The Executive MBA

Where Education Complements Career and Job Search Strategy

How much are you worth? That is not an easy question to answer, but it is very important. Now more than ever, we are all independent contractors, responsible for managing our own career. We must take charge, develop our own job skills, manage our own destiny, identify areas in need of change or improvement, and move forward with courage and confidence. So professionals who want to grow must ask themselves how much are they worth at their present place of employment? And how can they increase their value to either the current employer or a future employer?

We have seen time and time again the demise of firms, industries and technologies. Yet with all of that, most people have exhibited a remarkable ability to adapt and survive, finding within themselves the strength and determination to move forward. Some do very, very well. Others have not done as well. Sometimes we take for granted the will to succeed and the energy people pour into building new careers, or picking up the pieces of a career that has been temporarily sidelined. When considering the entire set of job search challenges, the list is actually quite short. With many their weaknesses in succeeding with a search is often due to a poor career choice or a lack of motivation exacerbated by limited options as a result of limited education.

The Executive MBA is a powerful means to stay competitive. It is also an opportunity to enhance positioning with the opportunity to strengthen your contribution as a productive and competitive employee. The program can provide enhanced skills leading to expanded job expectations enabling employee value to the company to increase. Colleagues and managers can benefit from educational dividends as ideas, creativity, and enhanced effort are genuinely appreciated and applied in the workplace. Skills and versatility can significantly increase net worth as a valued employee, a powerful assist in a highly competitive business world.

When it finally dawns that a new start with a new career choice is necessary, that revelation can have an enormous impact on morale and motivation. Personal job satisfaction increases when people see that advanced education can provide a new beginning enabling them to start building toward a new set of goals. Finding a new career choice can be an immense motivator. Frequently individuals feel guilty because they are successful and productive, but are nevertheless miserable. They don't want to rock the boat, but have to make a change. For others, lack of motivation could be related to a string of unsuccessful efforts.

For all of these groups, education in the form of an Executive MBA is an enormous motivator, enabling working professionals the opportunity to continue working while learning. As they learn, they will be able to see new opportunities in their current organizations or in a new environment. Either way a new door will open to career satisfaction.

SOURCE: EMBA World is a New York City-based organization dedicated to helping employees and employers understand options regarding graduate level business education and in particular the Executive MBA. Jason A. Price, MS, MBA, is Director of EMBA World and author of The Executive MBA: An Insider’s Guide for Working Professionals in Pursuit of Graduate Business Education. Jason is a frequent speaker to media on graduate business education issues and publishes industry articles periodically on the subject. The Insider’s Guide can be found at online bookstores or at EMBA World www.EmbaWorld.com. You can reach Jason A. Price at Jason@embaworld.com.