The latest trend is getting into management as a career. There are engineers and B.Sc graduates who are striving hard to get into management. But it is becoming difficult to understand as what is forcing these professionals to let go their specialized training that they went through graduate-level and opt for a completely different career field in the form of management.

Well the answer is so simple, MBA degree acts as the cherry layer on the cake, and whatever is the flavor of the cream, cherry is what a child always desires for. MBA adds value to the basic education of the student. As we are all aware of the fact that management skills are required at any level in the hierarchy of the organization, MBA degree proves to be a feather in the cap of the professionals. This formal qualification gives the aspirants a kick-start in their professional career.

MBA degree offers flexibility for inter-functional mobility, which makes BCom graduates opt easily for Marketing and Sales and Engineers opting for Finance and Banking.

The Qualifying Examination- CAT

Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) carry out a Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission into the post-graduate programmes in Management at the six IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode. Additionally, there are more than 40 management institute select students for their MBA programme through CAT. Among them, there are some of the best MBA institutes of the country. Hence all those who want to pursue MBA, CAT is the most important entrance examination which is conducted in the month of November and the only test center in the state is Kozhikode.

Steps towards selection

The minimum eligibility for pursuing MBA degree is graduation in any discipline however, those in final year of their graduate programme can also appear for CAT. Students are tested on the parameters of their group behavior, persuasive skills, general view etc. A personal interview is carried out by academicians and behavioral experts who asses candidate’s general awareness about social, political and economic affairs.

Test Pattern

The written test after CAT is the way to assess aspirant’s skills in quantitative aptitude, data interpretation, reading comprehension, English construction, vocabulary and logical reasoning. Applicants are tested on the areas which are highly critical in the daily functioning of an executive in the corporate sector.