Experience vs Academics to help you get a job in Mongolia
Experience vs Academics
Since I started my involvement in Mongolian recruitment over one year ago, I have been amazed by the level of academic accomplishment of young Mongolians. The number of CVs that we receive with not just one, but maybe two Masters degrees is unlike anything I have seen before. The contribution of bright young Mongolians in universities around the world is something that Mongolia can feel very proud of.
The one piece though that I believe is overlooked slightly is the value of real professional experience. I fully understand the benefits of Masters / MBA programs but I also believe that they have the greatest impact after a few years of professional experience. This experience will help you build a clearer idea of where you might want to specialize within your post-graduate studies and will help you get far more out of the courses. Plus the combination of professional experience and further study will open up far more exciting job opportunities than study alone.
Mongolia Talent Network is the largest recruitment company in UB and we work with a wide a range of companies. The requests that I receive on a daily basis are all focused on experience, not post-graduate study. Having a bachelors degree is often a pre-requisite but post graduate study is most often not even mentioned and, if it is, is ‘preferred’ rather than ‘required’.
The job market here for bright young Mongolian graduates is booming. The economy is growing rapidly and hopefully will continue to do so for the years to come. This means that entering the job market now will enable you to progress more rapidly and gain greater experience early on in your career that would be remotely possible in more mature markets.
A wise man once told me that the first 10 years of your career are about building the experience that you will then live off for the rest of your career. As a bright young national in a booming market your ability to do that successfully is incredibly exciting.
Admittedly the starting position or salary for fresh graduates may not be ideal (although it is improving!) but I can almost guarantee that one or two years working within a company will open up far better opportunities than going away to start post-graduate studies straight out of university.
I understand that sometimes postgraduate study overseas provides an opportunity to improve your language skills, and I don’t mean to dismiss that in any way. Language skills will open up greater opportunities and puts you in a rarer talent pool, which therefore means you are likely to receive higher salaries. I also understand that you may have a passion for learning and for your subject.
However, I do want to very strongly urge any new university graduates to think extremely carefully before deciding to go straight on to post-graduate studies.
If you wish to speak with one of our team of specialist recruitment consultants / head-hunters we will do everything we can to provide the best possible career advice.
Please visit www.MongoliaTalentNetwork.com or contact us at info@MongoliaTalentNetwork.com to talk to one of our head-hunters in Mongolia.
