Come placements season, one of the most critical decisions b-school students have to take is choosing what industry and profile they want to work in post-MBA. So, what's the general consensus in terms of the most popular industries and profiles on campus? What's hot and what's not? Latest data from our annual Recruitment Survey shares insight into the types of companies and roles MBA students want the most. Have a look.
General Management, Product Management the most sought-after profiles for MBA students
As was the case last year, General Management is the number one profile b-school students want after their MBA. Over time, we've seen that MBA students have a greater proclivity for generalist roles like Gen Man and Consulting, because these cross-functional/industry profiles allow much greater flexibility to explore career paths compared to specialized roles like, say, Sales and Marketing, or Ops.
Product roles are more popular than ever at b-schools across India. Product management is a highly-coveted and high-paying profile that many many companies (even outside of tech) hire for. Sales and Marketing roles have traditionally been amongst the top-three most sought-after roles at Indian MBA colleges, and that hasn't changed this year.
Over the past few years, we've seen a declining trend in the desirability for Finance roles. HR is also not exactly desirable at b-school campuses, outside of specialization programs, of course.
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Consulting continues to be the most desirable industry to work in
In nearly every iteration of the InsideIIM Recruitment Survey, Consulting has emerged as the industry MBA students want to work in. This affinity shows in the latest placement reports as well, with the lion's share of most MBA batches choosing to work with Consulting firms. And why not—Consulting firms are some of the best paymasters on campus, the profile offers exposure to a breadth of industries and business leaders, and you get excellent networking and exit opportunities.
Interestingly, Consulting was the second choice for MBA students in 2021, behind Tech and Ecommerce. That seems to have largely changed in this year's results.
The next most popular industry amongst MBA students is Ecommerce, Consumer Internet and Tech. Some of the most high valued (FAANG), high-growth, and innovative companies belong to this industry. Like Consulting firms, these companies also happen to offer some of the best salaries, on average.
Consumer Goods is also amongst the top-three industries MBA students want to work in. These are companies that offer a broad range of roles, including the top-three most desirable profiles mentioned above. Data suggests that CPG companies are preferred over BFSI and Core Manufacturing companies.
So, what's not hot? Education, recruitment, and staffing. MBA students are also not crazy about government organizations and NGOs.
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Where has this data come from?
Every year, we conduct the InsideIIM Recruitment Survey, where we ask students from the top IIMs as well as other elite business schools what they think of the b-school recruitment process, and also ask for their preferences in terms of the companies they want to work with, their most desirable industries and domains, in-hand salary expectations, etc. Students responding to this survey belong to most of the 20 IIMs in the country, as well as other government and private b-schools. Based on the survey results, we create reports like this one.
What do you think of this list? Do these rankings of roles and sectors match with the reality of placements at your b-school? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
