to stay grounded whether you are appreciated or criticized. It’s all about staying at your crease for a long time braving all odds and believing in yourself.

Focus On One Product

Each stroke of his was beyond perfection, each was a product that he perfected. But he focussed only on cricket. Amazing concentration levels. He never shifted focus. He did not let success get to working for his product, cricket! Yes time will definitely consume your patience, but alas if you get success like how Sachin Tendulkar got then would that not be worth it! Thus, do not put your hands in everything and do not try to be the jack of all trades, it only ruins your actual skill. Hear experts say … “his greatness is that he does the same thing that he has been doing for the last 25 years, but with greater passion every time he takes the field. He has never tried his hand at anything other than cricket. He feels most secure in his 2 1/2 square foot home called the batting crease,” clarifies R Suresh, CEO of the executive search firm Stanton Chase.
These are some of the star management principles that MBAupdates could gather form the cricketing career of the legend Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
Tendulkar epitomises the mind-set of wanting to grow from scratch even after achieving the greatness threshold. He never tends to cool his heels. Companies and CEOs too must always think of starting from scratch and keep up the tempo even when they hit their targets.

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XAT 2013 - What to Expect?

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XAT, the Xavier’s Admission Test is a comprehensive common entrance test to gain eligibility into Xavier’s (XLRI) and other 70 prestigious B-schools in India for courses like One-year General Management Programme, Four-year Fellow Programme in Management and the Two-year Post Graduate Programme in Business Management (BM) and Human Resource Management (HRM). It is known to be one of the tough common entrance examinations. The analysis of the exams paper of 2012 will give you a clear idea about what you can expect in XAT 2013. MBA updates presents to you some of the best analysis of the XAT paper of 2012 and its consequent thorough student research and sample XAT papers assessment of the same.

The XAT paper pattern, as always is divided into the two major sections. The first one constitutes of analytical reasoning, decision making, verbal ability and logical reasoning of multiple choices. The second section will comprise of essay writing and general awareness. MBA updates analyzes the previous year’s paper and gives out the features for the benefit of XAT 2013 aspirants.

Part 1 of Question Paper, Analysis and Expectations

Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making made up 25 questions in 2012 down from 30 in the previous year. This is supposed to be the most difficult section. A student can be deemed to have done well if he/she manages to attempt 19 out of 30 having answered at least 14 correctly. The expected cut off can range between 7-7.5 if there are 30 questions asked in this section.

Verbal ability and logical reasoning made up of 34 questions last year 2012. This section turned out to be one of the easy going sections this year making it easier for all to score it up in it. It comprises of the English Grammar based questions, English Proficiency like Analogy, Fill in the Blanks, Para jumble, Cloze Test, and English Comprehension. The logical reasoning question is the more difficult to crack from the two with questions on Fact Inference Judgement, Passage Conclusion, and Statement Argument. Answering around 24 out 34 is a great possibility and a plausible 20 out of the 24 answered could lead to an expected cut off around.
Data Interpretation and Quantitative ability

This is section most feared by students as it requires great finesse and liking for quants and to top it all it definitely does take away most of their problem solving time dedicated to this section. Last year it questioned around 28 problems to students that were easy in nature and hence 2012 can step up the difficulty as an alternative. Answering around 19-20 is fantastic for this section.

Part 2

The essay section mostly hovers around topics and issues on the current affairs followed with the section on general knowledge and awareness. This is the show-stealer for all those not apt with data, quants and logic. The essay is to be written in 20 minutes apart from the 2 hour allotted time for the main paper.MBAupdates recommends that students should read out issues on social, economic and political issues on the country and international, a rather in-depth reading suggested based on the study of the sample XAT papers

Thus, evaluating the details above MBAupdates expects the XAT 2013 paper to be a slightly tougher than the 2012 paper. Prep up to the extremes for the best results. The XAT results are declared sometime around the end of January of each year the examination is held.

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