KENNESAW, Ga. | Sep 26, 2022

EMBAs Help Job Seekers Move Up

By Robin Cheramie
Dean, Michael J. Coles College of Business

With the wild economy we’ve experienced during the last few years – and especially with the job market of the last few months – people have been thinking a lot about their careers and whether they’re happy in their current roles. Phrases like “Quiet Quitting” and “The Great Resignation” point to an inescapable fact: many people are looking for a change.

While the current job market is mostly favorable to job seekers, professionals are still turning to educational opportunities like executive MBA programs to give them that extra edge when trying to move up the corporate ladder.    

The Great Resignation   

Everyone has seen the headlines about “The Great Resignation” that began in 2021, when some 47 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the reasons for quitting vary – early retirement, health concerns, becoming a stay-at-home parent – plenty of workers are taking the opportunity to find better jobs. According to the Economic Policy Institute, hiring continued to outpace the number of quits in all sectors at the start of 2022. Rather than leaving the workforce, the workforce is leaving their current jobs.

EMBA Applications Up

A hot labor market and plenty of people eager to get better jobs creates a competitive environment for the best positions. When there is competition, jobseekers need to find ways to distinguish themselves. And, according to AACSB International, that is taking the form of increased interest in management graduate education. Between 2020 and 2021, applications for executive MBA programs increased by 17 percent.

While this increase in interest doesn’t always translate into increased enrollment, it has led to an interesting shift in the dynamics of EMBA programs. Specifically, AACSB found that women made up 33 percent of EMBA enrollment in 2021, the highest level ever.

How EMBAs Create Value

So, what is drawing so many people to consider an EMBA? Executive MBA programs use real-world cases and mentors to teach experienced professionals management skills that immediately make them better leaders. To put it another way, an EMBA program is a business leader bootcamp.

For example, Kennesaw State University’s EMBA program is one of the few around the world to offer students executive coaching throughout the entire program. Each student is paired with an executive-level mentor who offers guidance and career coaching from start to finish.

Other elements of KSU’s EMBA program that prepare professionals to advance in their careers include teaching from Harvard Business School case studies, having students participate in real-world consulting projects, and hosting international residencies where students partner with their peers in other countries to solve global business challenges.

Thanks to KSU’s intense focus on leadership development, the University’s EMBA program has been consistently ranked among the best in the world. CEO Magazine ranked the KSU EMBA program as No. 1 in Georgia, No. 3 in the U.S., and No. 9 in the world.

The results of these programs don’t lie. Eighty-eight percent of graduates of KSU’s EMBA program report an increase in their ability to be promoted. In addition, the EMBA Council finds that an EMBA typically leads to a salary increase of 14.1 percent.  

As more workers make the decision to leave their current jobs for something more lucrative or satisfying, the value of executive MBA programs in preparing those professionals to move up or move on continues to be apparent.

Workers have more options now than they have had in many years, but so do employers. An EMBA is an excellent way to stand out.

Dr. Robin Cheramie is Dean of the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. She previously served as director for the Michael A. Leven School of Management, Entrepreneurship and Hospitality, and chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. Her work has appeared in Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Human Relations, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Career Development International, and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management.