For some it comes with a move into strategic positions that require financial skills and broad market understanding; for others it comes with a shift from an inside technical job to a client-facing job that requires communications skills and a strategic industry view; and for others it comes with growth in the number of subordinates they supervise."

Sarah Juillet, director of Postgraduate Careers & Steven Cousins, MBA recruitment and admissions manager, Cass Business School:
 "A management career is like any other profession and benefits from additional training and techniques which can be learnt and developed on an MBA.

 

Not all the tools required to excel in a management career are intuitive and having access to leading academics and guest lecturers to learn from their many years’ experience, as well as exchanging ideas and networking with peers from many different countries and industries is an excellent way to develop a skills set which can apply to many roles."

Dr Kerry Sullivan, MBA director, Surrey Business School, University of Surrey:
"Improving your human capital can only help your career. There is a long recognized relationship between educational level and long run economic return."

Professor Vivien Hodgson, chair of the Department for Management Learning & Leadership, Lancaster University Management School:
"For our graduates it was both important and obvious why one should invest in an HR career; as to have good HR is extremely important for any organization so to have well qualified and trained professionals helps the organization.

 

Also considered important was to become someone who can actually make a difference in people’s (employees’) lives. Consequently it is not just an investment in one’s personal career but it’s also an investment for the organization that one works for.

 

The investment also leads to enhanced self-esteem, confidence and satisfaction in achieving your goals – giving you a competitive edge in job markets."

Professor Amir Sharif, director of MBA Programmes, Brunel Business School, Brunel University:
"People, be they your superiors, colleagues, subordinates, clients or anyone else for that matter are seeking one thing more than ever from working professionals – commitment. In this complex, uncertain and ever-changing world any indication of stability and / or commitment is greatly valued.

 

Investing in your HR career similarly requires a mixture of commitment, and understanding of how people work within organizations. HR professionals who take the time to develop their overall business, management and leadership knowledge will therefore be much better placed to deal with the challenges that lie ahead in all types of organization."

Keith Porter, principal lecturer in HRM, Westminster Business School:
"Being professionally qualified gives you confidence when developing policy and advising managers on HR issues. It also confers credibility in the eyes of senior managers."

Stuart Woollard, Director of King’s College London’s HRM Learning Board, King’s College:
"HR is notoriously bad at its own learning & development (L&D). Effective learning can help you to differentiate yourself as well as become more effective in your role, perhaps even taking you in a different direction. The best L&D will deliver new ideas and thinking but also new possibilities."

Christie St-John, senior associate director of admissions, Tuck School of Business:
"You’ve made a start already by learning a skill in every job you’ve had. The one degree that really is appropriate for everyone to do is the MBA. Why? Because business principles apply to everything we do, from non-profit organizations, small or large entrepreneurial ventures, and even medicine and law.

 

Things are too complicated now: you need to know how to read a P&L (profit and loss) statement, to understand cross-cultural differences, not to mention all the technology that permeates everything. An MBA will give you a variety of answers that you can mould to your own needs.

 

And most MBA programs provide ‘life-long learning’ for their alumni, so you’ll keep up-to-date with what is happening.”

Iain Henderson, senior teaching fellow, Edinburgh Business School:
"HR as a specialism is no different to any other in the modern marketplace. If you do not invest in yourself to continually develop then you will be competing for work with those who have chosen to do that investment. It’s about enlightened self-interest."

Chantal Poty, head of executive programmes, EML Executive Education, France:
"You should consider training as a gift you afford yourself, as training for an MBA will change part of your life by introducing you to new skills including leadership, new ways of thinking, self-awareness, and a new network of peers to turn to."

David Simmons, executive director of the full-time MBA, Cranfield School of Management:
In spite of all the hype, it is still true that people are a business’ greatest asset and every business has an interest in developing its people’s potential. Also we need to dispel this notion that education ends when we leave college. We go on learning throughout our life but this does not always need to be in a formal educational setting.

Claire Lecoq, director of MBA admissions, marketing and career services, IMD, Switzerland:
In today’s competitive environment, if a professional does not at least stay at the top of his/her expertise, he/she will be very quickly by passed by younger professionals.

 

As far as the MBA program is concerned, this particular training is also a way to widen your horizon to different functions and fields that you haven’t touched before. The objective is for you to be able to understand a business at large and be able to play a leading role in the future.

 

 

Claire Beasley, joint MD of executive search consultancy court & spark consulting:
As a former director of Retail Personnel and Training at Arcadia, I was responsible for helping retail professionals develop their own skills and expertise. In 2003 I decided to focus on my own career development by enrolling on the Executive Full Time MBA programme at Henley Management College.

 

The study programme helped broaden my commercial skills and acted as a catalyst for me to launch my own executive search business, court & spark consulting, in partnership with fellow retail professional Pauline Wood.

 

Today I head up court & spark’s HR practice, carrying out executive search assignments to source senior HR professionals within the retail sector and beyond.

Many MBA course prospectuses focus on how an MBA can increase your earning potential, and while this can be true, HR professionals should equally recognise that the qualification delivers intangible benefits such as added credibility among colleagues and employers which can raise your profile and help you do your job more effectively.

HR leading by example

HR professionals spend a lot of time helping other people to develop their skills, so it’s important that we lead by example and ensure that we continue to build our own knowledge.

 

To be an effective HR professional you need to demonstrate good understanding across all business functions, understanding the different needs and commercial objectives whether you’re supporting finance, marketing or operational divisions.

 

In this respect an MBA provides comprehensive training to develop more rounded knowledge of the business landscape.

Securing investment – do your homework

Pitching to your employer

Studying for an MBA represents a major investment in time and money so if you are looking to secure support from your employer you need to do your homework first.

 

The starting point will be to carry out research into the range of courses that exist, including full time, modular and distance learning, and their associated costs. I recommend asking the business schools to provide evidence that illustrates how an MBA student can benefit the employer long term.

Next, think about your pitch to your employer and highlight the advantages you will bring to the organization through the development of your skills. You’re asking your employer to make a major investment, so be prepared to be flexible around how the training might be carried out so you are not putting up further obstacles to a solution that works for everyone.

Redundancy

Redundancy is one of the most common ways that individuals fund MBAs and it’s a positive way to turn a negative situation to your advantage. Future employers will look favourably on candidates who have used the opportunity to invest in personal career development.

 

Some business professionals can fund MBA study through securing paid consultancy projects which they can then use as a basis for MBA coursework assignments.

Choosing the right MBA

Consider your own unique set of circumstances and personal career objectives and then consider the course content, fees, location and structure that’s right for you.

 

Many people overlook investigating what kind of student a course will typically attract but different courses may have a stronger bias towards a younger, or conversely more mature audience, or a higher mix of international or domestic students.

 

For me personally, a key factor in selecting to study at Henley was due to the typical student group being similar to my own background and business experience. 

If your aim is to study at a top-flight school such as INSEAD or Harvard you would naturally expect to reap significant increased earning potential, but the financial commitment up-front is prohibitive and the selection process is challenging.

 

The UK is home to a number of highly regarded business schools so students can benefit from high quality teaching without incurring significant cost which may take years to recoup.

There are different criteria for judging which schools are the best, but I recommend The Economist’s MBA rankings as a credible guide to UK business schools. If you’re considering an international course there is big variance in international rankings, so the best advice is to visit a few for yourself and form your own opinion.

 

Some business schools will require you to take a GMAT test in advance, so this may prohibit you from securing a place on some courses if this is a requirement that you haven’t been able to meet.

HR credibility

An MBA gives you the credibility and confidence to act as a consultant to board level executives. You may find that you have acquired greater business strategy knowledge than the board members who consult you, and the MBA study process helps you to research and articulate strategic business advice in an effective way, which in turn further increases your credibility.

Competitive edge

The challenging economy has made the jobs market extremely competitive so a Master’s degree could provide you with the edge over your peers. In times of recession in particular, organizations are always looking for the best talent and an MBA qualification is still quite rare so I would encourage you to use the economic climate to your advantage.