Why do foreign B-Schools prefer students with prior work-ex whereas Indian B-schools don't?

It is not true that Indian B-schools do not prefer work-ex. There are many top colleges which even have an exclusive weightage for work experience in their admission process. Most of the IIMs look at the nature and quality of work experience along with the number of months of experience. It is preferred to have a work experience of less than 3 years while you are appearing for an interview. B-schools try to maintain diversity among the batches. So they take people from different backgrounds. They also offer admissions to student’s right from college who have no work experience. This whole diversity in the batch gives a very rich learning experience for all the students. Those without work experience get to learn about the industry from those with work-ex. Also students with work-ex get to understand the fresh thoughts that the freshers bring to the table.

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Though there is no thumb rule and there have been cases where students with an excellent academic and professional track records have managed to get into the top business schools with very little work experience, there are reasons why we recommend spending a few years getting a decent amount of real-world experience before you decide to take a plunge into the international MBA world. For domestic Indian MBA programs, pre-MBA work experience is not the primary criterion and you can proceed with it immediately after graduation. However, the process is quite different for an international MBA program. Here you need to leverage your pre-MBA work experience highlighting your meritorious achievements, professional accomplishments and leadership qualities at work. Business schools look out for potential candidates who can add value to their school and also benefit the most from the program. So if you want the B-School to consider you as a suitable candidate, you need to have some industry knowledge and hands-on experience in your chosen career field. An international MBA is not just about learning business concepts or skills through theory. It tends to be practical and collaborative in nature with an emphasis on teamwork and insights into the real business world. There are the group projects, role-playing, simulations, case discussions to mention a few. The case study method in business schools is popularly used for teaching various subjects. It revolves around a real-life scenario with some issue or problem faced by a company with a lot of actual data and facts provided. You are required to evaluate it, use your knowledge and judgement based on your previous experience and present your opinion on how you would tackle the situation. Through these various interactive sessions, you get to know diverse points of view which give you different perspectives of handling various corporate situations. You should be in a position to partake in these discussions and not feel completely lost. The MBA journey can be a mutual learning experience if each student is able to gain (and provide) significant inputs from/to the class. If you have completed over three years working at the time of applying, you can share your experiences and add some spice and flavour to your MBA essays and a thoughtfully created resume.

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That's not true, Indian B-Schools do prefer candidates holding work experience and this a plus point for any candidate who is having work experience as it makes their path easier because they already get exposed to the market or industry and have an idea about the reality of the field. Most of the IIMs look at the nature and quality of work experience along with the number of months of experience. It is preferred to have a work experience of less than 3 years while you are appearing for an interview. B-Schools try to maintain diversity among the batches. So, they take people from different backgrounds. They also offer admissions to students right from college who have no work experience. This whole diversity in the batch gives a very rich learning experience for all the students. Those without work experience get to learn about the industry from those with work experience, Also, students with work experience get to understand the fresh thoughts that a fresher brings to the map.

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Work experience is not neglected in Indian business schools but it is true that more importance is given in foreign. A pre MBA work experience can improve your post-MBA candidate profile. A substantial work experience can be an impressive takeaway, for your future employer. It shows your enthusiasm to make an informed career choice, as well as an excitement to improve your candidature. An MBA is indeed a much-treaded path towards a high salary package. However, any recruiter is not going to carelessly offer it to someone who has never seen the insides of a real functional conference room. I think Indian colleges should also give importance to work experience while taking admissions. Yes, work experience is good for the MBA programs. It is not necessary but with it, your career graph will surely rise up.

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Do foreign B-schools require a mandatory minimum work experience for MBA programs? Some of top schools have following requirements – Harvard Business School - Not mandatory Wharton, Pennsylvania - 5-6 years Stanford - 4 years California Business School - 3-7 years MIT (Management School) - 4-9 years So most of them do require prior work experience. Why is it so? Most of the B-Schools believe that a fresher doesn't understand workings of industry enough. So even if he learns something in MBA he cannot imagine how he can actually implement it in his work. On the other hand those with prior work ex will understand the concepts more properly and will relate to the industry applications. MBA is said to provide deeper understanding of industry and teaches how to manage the different aspects related to it. So knowing about the industry beforehand is important.

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