What Skills Do You Gain From an MBA?
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It’s well known that earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree fosters higher earning potential, expanded professional network and increased skill development. But, as you consider enrolling in a graduate business program, you probably wonder what you learn from an MBA.
While the specific technical skills recruiters are looking for vary based on the industry or the companies’ priorities, overall, employers recognize the value of a graduate business education and its positive impact on professional development. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) annual Corporate Recruiters Survey, 95 percent of surveyed staffing firms plan to hire MBA holders in the coming years.
Why do employers and recruiters have such a strong preference for applicants with an MBA degree? When asked, most recruiters expressed their trust in graduate business schools to produce professionals who “have strong communication skills, have a versatile skill set, and are strategic thinkers.”
Earning an MBA degree helps you to develop both the technical and soft skills employers seek, establishing you as a leader, boosting your marketability and making you a competitive candidate.
Business Ethics
To become a leader in any field, it is vital to operate in a socially responsible manner. MBA programs help students understand and develop strong business ethics by ensuring they are well-versed in industry topics and can recognize systemic problems and identify strategic solutions to implement change. The ability to translate ideals into reality demonstrates that you have integrity and the ambition to enact meaningful transformation.
While there are core principles of business ethics, oftentimes, colleges and universities provide industry-specific ethics courses to give students a fuller understanding of the ethical dilemmas and discussions related to that unique business sector. Equipped with this invaluable knowledge, students are empowered to maintain a socially responsible perspective and take on leadership roles after completing their graduate degree.
Analytical Skills
In every sector of business, it is essential to have strong analytical skills. Possessing well-developed analytical skills allow you to discern market trends and patterns, make data-informed decisions and create action plans to prevent or solve issues your business encounters.
Many MBA programs offer courses in operation analytics, database management, consumer behavior, quantitative tools for business management and more. These courses provide students with methodologies to perform research, assess data sources, synthesize different types of information and incorporate findings into reports and effective decision making.
With this focus on how to utilize quantitative and qualitative analysis, pursuing an MBA degree helps students to strengthen their analytical skills and become more adept at working with a variety of data sets.
Interpersonal Skills
Every business deal and professional collaboration begins with connection. Whether it is formed through written correspondence, a pitch meeting or a networking event, strong interpersonal skills help to build impactful and effective relationships with colleagues and clients.
Written Communication
Nearly every MBA course requires students to develop their written communication in one way or another. For some classes, you may learn how to develop a detailed business plan or write a budget report, while other courses are dedicated to the intricacies of industry-specific writing styles.
Every career in the business field requires some form of written correspondence. From internal emails or memos to external communications like press releases or white papers, well-developed written communication skills ensure that content is accurate and intelligible, facilitates a smooth exchange of information and ideas and helps businesses to run more efficiently.
Additionally, being a skillful writer is beneficial because it makes a lasting impression. Often, your written communication precedes you. For instance, when applying for a job, you submit a cover letter and résumé, detailing your unique qualifications and persuading recruiters that you are the best candidate for the job. Or, if you are starting a small business and approaching investors, your writing skills can impact whether or not they choose to invest in your business endeavor.
With an MBA, you develop the skills needed to be a competent writer, which can help you express your professional objectives and accomplishments and make a favorable first impression with recruiters, colleagues and clients.
Verbal Communication
Much like written communication, MBA programs help professionals expand their verbal communication abilities through routine presentations, public speaking best practice overviews, networking events or practice business pitches.
Even if the position you hope to obtain is not externally facing or does not require public speaking, the ability to communicate clearly with your colleagues, direct reports and supervisors or explain the work you’ve done and its outcomes establish you as a qualified candidate. If your position requires public speaking, recruiters look for your ability to tailor a message for a target audience, engage and empathize with the listener and present information, ideas and initiatives persuasively.
Being a gifted verbal communicator is not just about confidence or eloquence; it requires working professionals to be attentive and active listeners. In any workplace exchange or collaborative effort, your ability to listen to a client or coworker and understand their needs impacts your ability to respond thoughtfully. In demonstrating a willingness to collaborate and active listening skills, you show yourself to be an asset to any company.
Networking
The business world revolves around relationships, and networking is an effective way to find points of connection, share skills and information and work with other employees, companies or organizations for mutual benefit.
At its core, networking is problem-solving. It’s the ability to look at your company’s needs and evaluate how to fulfill them. Conversely, networking can be assessing the needs of other businesses or clients and understanding how you and your business can serve as a solution.
Networking can be intimidating, but it is a necessary skill to develop. By finding small opportunities to connect like attending events hosted by your MBA program or reaching out to classmates and faculty, you become more proficient in your interpersonal skills and expand your professional network.
Management Skills
Whether you lead a team or simply manage your workload, pursuing an MBA degree helps to fine-tune crucial management skills like monitoring deadlines, delegating work across a team of people, creative problem-solving and conflict management.
MBA programs dedicate courses to leadership best practices and offer specific classes designed to teach management skills that are specific to your chosen field, such as financial management or marketing.
Additionally, when enrolled in a graduate business program, you are surrounded by faculty who have years of experience working in the business field and are there to mentor and provide guidance throughout the MBA program. By tapping into their insight and proven management skills, you glean valuable knowledge that you can incorporate into your leadership style.
Strategic Thinking
Recruiters look for candidates who embody strategic thinking for numerous reasons. Applicants with strong strategic skills can see a challenge from different perspectives, enabling them to craft multiple solutions.
Strategic thinkers are innovators. They look toward future possibilities while learning from past patterns. They have the foresight to set goals and the drive to put systems in place to see these goals to completion.
Courses in business resiliency or financing new business ventures challenge students, push them beyond the boundaries of undergraduate business education and unlock their entrepreneurial potential. With each course, students learn to gather critical data needed for decision-making, plan out a course of action and adjust accordingly, tailor a presentation to connect with a specific audience, set goals for themselves and plan the necessary steps to reach their objectives and more.
Recruiters recognize the value of strategic thinking, and when MBA graduates demonstrate this skill, they stand out as capable applicants.
Strengthen Your Skill Set Through Iona University’s MBA
Iona University’s LaPenta School of Business Master of Business Administration equips students with the strategic thinking and management skills they need to excel as leaders and innovators in every field.
Built on a dynamic and accredited curriculum that combines diverse coursework with real-world experiences, our MBA program prioritizes students’ academic and professional success. Students expand their professional network and gain industry knowledge from our trusted faculty members, who have cultivated successful careers as business leaders, educators and mentors.
Because many students are working professionals, balancing their careers, education and family responsibilities, our MBA program offers rolling admissions and in-person and online formats. Students can complete their degree in as little as 12-15 months or are welcome to finish their MBA at their own pace.
With a holistic approach to business education, Iona’s MBA empowers students to continue their professional development, deepen their expertise and achieve their career goals.
To learn more about Iona’s MBA program, request more information.
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