Why Employers Want to Pay for Your MBA - CareerAlley

Why Employers Want to Pay for Your MBA - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. After leveling off last year, demand for MBAs is resurging in 2013, with both recruitment numbers and pay on the increase, according to MBA.com. The percentage of employers hiring MBAs is up from 71 to 75 percent, while the average number of new hires has grown from 11.4 to 14.6. Meanwhile, median base salaries have risen from $90,000 to $95,000, representing a $43,000 advantage over earnings for Bachelors degree holders. Why do companies want MBAs? Understanding the value an MBA provides can not only help job seekers in their quest to land one of these coveted positions, it can also assist current employees seeking to convince their boss its worthwhile to pay for continuing education. Trained MBAs are a Good Investment Finding skilled talent is the biggest challenge facing small businesses, according to 60 percent of owners and managers surveyed, as Washington Post reports. Offering to pay for employees education addresses this by increasing the odds of attracting top talent. Additionally, paying for your education builds loyalty, making it more likely youll stay with your employer and save them the expense of replacing you. Recruiting a quality MBA can cost anywhere from $500 to $100,000. Because youre worth the return on investment, many companies are willing to pay for you to participate in an MBA program such as that offered by Alliant International University, as Alliant.edu reports. If youre seeking this type of opportunity, major banks are good places to start, since these often participate in local MBA internship programs in cities such as San Diego. For instance, Wells Fargo recruits summer MBA interns in securities, commercial real estate, corporate banking, commercial banking, and brokerage and retirement. Internmatch.com can provide more details about the Wells Fargo internship as in depth information into these kinds of opportunities. What MBAs Offer Employers When employers decide to invest in developing your MBA skills, what do they hope to get out of it in return? A survey of corporate recruiters identified the traits and skills most employers seek from MBAs. Leading the list of most desired traits were initiative, professionalism, motivation, integrity, and the ability to handle pressure. Skills most in demand were communication, strategy, performance, core business knowledge, and ability to manage change. A 2011 study by the Graduate Management Admission Council found nearly 90 percent of employers singled out the paramount importance of communication skills. Employers see a good MBA as someone reliable they can entrust to make good business decisions that yield results. A trained MBA can bring a business the benefits of productivity, performance and growth. The Advantage of Experience When hiring MBAs, employers typically seek someone with experience at their job function and in their industry, with a track record of proven performance, according to MBA.com. This makes another good case for employers to pay for training their own employees instead of hiring an MBA fresh out of school. When a business pays for educating one of their own employees, they receive assurance that the result will be an MBA who understands their industry and company and has on-the-job experience. It makes more business sense for your employer to pay for your training based on your proven work history than to take a gamble on hiring someone they dont know. Byline:Mary DobsonMary is a proud mom and small business owner. She started her ceramics shop from nothing and now runs two locations. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Joey Trebif