They look for students who are innovative, proactive; one who's willing to take risks. They look for leadership skills and check their commitment levels.

A career is a two-phase thing: the educational qualification is the passport and the performance is your visa.
MBA gives you just that initial push. Your future depends on how well you perform thereafter.

Communication skills, analytical skills, leadership skills, aptitude, mature thinking, emotional maturity, risk taking and decision making abilities. B-school teaches students two things: knowledge and skills. They attempt to teach them attitude…but sadly most of them learn it the hard way.

One career that the future managers can look at is in the rural sector. It is full of opportunities and companies are looking at exploiting it to the fullest. Companies like HLL, Brooke Bond, Pepsi, Coke and others are going rural big time.

Well, statistics say that more females are joining the B-schools. From the ratio of 2:60 in 1992, it's now become 40:60. Females have begun looking at management as a career option, but whether they are better managers is for one to find out.

There are close to 1500 + B schools. And every year the B-schools churn out close to a lakh MBAs. The figure though looks large… but in a country where the population runs close to billions… the numbers are relatively very small. There is a large market that's yet to be tapped. So there is absolutely no overflow of MBAs. But yes… there is shortage of good faculty.

Faculty and placements are not mutually exclusive. Faculty is the bloodline… and it's the quality of the faculty that determines the quality of the students.

In our country the educational values are different from the West. Students wish to complete their education before they join the rat race. "25" is the ideal age for getting into a B-school. MBA is understood and delivered better if you have worked for a minimum period of 2 years. An MBA provides the working manager growth prospects.

A word of caution to the MBA aspirants…don't get the feeling that you have arrived into the scenario once you get a ticket to a good B-school. There is no substitute to hard work. Learn, work hard and perform.

Mangers should have a sense of belonging. The key to success is commitment. Indians are more suited to the Japanese kind of lifetime employment. Grow with the organization…grow the organization.