The slowdown in the economy has resulted in several jobs shrinking and the companies are going slow in recruiting. But there are jobs for the MBA graduates, particularly in sales, FMCG, telecom and consulting areas among others.

But where are the MBA jobs? The jobs, according to industry experts, are unfolding in new areas and domains in Tier-II and-III cities and in rural areas. Data from various reports indicate that the world output this year is projected to grow at just 0.5 per cent as compared with 3.4 per cent in 2008 and 5.2 per cent the year before. This is the first time after World War-II that the advanced economies are facing a possibility of shrinking by about 2 per cent.

“Jobs will be there in Tier-II cities and sales jobs dominate others,” said T Muralidharan, executive chairman of TMI Network, a member agency of the Bernard Hodes Global Network. Treating the first job as an extension of the college would be the best approach with the job situation in today’s market.

Good academics, soft skills and computer skills and learning on the job would be the primary requirements for candidates to find a job, he added.

There would be jobs in marketing, sales and distribution, human resource development, finance and operations and supply chain management and rotation of jobs would be a common thing, he said. More and more companies are looking to these to build team spirit among the employee, to develop leadership and to break to the monotony of the corporate rigours among others.

S Nathan, regional director (talent) Deloitte India, said consulting will offer a lot of opportunities for MBAs in technology, management and human resources, law, taxation, financial planning, research areas across financial, healthcare, telecom, media, consumer products and energy resources.

In an initiative that will help the MBAs, the IIM-A Alumni Association will soon put out a list of various career options that are available on its portal, said its president additional director general of police (coordination) S Ramana Murthy.