Communication Skills is an important skill that a MBA student must possess. Unanimously all the employers will seek candidates with excellent communication skills. Strong Communication skills will make a prospective candidate to stand apart in a the crowd. As per various QS International Recruiters’ surveys between 2007-12, Communication Skill is given high importance by recruiters every year, but MBA graduates are not meeting this expectation. Amongst the skills that employers expect from a MBA student, communications skills is the highest, followed teamwork, technical, leadership, and managerial skills respectively, says the report.
In the workplace employers give preference to communications skills rather than managerial skills. Because they believe that managerial skills can be imparted through training when they have candidates with better communication skills. The top four skills that employers look for in fresh graduates are- oral communication, listening skills, written communication and presentation skills. Getting candidates with good skills in all the four areas is a concern. This is an area in which most of the MBA students in B-Schools in India lag behind. Even though B-schools do conduct many training programs and workshops to enhance the Communication Skills of students, there is still a huge gap between the expectations and reality.
Communication skills have a significant role in a Manager’s career. Employers look for business graduates who can speak well, listen to others, present well, discuss and negotiate with others during a business transaction. In other words, they want good communicators. High proficiency in both written and oral communication is essential for a manager’s day to day job such as, presenting a new product idea to a boss or presenting a financial performance or a strategic plan to a top management team or presenting a proposal to a prospective client and so on.
Hence the most important skill that matters for MBA students is Communication Skills. How well a student communicates, will contribute to their skill development, and in turn help them to succeed in their interviews and enhance their employability.
Dr. K. Balanagarajan, Assistant Professor, School of Management, Presidency University.
The author can be contacted at balanagarajan@presidencyuniversity.in
