MBA placements at IE?

Question

How good are the placements at IE MBA for international students? I am an Indian national. Contemplating whether an MBA from IE will allow me to get a good placement offer given the conditions prevailing in Europe and especially Spain.

Also...can someone tell which industry recruits the maximum students from IE and which country/continent are most students placed?

Also...can someone tell which industry recruits the maximum students from IE and which country/continent are most students placed?

rishavs · Answer

1st question; its very bad. I have had a chat with a few alums and they all said the same thing. Dont invest so much in a European MBA right now if your main aim is to get a job in EU. In fact, i was told the same thing by the IE representative herself in the MBA fair.
Statistically speaking, only 30% of IE students get through via the placement services.

2nd question; just download the IE placement report from their site.

ramalo · Answer

Thank you so much for the reply. I had a feeling the situation was bad. Any clue about IESE?

rishavs · Answer

Same boat. The story is same in every EU school. Schools in spain like IE, IESE, EsADE etc are the worst affected.
The ones I think are doing better are INSEAD and LBS. But this is mostly i have read around the nets. I have no numbers to back this perception up.

However, again the situation is bad if you only want a EU job. The chances are much better if you are wiling to work in other locations.
Finally, I know 3 IE alums. All 3 are back in India working here as they didnt get a job in EU.

ramalo · Answer

Hmm ya I've read similar posts online from other people as well. Clearly not the wisest decision to go to Spain in the current scenario.

Thanks

rishavs · Answer

You have to understand that it is not just the world economy, the EU economy and even the Spanish economy at fault in here. Indian aspirants just have a much tougher time all over right now. I have heard of many graduates even from the US colleges returning to India.

So in the end, you have really focus on what you want out of an MBA. being able to live in a developing country can no longer be the prime outcome of an IMBA right now. Personally, if given the chance, I will be taking the IE degree mainly because of the quality of education. It was and still is my first choice among all EU schools.

Finally things being tougher doesn't guarantees that you will NOT get a job in EU. You will have to network better, focus specific companies the moment you land in Madrid and make sure your IE year doesn't end up being a vacation. ie, dont think "I'll think up where I want to work towards the end of my education". Have a vision, strategize all steps towards it before you even start your MBA and the whole duration of your MBA must consist of tactical moves towards the realization of each "step".

Hope my post helped.

PS. things are actually improving in EU even as we speak. Some months ago, France simplified a lot of its visa restrictions meaning that its much easier to get a job in France as a MBA graduate. If entrepreneurship if your focus, the Nordic countries are comparatively better placed too.

ramalo · Answer

Firstly ur posts have been really helpful so thanks alot.

My prime reason for pursuing an MBA is to change careers. I've been working in Business development and Strategy for a diversified firm with interests in Power, education and textile for 4+ years now. I am really keen on getting into strategy consulting. A major consideration for me is that I want to work/earn abroad for atleast 3 years post my MBA in order to recover costs etc. Otherwise it doesn't make too much sense for me to be spending all that money if I come back immediately after my MBA. I graduated from a university in UK but had to come back because of personal reasons right after graduation. Its something I really regret. Anyway I don't want to make the same mistake.

So I'm definitely looking at the post mba work situation in different countries. Europe is obviously the hardest. US is difficult but definitely easier than Europe. Singapore I feel will be ideal as it has some good business schools (NUS, NANYANG, INSEAD) plus the post mba work requirements I think are easier.

Whats ur profile if u dont mind me asking

TheAlbatross · Answer

Interesting thread. Has anyone heard anything about placements for EU citizens? Obviously the EU economy is still recovering but for those of us lucky enough not to need visas / sponsorship how is the placement at IE?

I feel like career reports never tell the full story but I'm assuming IE has pretty good placements for EU citizens.

I feel like career reports never tell the full story but I'm assuming IE has pretty good placements for EU citizens.

khobeb · Answer

Well looking at the geographical statistics on the placement report (refer to page 15 of ie international placement report of 2013.

The picture that a prospective IE MBA takes is very dark to say the least, as an international student like me, you should be worried also when you see that 89% of the African MBA graduates are back in Africa after completing their MBA, same goes for Europe (Non EU) 85%, Asia 81%, Latin America 78%).

I had a recent discussion with an IE marketing person, who is also an Alumni of IE MBA, he could not satisfy me to say the least, according to him, most of the people that come to do the MBA are either company sponsored or Government scholarships, and after graduation they are bound to return to their home country.

I was just wondering if other schools, like INSEAD , IMD or Booth etc publish reports like this => percentage of people who have returned to their home country after graduation.

TheAlbatross · Answer

Hmm, yeah those aren't very encouraging. I wonder if that's also a function of the economies and not just the school though. The UK, for example, is becoming very strict on handing out visas so I think grads from any of the top MBAs would find it difficult to get placed in the UK. That being said, those numbers you quote from IE are still worrying. It's also worth noting that the trend from the 2011-2012 report to the 2012-2013 report is positive so they're getting better.

Unfortunately, I don't think I've seen other schools post these stats except for IESE. Their stats are a bit better:

% of students changing country (per 2014 career report)
Asia: 10%
Lat Am: 48%
Mid East: 50%
Spain: 36%
USA: 56%
West. EU: 59%

xzarus · Answer

Interesting thread indeed.
I am considering to apply for the April 2015 intake...

Given the price tag of the program I am really trying to gather whether it's worth going through with such an MBA.

Being a European myself I would assume that most people don't want to change the continent (maybe the country - but stay within the EU). This might be different for Indians or Africans - but at least for Europeans I would doubt that most of them want to change.

nevertheless... I am really doubting that the income increase can really make up for 60.000 EUR tuition...

BalajiGuruprasad · Answer

I recently got an invite from the admissions team to enroll in the school. Just wanted to know if anyone is planning to or has applied for IMBA.

The 2015 Careers report does show an increase in career placements upto 92% in 2014, awaiting 2015 report. Is there any alumni here who can comment on it or has someone did research around it.

Appreciate your comments.

Thanks,
Bala

himanshu1387 · Answer

Hey.. I am also applying for the IE MBA. Have you found any relevant feedback about the job scenario? Kindly update

shahin023 · Answer

Hey
I am recent graduate of IE MBA, or popularly known as IMBA. The job market in Spain and Europe in general, except Germany, is extremely bad and there are currently only a few jobs available. Most of them who have offers in hand are mainly through networking. Please note the two most important criteria to get jobs - A) Spanish language . B) Visa permit. Without either, its nearly impossible to get stay back. All big schools in Europe face the same problems but its better at LBS, INSEAD and, to an extend, at IESE as a few consulting companies recruit from there. But that being said, the learning curve is extremely high at IE, with some of the best professors and infrastructure. This is the feed back that I recieved from most of the exchange students who study at IE. Last year had been one of the best in terms of both learning and having fun.

PM me if you have any queries regarding the school and I will be happy to help.

Regards

himanshu1387 · Answer

Dear Shahin,

IE claims that more than 90% of students land in a job within three months.. does this mean that all have been successful doing networking?

regards
Himanshu

ankit1313 · Answer

Hi.. I have received admit from ESADE. And have appeared for IE interview, it went quite good so am expecting a positive response. However, I have been checking with some consultants and alumni and friends, and feedback I am receiving is that job scene in EU is quite bad and its not worth going for EU college. I am from India, and planning to take big loan for paying the fee. And coming back to India for work will definitely not help me repay for the loan. Current alumni and admits at IE/ Esade, need your advice on the same. I am quite confused whether ro go for this or reapply next year in USA colleges? 
For info: I am marine engg, 7 yrs of work ex in oil & energy sector. score of 650 in gmat.

pls advice.

AppBR · Answer

Hi guys,

For someone aiming consultancy, is it better start at Sept or Jan intake?

I am most concerned about internship opportunities.

Please help me!

GyanOne · Answer

IE Business School: Why Should you Consider this Top European MBA?

IE Business School, ranked 12 as per FT Global MBA rankings, boasts of an extremely diverse class profile with students from more than 70+ nationalities. Udit Bhatnagar, a GyanOne client, looks forward to start his MBA journey at IE and explains his reasons to select this European MBA program, despite the ‘economic conditions’ in Europe.

What were you doing before the MBA and how did b-school come into the picture? 
Before embarking on my MBA journey, I was working as a Senior Business Analyst at one of the largest banks in the Nordic region. Prior to this, I had a 7-year long career in application development at one of India’s software services giants. From being an application developer to a technology lead, from managing projects as a team leader to client management as an onsite coordinator, I have played diverse roles during my professional journey. I also gained international work experience of about 4 years and have worked with teams from several nationalities while living in Spain and Japan.

Due to the shift that I made in my profile, the decision to do an MBA felt natural to me. MBA at this stage will not only give a boost to my growth as a business analyst but will also allow me to have a holistic view of businesses.  IE Business School

This post was first publushed on the  GyanOne Blog

divyanshubhatia9 · Answer

Hello!

As per the latest data on IE Business School's website, it claims that atleast 96% students got jobs within 3 months after completion of Masters in Finance program. But after reading earlier comments, I am a bit confused whether to go ahead with the admission. Can anyone tell me if it's still hard for Non-European students to find job in Spain after completion of Masters in Finance? Or is the data published by the university incorrect?

Posted from my mobile device

RussianDude · Answer

I think that chances to find a job in Spain are generally pretty bad. Spain currently has about 17% unemployment. Its slowly getting better though. So if you want to stay in Europe, you must consider other European countries as well and be very flexible. As far as job chances are concerned. I am graduating in December, but I started applying already. Had couple of interviews already. Things are looking quite good actually. The weakest part of IE (as with many schools) is the careers department. If you however start your job search early on and use all the resources the school provides, you should do fine with finding a job in Europe. Hope this helps.

MBA placements at IE?

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