Growing Interest in E-commerce from India’s MBA Graduates

A survey conducted by global market research firm Nielson and shared exclusively with the Times of India has revealed that, among India’s MBA graduates, e-commerce is now the second most targeted industry sector, after FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods).

A quarter of MBA students from across all of India’s leading business schools, including the prestigious IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) and the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, stated that they would rather work within the expanding e-commerce sector, than go down traditional avenues such as careers in financial services and consultancy.

Management consultancy, which was the second most popular job up until the latest survey, was overtaken and sectors such as manufacturing and software & IT services fell outside of the top 10 for the first time in the survey’s history.

The survey produced some other interesting findings; notably the dwindling popularity of investment banking, which although historically very popular amongst MBA graduates worldwide before the economic crisis, now sits at 10th place for Indian MBA students as a consequence of continuing instability in the sector.

Despite this economic instability, it is interesting to note that there has been a steady increase in the amount of India’s MBA graduates being drawn to the startup market in the past couple of years. “One in five respondents indicated that they might consider a startup after gaining experience at their first job, and are open to the risk and challenge that comes with working independently or on board an online/e-commerce set up,” Surjya Roy, director of Nielson India, tells The Times of India. “This is a trait seen largely in toppers (high-achieving students) from premier campuses, who aim to operate as young entrepreneurs in the near future.”

The annual survey, known as the Nielson India’s Campus Recruiter Index, aims to map the career preferences of 1,600 MBA students from the top 35 management schools in the country and illustrates the dominance and growth of certain sectors and businesses. This year Hindustan Unilever topped the list of recruiting companies, followed by both Google and Procter & Gamble.

The Indian School of Business saw 50% rise in startups looking to recruit MBA graduates

Due to the growing market and funds available for online shopping and technology, e-commerce is seeing growth within both the general market and in the amount of business startups coming to market. VK Menon, the director of career advancement services at the Indian School of Business (ISB), said that e-commerce companies made 81 offers to the school’s students, making up 28% of the overall job offers within the technology sector at the school. Leading these companies in terms of numbers of offers were Amazon, Flipkart, InMobi and Myntra. There was also a 50% increase in the number of startup companies looking to recruit from the Indian School of Business.

Snapdeal is one such e-commerce startup company, backed by top companies such as eBay and other venture capital funds, which has recruited 25 MBA graduates from India’s top business schools this year. “Two years back, students graduating from top B-schools like the IIMs would ask if there was job security in e-commerce,” Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Snapdeal and Wharton graduate, says of the results. “They wanted jobs in consulting and I-banks. But things have changed quite dramatically as these youngsters realize jobs in startups offer a larger canvas for them to make an impact.”