How a master’s in management can help accelerate your career

Another perk of studying a master’s in management is the opportunity to gain a cutting-edge skillset for the current business job market. This is especially important if you’re looking to gain valuable experience to pivot into roles that are more responsibility heavy. Having the right skillset can make or break your chances of standing out to recruiters as someone capable of dealing with high-pressured work environments.

At IESE, the Master in Management programme is taught following the case method, in alignment with top US institutions such as Harvard Business School. This ensures that students can familiarise themselves with real business situations, individually and in groups, from a general management perspective and under the guidance of faculty who have extensive experience in the business field.

According to Amela, some of the top skills that students can develop during a master’s in management include: the ability to prioritise; problem-solving, communication, researching and synthesising information, data analysis, selling abilities, cultural sensitivity, digital savviness, numerical abilities, networking, and general IT skills.

Networking has long been known as the key to thriving in the business world. If you decide to embark on a graduate business educational journey, forming a strong bond with your peers will be especially beneficial to your future career, as those connections will last a lifetime and allow you to expand your horizons both in and outside of the workplace.

This is why the admissions team at IESE focus on creating a class profile that reflects the diversity of the world, as well as the various career paths big players in the business world can come from. At the school, a typical master’s in management class will have students from various continents – including North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe – as well as different undergraduate degrees, from engineering to humanities.

As Amela said: “Networking gets you in the door much faster and surer than just applying to a job through a link or some platform. The world belongs to the bold. Don’t expect companies to always seek you.”

Unlike an undergraduate business degree, a master’s in management from a top business school can give you a significant advantage in securing jobs at some of the world’s biggest companies.

Career support services can also play a crucial role in helping you shape your career from the moment you enrol to after graduation.

As Amela said: “What I would like to emphasise, though, is how much students learn in terms of career development. At the IESE Career Development Center, we create an A-to-Z programme about job hunting.

“From teaching students about the different sectors of the economy to understanding their interests, creating adapted CVs and cover letters, networking, mastering the interview, all the way to getting that coveted job offer. In essence, we make sure that they make well-informed and smart decisions about their future, which is a priceless skill to have – especially from a young age.”

According to Amela, another key determinant for graduate success after a master’s in management is how connected a business school is to top recruiters on a global and local level. This is something which IESE has been working towards since its establishment and has since achieved a graduate employment success rate of 96 percent within six months after graduation for its master’s in management programme.

Some of the top partner companies that recruit master’s in management graduates from IESE include P&G, Amazon, Credit Suisse, Accenture, Toyota, Uniqlo, American Express, Mastercard, Google, Nike, IBM, Vodafone, Oracle, Deutsche Bank, L’Oréal, EY and Axon Partners.

Amela said: “It’s worth mentioning that student advising goes beyond getting the job. We also teach students what they can do to transition successfully to a new company or role, as well as what seeds they can plant before joining to later reap them for longer-term professional growth.”