The world has changed quite dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic. This is certainly the case in the business world where changes and the ability to adapt to a new set of instructions have sometimes felt like a daily occurrence. It can seem difficult to stay ahead and keep working your way up the career ladder at a time like this, but it is possible with a lot of hard work and a little forward planning. Education is the way forward and obtaining an MBA in a post-pandemic world is becoming increasingly important. Here are some reasons why.
Companies Want More Qualified People
Most businesses have taken a huge financial hit during the pandemic and they are looking for ways to claw back some of the money they have lost. They need people with a fantastic head for business and excellent leadership skills to drive business forward as they negotiate themselves out of the financial black hole that has been Covid 19. These are all skills you have if you have achieved an online MBA and you can prove it by evidencing your qualifications. Companies are going to need leaders much more than they need people to be led, and having an online MBA over the next few years is going to become increasingly important.
More Competition for Jobs
Thousands of companies have folded during this pandemic and many of those that have stayed afloat are only barely getting by. This has led to mass unemployment and many of the people who have been laid off have become long-term unemployed. This has led to a lot more competition for the jobs that are available. In the past, a bachelor’s degree was enough to get you into a decent job and you could work your way up the career ladder from there. However, with so many well-qualified people now out of work, the competition for employment is now greater than it has been for decades. An MBA will help you stand out from the pack and make sure that your resume is the one that recruiters put on their shortlist. This should at least be enough to get you an interview and then all you have to do is create a good enough impression at the interview and the position will be yours. Having an online MBA means that even if you do get made redundant, you will not be out of work for long.
People Are Getting Better Qualifications
In times of economic and social crisis, people tend to get higher level qualifications. This was seen after the banking crisis of 2008 and it is becoming more apparent in a post-pandemic world too. There are a few reasons for this. With fewer jobs around after graduation, students are more likely to take on post-academic studies in the hope that the economy would have had time to recover while they were studying.
Additionally, people recognize that with fewer employment options, they need to put themselves ahead of the pack by getting more qualifications if they want to get hired. People have also had more time on their hands to re-evaluate their lives. People who have been laid off, furloughed, or even just had to work from home and saved themselves a lengthy commute have found themselves with more thinking time. Suddenly, that MBA that they always wished they had had time to do becomes a possibility and they decide to make this a priority. These people are getting more qualifications than they had in the past.
With all these people now getting MBA qualifications, others are being left behind. This has led to more people undertaking MBA programs. In the past, many of them would have completed MBAs to get ahead of the game but they are now finding they need to get qualified to keep up with the competition.
There Are More Redundancies
Companies that have survived the pandemic so far have still found it necessary to get leaner and meaner to stay in business. This has led to them getting rid of people they feel are surplus to requirements. They no longer need to employ three people if one person could do the job, especially if business is slower than usual. Anyone who is not desperately necessary is therefore at risk. However, companies are unlikely to lay people off if they can make good use of their skills. MBA holders have great skills that businesses need to steer them back to calmer waters, and they know they will need these people in the future too. Therefore, you are at less risk of redundancy if you have an MBA as companies looking to the future want to keep their best employees.
Preparing for Changes in the Business World
The pandemic has changed a lot of things in the business world almost overnight. In the past, some people have worked from home occasionally, but suddenly everyone is being asked to do this, and technology has had to catch up quickly. People have been expected to become more tech-savvy as they navigate their way around online meetings and internet programs. The dinosaurs will not survive the changes to business. The industry needs people who can adapt quickly to changes and thrive in the modern environment and an online MBA is seen as evidence that employees can do this. An online MBA will show you how to work online, how to keep motivated when you are working remotely, how to manage people who are not physically in the office and how to manage time and run meetings remotely.
These are all going to be highly important skills for business in the future, and if you have an online MBA, you have already proved yourself to be very competent in these areas. This is going to mean that you can move up the career ladder quickly and it helps to eliminate the competition you may have had in the future as companies seek to lay off people who may have been very competent in their jobs in the past but who do not have the new skills employers are looking for in a post-pandemic world. Read more about Why Now Is the Best Time to Get an Online MBA from Suffolk University.
Networking
Networking has always been an important part of business. Whether you have a working lunch with likeminded people or do most of your business on the golf course, the ability to network is what allows you to sell yourself and your business to others. The world of networking is changing rapidly as lockdowns have meant that fewer people have been able to network face to face and many people have had to network online instead. This may have been easier for some than it has for others.
One of the most important parts of networking in the post-pandemic world is the ability to do so online and participating in an online MBA program will certainly help you to do this. Your virtual class will consist of likeminded students who want to get ahead in their career and the program-related chat platforms will allow you to meet and exchange ideas online. This means that you will be able to network with people all over the world and it creates endless opportunities for future business. This is going to be invaluable to you in the future as it opens new markets you may not have been able to consider before the digital age.
Classroom Teaching Has Become Less Accessible
In the past, you may have weighed up your options between studying from your MBA in the classroom or online. However, the pandemic has seen a lot of educational institutions close down and move online, at least partially. This has been confusing and disruptive for people who wanted to learn in the classroom. Post-pandemic, a lot more people are learning online as this makes it less disruptive if physical lessons are stopped. Therefore, the importance of an online MBA over a class-based one has grown considerably. As well as this, it means that you can look further afield to choose the school and study program that suits you best and you can do a lot of work in your own time rather than being dictated to by the class schedule. It is no wonder that an online MBA program has become much more popular and will continue to be in a post-pandemic world.
The world as we know it is almost unrecognizable to how it was before Covid. The business world is a totally different place and requires a different skill set to stay ahead of the pack. In an evolving world, it can be more difficult to lead and even stay in business. This has made the importance of obtaining an MBA in a post-pandemic world incredibly important for many reasons. One thing for sure is that once more people are qualified to this level, everyone will be expected to be. In the future, you will need to have an MBA to be taken seriously in business and land the job you really want.