Mohit Atal from India joined MGSM in term 1, 2012 to study his full-time MBA. He graduated earlier this year and has since secured the role of Project Manager at Optus. Mohit agreed to share some of the reasons why he chose to study in Australia and at MGSM.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO STUDY IN AUSTRALIA?
Before moving to Australia I visited twice as a tourist, which provided some familiarity and comfort when it was time to make the move. I preferred Australia as the government, unlike other countries, allows a spouse to accompany students and also gives us the opportunity to work. The country also has comfortable climatic conditions which are similar to Asia and the students from these countries do not face any challenge in adapting.
WHY MGSM?
I worked in the automotive industry in India for nine years before I decided to look for a career change, expand my professional network and work in international markets. MGSM was one of the very few institutes, which, besides a good brand name, offered international students the flexibility to study with part-time students who have extensive experience working in the Australian market.
As my professional goal was to work in Australia, I strongly believed it would be a good opportunity to study with students with a vast experience across varied industries and build strong contacts before getting into the job market.
WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES AND SUCCESS STRATEGIES YOU USED TO SECURE YOUR ROLE WITH OPTUS?
Getting a job in an international market is always a challenge. Australia is no exception. Since I was on an international student’s visa, the biggest challenge was to find a company happy to sponsor a candidate with a 457 visa. Then I had to work on how to market and position myself to secure an interview. The next biggest challenge was how to crack the three to four step interview process, considering the intense competition. In short, I wondered how do I differentiate yourself from others and give employers the confidence that they should get me on board.
Considering the challenges mentioned above, it took me some months to secure a job. It wasn’t rocket science; it just meant I had to stick to the basics of networking, learning fast and preparing well for interviews.
HOW DID MGSM ASSIST YOU?
The MGSM Careers team was approachable – I just had to send an email and they were ready to help and provide directions. They played a vital and active role in helping me search and select an appropriate internship with Luxottica which matched my profile and my strengths. This internship in turn gave me the much needed firsthand experience of Australian work culture. It cannot be denied that my experience with Luxottica played an imperative role during my selection process at Optus.
The consultancy provided by MGSM helped build my resume and prepare for interviews with focus on the most frequently asked questions. The MGSM Careers team also connected me with MGSM alumni members who were very supportive.
