So you’re done with your MBA and gotten a job in the field of Marketing. Well, for most it starts with sales because to have a good successful career and have deep understanding of your business, understanding the ground realities is essential. Therefore, no matter how much you might hate selling, travelling from one client to another all day, believe me, it’s going to be worth it.

            The first few years into your job are not easy. You do start as a trainee so the first few months are your honeymoon periods but it only gets tough from there. The responsibilities you handle will seem insignificant to you compared to what you were taught during MBA. You might feel that what you’re doing is not worth to be done by an MBA graduate and you won’t be blamed for thinking so. But what you learn in college is not going to take you where experience will. As a marketer it’s important to understand the psyche of your customers, it’s important to know what happening in the market, what your competitors are doing and what your customers think about you. And the best way to gather information on all these parameters is staying between your customers, on the field. The management is the steering, but really drives a vehicle forward are the wheels, the sales team.

            You will often find yourself discussing about marketing strategies with your colleagues because that is what you were taught in college. You’ll be the people the management will go to, to understand the dynamics of the market and you can be proud of that.There will be times of frustration when you’d feel that you’re in the wrong place but that’s how successful careers are built. Gradually, you’ll get used to your new life, it’s a great feeling to be able to spend money that’s earned by you. You will want to spend a lot and you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from buying presents for your friends and family.

            Here are some experiences you go through after your MBA in Marketing:

• Vision: You’ve learnt quite a lot during the course about how different businesses work and thus you have a deeper understanding about the corporate world. This helps you make wiser career decisions and therefore, a good growth in whichever organization you work.

• Finance: You have learnt quite a lot about finance during your MBA. You know how companies manage their finances, you know how different financial institutions and banks operate. Thus, you have a clear understanding of how you can manage your wealth effectively by making the right investment decisions.

• Skills: Your skills and knowledge have been enhanced a lot as you know what you learnt during graduation and now you have the management skills to use them efficiently. Every organization wants its employees to be good managers, no matter what their designation or work is. Thus, what makes you an ideal candidate is your knowledge coupled with the skills to use them in a wise manner.

• Growth: Whichever company you join, you experience rapid career growth as a result of your MBA. You are more relied upon by the management and if a higher position opens up, you have an edge over other candidates.

• Decision Making: The core skill that MBA teaches you is how to make quick decisions. As you have studied hundreds of case studies during your course, you know what are the dos and don’ts when a particular situation arrives. Thus, even though you might be new to sales, you know how to lure your customer in and make that sale.

• Power: You realise that you are eligible to work in any kind of organization you wish, given the parameters you and the company decide for each other. It’s an MBA from Marketing that usually gets the higher position in an organization and they are often the most sought after lot because it’s sales that brings revenues and it’s marketing that puts the company in front of its customers. You realise that you have the power to alter the course of the company. Well, not immediately but you know what’s happening in the field and your feedback will always be taken seriously by your seniors.

• Personal Growth: After getting an MBA, expectations are always higher; not just that of your friends, family and employers but your expectations from yourself too. You are no longer satisfied with mediocre results but strive to reach excellence in everything you do. A word of caution here, not always do your lessons learnt in classrooms would help you, most of the time you’ll have to rely on your personal and professional experiences. You are well equipped to set personal goals for yourself and it feels immensely satisfying to achieve them.

• Respect: There will always be people who might hate you for being an MBA just because they are not. And it’s good that they do, because it means you have an edge over them. You have much deeper understanding when it comes to managing a business unit and your boss would be more trusting in you than the others. You know the 4 Ps and even though you don’t apply them directly, they do play a vital role subconsciously in helping you make the right decisions.

• Money: The most important aspect, for many. It’s not a secret that MBAs are paid much more than an average graduate. Of course, it depends on various parameters but if all those parameters are kept the same, an MBA would win. As a marketer, you are more of an extrovert, open to interactions and love communicating with different people. Well, if you’re not, it’s time you start doing it because perception management is all there is in the corporate world. As, Bill Gates rightly said, If you can’t make it good, make it look good. Even if you’re not hitting your targets much, it’ll help you if your seniors know you, you keep yourself in constant touch with them. You’re a marketer and all you have to market is yourself.

So, this is how you will spend your fist few years after an MBA in Marketing. Yes, you’ll have to be quick to grab the right opportunities, sell yourself first then the product or service and not hide in a corner waiting for your work to speak for itself. You will also be able to understand that if you don’t claim your rewards, they’re claimed by someone else, someone even less deserving. So, all in all, the first few years will be vital to understanding how the corporate works and once you’re past the first 5 years, you’ll be enjoying the ride.

Contributed by Sachin Jalan ( Class of 2014, IBS HYDERABAD )