In a report by one of the apex trade associations of India, ASSOCHAM, it was revealed that only 7 per cent of the students graduating from the 5,500 B-Schools in the country are employable. Almost 1 out of 2 MBA graduates fail to land a job. Against this background, job-readiness skills are more important than ever as the job market is intensely competitive and employers in all the sectors are looking for employees who are not only flexible and take the initiative but also those who have the ability to efficiently manage a variety of tasks.
In this context, Career2NextOrbit team is thankful to Mr Priyaranjan Jha, Senior Vice President & Global P&L Leader at GENPACT for sharing his views about the same.
About Priyaranjan Jha: Mr. Priyaranjan Jha is the Senior Vice President & Global P&L Leader at GENPACT. He is a well-rounded business leader with 20 years of global and diverse experience in Business Operations, Sales, Relationship Management, Marketing, and Recruitment. He has worked for market leaders in BPO, Telecom, IT and Automotive industries and is currently managing a global portfolio greater than USD 250 Million servicing several marquee clients from 7 delivery locations with a span of over 3000 team members.
Career2NextOrbit: Why are job readiness skills important for B-school students, in addition to the theoretical knowledge which they gain through academics?
Priyaranjan: By definition, B-school grads are expected to be leading the transformation of business. So, it is important to have more and more skills in their armoury, in addition to the conceptual knowledge they gather while on campus.
Career2NextOrbit: What are the five new era employability skills that you would like to share with the B-school students?
Priyaranjan: Curiosity, flexibility, empathy, ownership and collaboration.
Career2NextOrbit: Why do you think these skills are important in present day context?
Priyaranjan: The world is shrinking, thanks to digital technologies. Change is happening at a pace greater than any time in the history of mankind. No one can aspire to build a monopoly on knowledge anymore. So, people who are curious for new learning, are flexible to adapt, have empathy to understand the needs of their clients, take ownership for their actions and collaborate across boundaries will have an edge over those who don’t. In fact, those who lack these five important skills risk extinction.
Career2NextOrbit: How are they different from job readiness skills five years ago?
Priyaranjan: 5 years ago, digital was a novelty. Uber, Tesla, Airbnb, Quora and Instagram were not known beyond a few markets. Major industries had not been disrupted the way they are today. Theoretical academic excellence was adequate to set one up for a good start.
Career2NextOrbit: What are the few bits of advice you would give to present day MBA students towards developing these skills?
Priyaranjan: MBA students should develop the habit of reading a lot. Reading across diverse topics and genres will help them enhance their knowledge. Innovative ideas can come from anywhere. They should also try to travel as much as possible. And while travelling, they should not hesitate to interact with a diverse set of people. It facilitates a better understanding of the basic human motivations. Students should also learn about the emerging tech but cut down on screen time. Instead, they should invest that time to correlate technology to human emotions. Emotional Intelligence is a vital ingredient for success. They must learn to take charge of whatever they do. Building a strong network around them that motivates, enables and empowers will help them contribute to the community. It is the collective impact of all the small steps one takes that makes a real difference.
Career2NextOrbit: What are your three recommendations you would like to share with B-schools' Leadership teams to make students more employable?
Priyaranjan:
- Update your case studies!!
- Push the students towards more team-based activities
- Reward curiosity- do not shut them down
