Job Opportunities Abroad for Indian MBA Students

In modern times when economies around the world are in great peril, expecting promising job opportunities abroad for an Indian MBA is too much to expect. This raises a barrage of doubts about the validity of an MBA degree earned in your country. This question becomes more intense if you belong to an Asian country and your dream job lies in the United States.

Becoming a successful manager is not cakewalk; it requires great deal of patience and skills. Moreover, finding successful job opportunities abroad also depends on the performance of the economy of a country you are thinking to make your career in. Remember, when a country’s economy is not performing well it’s not only your degree that matters but also your skill sets and innovative edge that can contribute to the existing talent pool.

As an example, if you have no media experience and you decide to work in advertising. You would need to assess if you have the right skill set and would have to start from the bottom and you’re your way up the corporate ladder.  

Your relationship with classmates, alumni network and the B-school that you attended are very important. It is also equally important to know your prospects in a foreign nation as a job seeker. As an MBA student, not only are you expected to learn several theoretical concepts through case studies, projects and field assignments but also supposed to demonstrate your soft skills through group learning and improve problem solving capabilities by undertaking leadership roles in college. The hard fact is that once you start working, your work experience starts to matter more and your MBA degree begins to matter less.

There are three standard ways through which you can achieve your dream of getting good job opportunities abroad. The first method is to get a direct recruitment into a foreign firm for an international location, which is too rare to take place (only a small fraction of the class gets international placements).

The second option includes internal company transfers. Though such transfers are not rare but in certain companies they restrict it.  

The third and most common option that many Indians undertake is either study a second MBA degree from a reputed institute abroad or study an advanced degree of specialization.

In order to change your dream into reality the first option is to search business schools that have consistent records of international placements. It is a well known fact that only the top-tier schools are the ones that provide its students opportunities like these the most.

The second way would be to identify companies known for a high percentage of international movements and then seek an MBA from the institutes they generally recruit from. 

If you are targeting the most prestigious jobs abroad, then you must have clarity on what you want to achieve in life and whether your current passions are in sync with your career objectives.

Run by the ministry of commerce, IIFT is a very prestigious B-School in the field of International trade. The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) admission test is a written exam conducted by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade for admissions in their New Delhi and Kolkata campus every year. So get ready for the upcoming entrance examination with the syllabus of IIFT Exam.

IIFT 2015 exam is a multiple choice objective type written test. It has 200 questions in it. It generally consists of questions covering English Comprehension, General Knowledge & Awareness, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Analysis. It is conducted for a duration of 2 hours. There is negative marking of 1/3rd of the maximum obtainable marks for each wrong response.

Following is the syllabus of IIFT in different categories.

IIFT 2015 English Comprehension Syllabus:

Reading comprehension

In reading comprehension certain areas like social science, business, science, and entertainment are covered. Students need to understand that it is an important aspect of IIFT syllabus to test students on a wide variety of subjects. One should get familiar with these topics so that it becomes easier for them during exams.

Vocabulary

Another area where a student is expected to show their skill is vocabulary section which consists of antonyms, synonyms, different usages of the same word, manias and phobias. Students planning to take admission into the prestigious IIFT need to remember that being in international trade management one is expected to have good vocabulary as they would be dealing with international delegates.

English Usage and Grammar

In this section the students are expected to demonstrate their proficiency in framing correct English sentences along with para-jumbles and sentence completion. This section is aimed to evaluate a students’ basic knowledge of English and its application.

IIFT 2015 GK & General Awareness Syllabus:

This section is composed of awards and personalities, economy, corporate affairs, national and international current affairs, science and technology, and GK. Students need to prepare from the very beginning for this section.IIFT 2015 Logical Reasoning Syllabus:

In this section the areas that are included are assumption-premise-conclusion, assertion and reasons, statements and assumptions, strong arguments and weak arguments, inference & judgment questions, cause and effect, probably true, probably false, definitely true, and definitely false kind of statements, etc. Logical section is to evaluate a student’s analytical and reasoning ability.

IIFT 2015 Quantitative Analysis Syllabus:

In quantitative sections the areas that are included are as follows:

Arithmetic: This section covers topics such as number systems, LCM and HCF, percentages, interest (simple and compound), speed, time and distance, time and work, average, etc.

Algebra: Linear and Quadratic Equations, Progressions - AP, GP, HP, Inequalities, Function and Set Theory, etc.

Geometry: Geometry, Trigonometry, Mensuration, etc.

Analysis: Ratio and Proportion, Probability, etc.

According to experts, managing time in the verbal section is the key to success. Like every other management entrance test this test also requires consistent and planned study pattern. The syllabus of IIFT and the examination in itself is a little tricky and questions in Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension are sometimes indirect and quite confusing too.  All the four sections in the examination are equally important as you need to score a high percentile.  So if you are preparing for CAT or XAT, the job is already half done. So go ahead and do well.