Guest Blog

OffBeat-Professions-After-MBA

OffBeat Professions After MBA!

Career Development (Placement), Exam Watch, Guest Blog, , , , ,

“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it” 
– Buddha 

It is a fact that a degree in Business Administration gives you a holistic learning; it has certainly become a pre-requisite quality to handle the complexities of any management set up, or a profession. In this attainment of completing higher studies, and earning an MBA Degree students often let go off their passion.

Do you ever find yourself longing for something to happen while you do a long term planning keeping the rights and wrongs inside your head. In this age and time of creativity one cannot afford to lose his or her passion for conventional lifestyle to live for the rest of their life.

Major change that has emerged in this market is the rise of unconventional professions that a lot of youngsters choose to practice, and surprisingly earn fancy amount of money.  Youngsters today are flexible to take up ‘thrilling jobs’, reasons could be because traditional careers have become competitive and lack creativity. It is amazing to even release that WHY one should take up an off-beat profession after MBA. Foremost reason could that an offbeat career path will be less competitive and there’s a greater chance of getting recognized and being able to make a difference. These careers may give you great satisfaction, and most importantly at the same time it will pay you every worth back.

So, what are some of the off-beat yet rewarding career choices out there? We look at top 5 off-beat profession that one can opt after MBA –

Blogger

Blogger – From traveling to food, or fashion or social issues, it is today’s every writer’s dream to go a full time blogger and share their wonders online with every reader. In this age of social networking, blogging has become one the most popular medium to connect with the audience and followers online, connecting people globally over anything and everything.

photographer

Photographer – In this digital age, visual selling is the key to go forward. There are many versions in the profession of Photography. One can easily learn the technique of right p-photography and associate oneself with corporates and startups to sell the services as per requirements.

youtuber

YouTuber – YouTubers are people who believe in the power of creating something unique and spontaneous.  They create their own YouTube channels, vlog (video blog) regularly and build subscribers over time. The more traffic their channel gets, the more opportunities they have for percentage-based advertising revenue, freebies for review purposes, promotions and partnerships.

wedding planner

Wedding Planner – If you are good at networking, negotiating and managing events, or parties you could become a Wedding Planner. They are called as Bridal Consultants, they primarily help couples plan their wedding. They are either self employed or associate themselves with with companies, brands and firms on projects.

Theater

Theater Management – A theater manager is required to take up the sole responsibility of managing the administrative components of any theater set up, and also keep the networking as needed . It is an extensive job to manage the the entire system of shows and events. The management majorly depends on the size of show, or play. One is expected to be passionate about theater.

You should do more what you love, one cannot ignore these words if you are planning to make your passion as your a career path.
Share some of your inner passions with us that you wish to take up after your MBA.

 

E-Commerce – A Buyer’s Paradise

General Blog, Guest Blog

In this day and age of online world, online selling is the key to go move ahead in the market to make a mark. Yes, even the most mediocre product has 100% chances of receiving a buyer, a worth taking buyer. It is a fact,  once the product is made and the producer can only raise the bar of creativity within its reach. The question here is how to push a mediocre product online?

The answer is in the era of E-Commerce, a mediocre product sells like hot cakes. A product of any kind traditionally passes through different stages of Marketing and Selling, in this passage a mediocre product can have a less probability of getting potential buyer. Hence, in this online world the social media marketing works like an investment itself.

A seller job is to sell a product with mediocre quality to the most satisfactory level for both the buyer and seller. As a Management student, following are top three selling essential to keep in mind –

1. Sell It Graphically –

We need to display our mediocre product look best. By this we can make our customers feel that our product also has some value. We need to have nice collection of high resolution photos and photos should be unique which will show that the product being marketed is also unique. Involve yourself.

2. Focus On Uniqueness –

We should remember the difference between the mediocre product which is marketed online and its competitor superior product. Even if the product has very minute difference, such difference should be highlighted as it can make a significant difference. And even our product’s features are not different technically we can mold them in such a creative way that it attracts new shoppers.

3. Pick Wise Brand Management –

Target your ad’s means advertising your ad’s to consumers. For this the marketer require advanced and experienced team who knows how to target and maximize result. Online advertisement and social media presence  help the consumers to learn about the product. If the marketer thinks that the product being advertised is not suitable for everyone so he should find out best audience for your product and target them.

4. Keep Your Buyers Engaged – 

Best way to increase buyers to portray what they want to see, hear and buy. Be flexible in terms of making an image of your product on virtual world.

Life at IILM Campus

Alumni, Campus Life, Guest Blog, IILM Stories, IILM University, , ,

I, Bharti Goel, an IILM student pursuing PGDM course, 2015-17 batch.

It feels great to be a part of this esteemed institute. It’s not just a place which encourages us to dream big rather it’s a place where dreams come to life. The academic curriculum here is designed to give us umpteen opportunities to hone our skills especially the managerial expertise and help us evolve into and overall better individual. Furthermore, the spotlight of the course is the foreign exchange program.
During the inception of the course, students are drive to foreign countries as a part of foreign exchange program which helps concretely to provide exposure to outside world and be trained of culture and work environment there . In addition to it,Myriad of team building activities are held in our college which imbibes in us the importance of being a team player and makes us realize our core competencies. Our college encourage students to come up with new ideas and provides all the necessary help required by the individual in implementing that idea and bring it life. It really helps us to boost our confidence and sharpen our entrepreneurial acumen.

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In today’s ever growing competitive world, it is essential for students to have the insight into current best industry practices. Our college realizes the necessity and organizes regular guest lectures from industry experts helping us to learn the current industry trends, best practices followed which gives us a beforehand experience of the future responsibilities that we are going to handle.

The faculty members here are highly erudite and ready to lend a hand. . It’s not just the learned information given to us but also they direct us to pertain concepts practically in the real world scenarios. The professors here take abounding efforts to endow us with utmost acquaintance through videos, ppts, articles,case studies. Moreover, there is a provision for faculty to reside in hostel which is all the more constructive when it comes to clearing any doubts. Faculty members staying in hostel are very cooperative and amicable.

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We have a great campus with best infrastructure facilities available. The hostel is very comfortable with all the necessity amenities. It feels like home and at times you forget that you are not in hostel. Every hostel staff member is very cooperative like the guards are always there to help us whenever there is a need. Moreover the food provided is very nutritious and hygienic. Regular exercise sessions and yoga sessions are scheduled for us to ensure our good health

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I have realized I can be anything in life and IILM is the place which exhorts you to live your dreams and follow your passion!

~ Bharti Goel
Batch of 2015-17
#LifeAtIILM

Alumni Engagement – Guest session by an alumni in the HR panel discussion

Alumni, Campus Life, Guest Blog, IILM Stories

A HR Panel Discussion was held at IILM Gurgaon Campus on the topic “Working Agile – Understanding Workplace Changes and Adapting to them” on 11th March, 2016.

The speakers for the event were Mr. Shailesh Sigh, Business Head, People Strong HR Services and Ms.Vijaya Singh, Analyst, Gerson Lehrman Group; an alumni of IILM Gurgaon campus, batch 2011 – 13

The speakers shared their views on agile/flexible workplace strategy, resistance for change and solutions, how to adapt to changes at the workplace.

Our alumni, Ms. Vijaya Singh shared her experience as she progressed from college life to corporate life and how she managed this transition. She discussed how “agile working” is not new, but it is a “new way of working”. It can certainly be included under the umbrella term “smart working”, which is about utilizing the benefits gained from changing work practices, deploying new technologies and creating new working environments.

She also shared that one of the reasons agile working is difficult to pin down is that it’s not prescriptive – there is no one size that fits all – it has common themes but is essentially individual and involves choice in the how, what, where and when of working. The session was very interactive and was a great learning for the students. The students have asked for more such discussions from industry experts

Ms. Vijaya, prior to working with GLG has worked with Towers Watson for almost two years as Research Associate and has done her internship at Colliers –International and Dawn & Delight in the HR domain

She was very happy to come back to campus and share her experience with the post graduate students and is willing to come back for more such sessions and discussions and help in preparing the students for internships. She will also help us connect with Towers Watson for SIP and final placement

The-Art-of-Staying-Positive

The Art of Staying Positive

Exam Watch, Guest Blog, , , ,

There are times we feel surrounded by negativity. Life seems difficult and we get unfocused from our goals. Let’s keep ourselves motivated and charged up with five simple thumb rules to keep negative energies at bay.

1. You will get what you expect – Expect something great to happen for you every day and it will. Say aloud each morning facing the mirror, “I expect something good to happen for me today!”

2. Stop worrying about ‘I Cannot’ focus on ‘I Can’ –  Some things are within your control, while other things are not. Learn to recognize the difference. Refuse to worry about circumstances beyond your control. Don’t allow yourself to become emotionally entangled  it will  paralyzes your progress. Things may not always work out perfectly, but the sooner you get over them. Only you can control your own actions and reactions.

3. Stay surrounded by positive vibes & people, only – If you fill your mind with uplifting and inspiring information, it will keep you motivated. Go to the bookstore or library and find at least one book on a positive topic that will give you a boost. Be with people who acts and think positive.

4. Learn from your mistakes – Committing mistakes is very natural; the key is to learn from them and keep on moving. Make a habit of regular self-evaluations and examine how you handled situations and what you could do differently next time.

5. Make a plan – There is a very popular saying: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” When you take time to plan, you allow yourself to think through the entire process from beginning to end. This can spark ideas, improve productivity and ensure a great outcome. Once you have a written agenda, you are immediately going to be motivated to accomplish it. Without one, you have nothing to run with and end up feeling stuck. Write out your to-do list the night before. Identify the three most important things that you must accomplish the next day and start with those first.

So, how art are you today? Share your day to day positive tonic stories with us.

Guest session by Alumni

Alumni, Campus Life, Guest Blog

A guest lecture was organized as a part of the Alumni connect on 12/3/2016. The session was delivered by Mr. Nikhil Gupta and Mr. Vihav Abhey Ranjan, both alumni of IILM Graduate School of Management, batch 2007- 2009.

Mr.Nikhil and Mr. Vishav are currently associated with United Parcel Services as Strategic Account Manager and National Account Manager respectively. Mr. Gupta has been associated with American express and Matrix Cellular prior to his association with United Parcel Services. Mr. Ranjan has worked with American Express and Earth Infrastructure also.

Mr. Nikhil spoke to the students about the importance of SIP in the PGDM program and how students can benefit from the SIP. He discussed about the application of learnings from the SIP to the different courses. Mr. Gupta stressed upon the importance of selecting the right project during the SIP. He mentioned that the correct project can help the students in gaining in depth knowledge about the topic and also will help them to get an edge in the placement process. Also the SIP would help the students to understand the corporate culture and the expectations of the corporates from the fresh Management Graduates was stressed upon.

Mr. Ranjan discussed with the students about the initial learnings that the students should have from the organisations they would get associated with. He discussed about the difference in the work culture between a start up and an established brand. The students were made aware about the learnings that they would receive by joining a start up and the learnings from a brand. The iporatnce of networking with Alumni and professional associations was stressed upon by Mr. Vishav.

Both Mr. Ranjan and Mr. Gupta mentioned that General awareness, Communication skill, Knowledge about the sector and the job profile are very important factors for getting selected in an organisation either for SIP or final placement.

The session was highly interactive and very informative. Students interacted with Mr. Gupta and Mr. Ranjan after the session and took guidance on choosing the SIP and also for the selection of specialisation. They have agreed to mentor our students.

My Academic Stay at IILM & India

Alumni, Campus Life, Global Study, Guest Blog, IILM Stories

‪#‎IILMInternationalFaculty‬ in February | We welcome Prof. Gatien Beaunmont from #UniversityofLorraine, ‪#‎France‬ to IILM campus in the month of #February2016 to conduct one of the core electives in PG – Entrepreneurship and State & Society, as part of Social Enterprise. IILM is looking forward to have #InternationalFaculty on campus for discussions and corresponding learning with our fellow students. Know more about The IILM PGDM – www.iilm.edu #IILMPGDM #NewDelhi #NCR #BusinessModules #ForeignFaculty #InternationalFaculty #OnCampus #MBA #BSchools #ManagementStudies #BusinessEducation #LaplandUniversity #Finland #BuildingRelationships #PRMEConference #HR #OB #StrategicLeadership #Entrepreneurship #SocialEnterprise

A photo posted by IILM (@iilm) on

IILM invited Prof. Gatien Beaumont from The University of Lorraine, France to Greater Noida campus in the month of February 2016 as a international guest lecturer  to conduct one of the core electives in PG – Entrepreneurship and State & Society, as part of Social Enterprise. We decided to have one on one interaction with him, and ask about his experience in India and the IILM campus in particular. It was indeed a great opportunity for our fellow students and the staff to to know what he had to say about IILM as a B-School in India. We asked him a few questions, and received a quite an insight about his thoughts and teaching experience.

– What is the relevance of the Module taken by you at IILM?
I stayed during 3 weeks in the campus of Greater Noida to conduct a course called Social Entrepreneurship. I had 3 main objectives with this course.

First, the course allowed the students to discover social entrepreneurship. Starting from an analysis of the need of people in India and the development of a social company.

Second, i acknowledged the students how consulting companies use several tips to help the companies develop their business.

Third, the students were taught how to discover the business model canvas. A very innovative and play-full technique that allow to study the business model in the developing of a company, a product or a service.

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– What is your say on Faculty and Infrastructure of IILM?
The campus of Greater Noida is quiet, secure and fully equipped place to study. The library contains a large number of different works and the subscription to the business press allow to obtain current information.

– Tell us something about IILM’s Campus Life.IMG_3750

My stay of three weeks allowed me to take some time out to know the teachers and the students of IILM. I discovered a welcoming, passionate and involved educational team and respectful workers, and interesting bunch students.

– What do you think about India, and any experience so far that you would like to share with us.

This trip was my first time in India. India is an incredible country. A huge country made of contrasts. If you ask me what impressed me most in India, I would answer immediately  « The People ! » They are welcoming, generous, and open-minded people. It sometimes amuses me to say that during my stay in the IILM I learned as much as I taught.

See Also :

 

My French Diaries

Alumni, Campus Life, Guest Blog

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Life is full of surprises. Being a mixed bag, it is full of vibrant and exciting experiences that leave us with infinite memories and joyous moments for the rest of our being.

One such immensely enriching and special experience that I had was my recent trip to Montpellier, France for my study abroad program at the prestigious Montpellier Business School. I was a complete bundle of nerves before embarking on this exciting journey as this was the first time that I was travelling abroad. However, this one month transformed me completely and made me a much more strong and independent person. The experience of staying alone in a foreign land is something that really pushes me out of my comfort zone and made me face so many real life challenges that I would never have realized or faced otherwise.

Everything, right from doing all the household chores like cooking, washing and cleaning utensils, to managing my own finances and even travelling alone, were things that I had never done alone. The language, the food and the cultural differences between India and France too proved to be challenging for me, and my friends alike. But the experience of studying in a prestigious international Business school like MBS, meeting a plethora of students from different cultures and countries and even travelling independently across France and other parts of Europe were immensely enriching things that truly proved to be like an opportunity of a lifetime for me.

This experience changed my perception and outlook towards a lot of things in life, and even made me more broad minded and rational, besides helping me get rid of a lot of common stereotypes and preconceived notions.

IMG-20160301-WA0007         During the course of this one month of my study abroad program at MBS, I studied four core modules that included Luxury Marketing, Cross Cultural Negotiation, Entrepreneurship and Doing Business with France. All of these were extremely interesting subjects that form an integral part of any management course’s curriculum and were taught by some exceptionally talented, experienced and learned faculty members. IMG-20160301-WA0011

What I liked the most about my teachers at IILM was the fact that they always use to make classes very interactive and they often used to cite a lot of experiences from their personal lives to make the subjects more interesting and fun. All of us were also encouraged to be creative, and actually go beyond the scope of the book to explore and perceive each subject the way we wanted.

We were given full creative freedom to brainstorm for our group presentations. Each subject consisted of a number of interesting case studies and even an educational visit to a beautiful French vineyard which was definitely among the highlights of my trip.

IMG-20160301-WA0003IMG-20160301-WA0027 (1)

IMG-20160301-WA0019My love for wanderlust too came out in full flow during the weekends when I used to go out and travel to other nearby countries with my friends. I got to visit the very happening and lively city of Barcelona in Spain, charming Paris and even the beautiful city of Koln in Germany.

Thus, my stay in France indeed proved to be an extremely enriching and fruitful time for me, it also helped me  grow as a person, learn a lot, and also make a ton of sweet memories that I would cherish for the rest of my life.

I thank IILM too for giving me this wonderful opportunity and making my childhood dream of studying at a foreign university come true. Au revoir!

Should utilities be privatized?

Alumni, General Blog, Guest Blog

Public utility is defined as an organization which provides basic services like Water, Gas, Sanitation and Energy to people. Since investment in these sectors is very huge, in most of the countries, these sectors are handled by respective governments in either Monopolistic way (also called natural monopoly) or in an Oligopolistic way.

In recent times, there have been talks about the quality and proper distribution of these services and privatizations of these facilities are also being considered in many countries. While some countries have successfully implemented the privatization idea, others didn’t have a good experience with privatization and had to switch back to public sectors.

Utilities

The proponents of Privatization of Public utilities say that the shift from monopolistic approach to the competitive approach in private sector would help in improving the quality of services and also in enhancing the availability of these services to more people. Also, any government under debt could also benefit if private sector makes more profit by implementing cost reduction strategies.

Lack of political influence in private sector would also result in better operational efficiencies. Moreover, government protection of public utilities through subsidies, ceilings etc. would create a deadweight loss and eventually not satisfy the demand. A perfect example is the power industry in India where government protection leads to inefficiency and demand-supply mismatch which eventually leads to severe power outages and economic loss.

One of the major problems opponents argue is that private industry is profit oriented. Thus, the creation of Private monopolies in public utilities would result in a comparative price hike borne as higher charges by the consumers. Also, if the approach of a private is short-term, that would also create problems in long term. Thus, the need for regulation arises to maintain parity between producers and consumers.

 

My stay at IILM – Life changing experience

Alumni, Campus Life, Guest Blog, IILM Stories

I have returned from India with much more than just Modi’s lessons on leadership. There are no words to describe the two weeks stay at IILM as a guest lecturer, but I will do my best to find some.

Unpredictable hospitality
First of all, the unpredictable hospitality of IILM colleagues – their welcoming attitude and care, and the omnipresent attitude of “Athithi devo bhava” (“Treat a guest like a God”) – blew my mind. I enjoyed every moment at the university, from every talk to every little chat over lunch. I was really surprised by the substantial number of commonalities of India and Indian culture to Iran, my favourite spot on Earth. The friendly attitude of people in India is extremely close to the Persian way of living and behaving. This is not the only influence of the Persian Empire on the country, though. Beautiful architecture, gardens shaped in a Persian way, delicious and varied cuisine and even the bits of the language which I started to understand all show some signs of ancient influences.

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Seeing developing economy and its scope
The two weeks spent in India have allowed me to see how fast and dynamic the development of an economy can be. Three times faster than Poland’s tempo, which I know from it being my country of origin. I dare say we have to speed up in The Netherlands, too, to keep up with India.


Speaking at UN conference
Speaking at the PRME – Principles for Responsible Management Education – conference, organised in cooperation with UN, has opened my eyes to significant issues regarding social life and social challenges in India. The huge contrast between extreme poverty and refined luxury will stay in my head for a long time. I will never be inert to these issues again. I came back to The Netherlands, but my heart is left still there, shouting do to something for a change.

mariusz-soltanifar_PRIME

The conference was live streamed, you can watch it here.
My presentation starts at 18’35 – your feedback is more than welcome.


Helping children to facilitate education
I am glad I got the chance to visit one of the locations where the project “Support my School”  by Coca-Cola is initiated. Once seeing the potential of young girls, being hungry for education in Faridabad, I have immediately started to be involed in this project  and I am going to offer myself, my skills and my network to help to facilitate education, shelter and medical care for children in India. At the moment, I am cooperating with Coca-Cola on the ‘Support My School’ project, organised together with World Vision, and I am designing a social campaign with Google.

Adjusting my own teaching style
Teaching in the classrooms has expanded my horizon over the different teaching style applied and a new approach to sharing knowledge has been practiced as well. I promise we will see each other again sooner than everyone thinks.


Living at the campus
Living at the campus got me a chance to know the students better and be involved in long and challenging discussions. Playing table tennis with them also helped me to burn some energy and improve my skills. It was a wonderful end to the days. Dancing with the students during Happy Lori Festival and being involved in long discussions, not only around the fire ring during this day, but in general, will stay long in my memories as well.


To travel is to live
Following my credo, I packed my bags and went for a weekend to Mandal, a small village near to Bhilwara, five hours away from Jaipur. This place has amazed me from the very begging, especially contact with locals, talks with them and tasting delicious cuisine. It is great to have friends all over the world, and Jitendra, thank you for taking care of every small detail during my stay there.


Stay inspired
For everyone interested in doing business, studying or traveling to Poland, feel invited to check out Link to Poland, and remember – there is not better investment (after believe) than traveling, therefore stay inspired and search for your new destinations to visit at To travel is to live.


Thank you everyone!
It was an amazing time, enriched by the mix of flavours and fragrances and the beauty of the land. Thank you for your amazing hospitality IILM! Especially warm thanks to Sanjay Srivastava and Nidhi Piplani, my buddies during my stay there and to the five students: Akash, Ashaab, Himanshu, Kanika, and Karan who made my stay unforgettable.

Warm greetings everyone!

Mariusz Soltanifar

Hanze University of Applied Sciences

m.soltanifar@pl.hanze.nl