The job market for MBA graduates hasn't looked this good since before Lehman Brothers collapsed. The GMAC 2014 Corporate Recruiters Survey shows employer demand on the rise, with more companies focused on improved performance and productivity and hiring business graduates to sustain and strengthen their growth. But if you are looking for a career move that will open up opportunities for the next decade, and not just the year, it is the Asian market that looks like the place to be.
Compared with employers in the U.S. and Europe, companies in the Asia-Pacific region are expcted to show the greatest rates in hiring of business school graduates in 2014. MBAs remain the most sought-after graduates, with 83% of Asia Pacific employers planning to hire MBAs in 2014 compared with last year. They point to the need for hires who understand the market, have a strategic business mindset, and are self-motivated.
Some of the most exciting career opportunities for MBAs are now in the east rather than the west -... [+]
For Sean Ferguson, Associate Dean at the HKUST Business School in Hong Kong, business managers need to have a global view. "For the last 10 years the focus has been on doing business in China, but now there is more of a focus on doing business with China. That requires managers who can broker two sides of a deal, understand Asian culture, and bring ideas and resources for a new and emerging consumer nation like China."
In the video interview below, Ferguson says that the region is not for everyone, but that if you take the long-term view about where your career will be in 5, 10 or 15 years the opportunities in the region are unrivalled. But he feels that you need to have a risk taker edge and an entrepreneurial spirit to make things work. With an average weighted salary of $125,000 three years after their MBA, graduates of the business school ranked #1 in Asia by the Financial Times and BusinessWeek are clearly doing well.
It is the entrepreneurial edge to Hong Kong that gives the HKUST students such a great platform from which to start a career in Asia. With Beijing 1,200 miles to the north and Singapore 1,600 miles to the south, the city is a gateway not only to China but also to ASEAN, an association of Southeast Asian Nations with a population of over 600 million people. In an MBA class made up of more than 25 nationalities, Ferguson explains that HKUST students learn to appreciate the nuance and subtleties of a region whose cultural diversity extends well beyond China.
He emphasizes the importance of your network to take advantage of the opportunities that are there to be seized. "Your ability to promote how and articulate the way that you provide value can yield even more upside for you in the long term. Taking ownership of your career and how to brand yourself can provide you with more lucrative opportunities than the traditional opportunities."
But if you are still unsure where you want to head with your career, Ferguson says there is time to figure things out along the way if you stay true to your core values and what you believe in as a person. "It can be difficult to think broadly enough about how you want to contribute to the world. The MBA can give you a more holistic view of how to evaluate success, and assess your strengths and weaknesses. So focus on the moment, with things that are fulfilling to you. and wait until something comes up that really captures your interest.
In the second part of our interview with Sean Ferguson, he discusses discusses the role of technology in the future of business education, and how MBA students need to equip themselves with an awareness of cultural nuance that they can call upon whenever they go into a new environment.
