Recently, I addressed the senior class of a respectable management college in Dehra Dun. Interesting is an understatement for what I found.
The recession is (kind of) over, but the placements haven’t picked up yet; and a lot of students (actually almost all) believe that the college, somehow, is responsible for their placement. Or, is it?
All marketers know that you can sell a product only when the customer has both a need/interest in the product; as well as finds the product accessible and of a certain quality.
Let’s break that down into what’s happening at the management college in terms of (a) the product, (b) the need, and (c) accessibility.
1. The product (our graduate) is a function of what the college created as well as what the graduate learnt, in and outside the campus. We have this huge (and wrong) notion that grades, or the fact that we have an MBA degree, entitles us to a cozy job. Well, too bad, the real world cares about what you can deliver, not what you mugged.
2. The need for this product (read fresh management graduate) largely depends on the market, however it never really dries up. Looking at these niche markets pays handsomely.
3. The focus, hence (largely), is on the distribution of this product (accessibility). The college can provide placement help, however the product in this case (unlike soap) has the ability to self-distribute.
Net, net; we will have to take responsibility of both our learning, as well as a large part of how we’ll be placed with corporate. The easiest thing to do today is to pay a fee and get into class, but that’s where the lies end in the real world. Nobody cares after a few years about which college you went to, as long as you have both the ability and the willingness to deliver. So my dear products, OK to make you feel better, Management Graduates, take responsibility, because nobody else cares about your career.
The recession is (kind of) over, but the placements haven’t picked up yet; and a lot of students (actually almost all) believe that the college, somehow, is responsible for their placement. Or, is it?
All marketers know that you can sell a product only when the customer has both a need/interest in the product; as well as finds the product accessible and of a certain quality.
Let’s break that down into what’s happening at the management college in terms of (a) the product, (b) the need, and (c) accessibility.
1. The product (our graduate) is a function of what the college created as well as what the graduate learnt, in and outside the campus. We have this huge (and wrong) notion that grades, or the fact that we have an MBA degree, entitles us to a cozy job. Well, too bad, the real world cares about what you can deliver, not what you mugged.
2. The need for this product (read fresh management graduate) largely depends on the market, however it never really dries up. Looking at these niche markets pays handsomely.
3. The focus, hence (largely), is on the distribution of this product (accessibility). The college can provide placement help, however the product in this case (unlike soap) has the ability to self-distribute.
Net, net; we will have to take responsibility of both our learning, as well as a large part of how we’ll be placed with corporate. The easiest thing to do today is to pay a fee and get into class, but that’s where the lies end in the real world. Nobody cares after a few years about which college you went to, as long as you have both the ability and the willingness to deliver. So my dear products, OK to make you feel better, Management Graduates, take responsibility, because nobody else cares about your career.
Vineet Panchhi ow
ns and runs Audio Wagon, his lifelong passion and now a music company. He blogs at Unplanned Journeys , and can be reached at: vineet.panchhi@audiowagon.com
ns and runs Audio Wagon, his lifelong passion and now a music company. He blogs at Unplanned Journeys , and can be reached at: vineet.panchhi@audiowagon.com
