Introduction
While you may have brushed up your knowledge studying for your entrance exams, short-term skill development courses can enrich your learning and help you succeed in your MBA program.
Nowadays, multiple online programs can help you in improving your chances of success. By adding a few short courses to your to-do list, you can boost your chances of succeeding in an MBA degree by supplementing your learning. Jobs after an MBA are highly competitive, and these short-term courses may help you get a head start.
More than a third of potential business school candidates in 2020 said they felt they needed to upskill to find a job, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). So, why not start upskilling before you begin an MBA?
What is LinkedIn Learning?
LinkedIn Learning is a video-based learning platform that helps you understand and develop business, technology-related, and creative skills. You can take up to 16,400 courses in 7 languages, and 60+ new courses are added every week (according to the official website). One can access the website for free or by paying a membership fee.
These courses allow students to learn from industry experts. Beginners, intermediate learners, and experts can all benefit from these courses.
Here are eight LinkedIn Learning courses to consider before starting an MBA program –
1. Financial Modeling & Forecasting Financial Statements
Finance, one of the most popular streams, is covered in all MBA programs. Finance-related courses can teach you how to supervise an organization’s financial and investment decisions.
This course teaches about financial modeling and how to interpret past statistics such as cost of goods sold, depreciation charges, inventory levels, and why those values fluctuated over time. Using this data, one can learn how to forecast financial statements.
The curriculum is also designed to give hands-on exposure to industry-based projects like Home Depot’s 1985 cash-flow crisis. It will help students gain a better understanding of accurate financial projections and their impact on organizational decisions.
2. Time Management Fundamentals
MBA will put a lot of pressure on you. You’ll have coursework to finish, examinations to prepare for, internships to arrange, and that’s before you’ve even begun networking. An MBA requires solid time management abilities, and your post-MBA employment will require the same.
This program will arm students with the skill of effective time management.
The Linkedin course will further help you identify and manage the three principles of productivity – space, mind, and time, in your life.
3. Excel Essential Training
Microsoft Excel is the most popular spreadsheet program for tracking assets, income, debt, and net worth. As a result, it is a useful tool for ambitious MBA students to learn.
The course offers a ton of features for data management and analysis. Learn how to add and organize data, do simple calculations, arrange rows, columns, cells, and data using simple functions. It covers both beginner and advanced Excel skills required for any data analysis activities in business school. Excel Essential Training is available for both Mac and Office users.
4. Communicating with Confidence
Every business professional must communicate effectively and confidently, whether you’re presenting a client with a pitch or simply communicating within your team. This course comprises communication tools, techniques, pointers that are simple to implement and yield fast results. You will also put everything to the test by going through some real coaching exercises.
MBA schools usually ask you to present a project you’ve worked on before a group of peers or even a panel of faculty, and this course will help you prepare for such complex situations.
5. Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinking is a crucial skill for everyone in an organization, and it’ll become even more important as you go up the corporate ladder. Management and leadership abilities are emphasized in MBA programs, generally through Business Strategy and Strategic Decision Making classes.
This course will assist you in developing the skills needed to lead a team with confidence and authority. You will learn to think about every possible long- and short-term effect of your decision and will be able to make more successful strategic decisions. In addition, one may also learn how to apply strategic thinking to steer the team’s direction and find answers to pressing business issues.
6. Improving Your Listening Skills
Listening is a primary aspect of communication. The course will help you understand why it is difficult to listen well and how to build a good listener’s mindset. Learn multiple listening strategies that will help you when you are not being listened to. Throughout the course, you will learn how to avoid interrupting others and become a good listener who understands both – what is and isn’t being said.
7. Project Management Foundations
Project Management can be defined as a set of practices used to fulfill objectives and increase the success of the ongoing/prospective project. Whether you want to be a project manager or not, you’ll most certainly have to work on both group and solo projects during your time in business school.
It will be advantageous to have some knowledge of standard project procedures.
This free Project Management Course will teach you how to set goals, create a plan, stay on top of your workload, and complete projects on schedule with the help of case studies. Additionally, it will also help in learning how to communicate, arrange meetings, stay on track with a project, and get consumer acceptance.
8. Python Essential Training
Python is one of the fast-growing skills desired by top MBA employers such as Apple, Oracle, and Deloitte.
This beginner-friendly course covers the syntax and usage of the language and advanced features like objects, generators, and exceptions, with a Python Web application as an example. Learners will be taught how to use control statements, loops, and functions, as well as generators and decorators.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Are courses on LinkedIn free?
Ans – The first month of your LinkedIn Learning subscription will not be charged. You need to pay for the courses after that.
2. Do I get a certificate?
Ans – Of course, upon successful completion, you will receive a LinkedIn Learning Certificate. You can print the certificate or share it online through your LinkedIn profile.
3. Why should you opt for certification courses?
Ans – To earn qualifications that will make you more valued at work. It also assists you in showcasing your abilities to potential employers. These credentials are an investment in your career development.
4. What are the advantages of online learning?
Ans – Here are a few advantages of online learning:
- Learn from the comfort of your home.
- You can accomplish the goal at any time.
- Online courses are inexpensive when compared to old-style classroom guidance.
Wrapping up
You may not have much time once your classes begin, so enrolling in a course before the program commences is a feasible option. You can learn about concepts relevant to your specialization or a general appropriate subject like Google analytics, communication skills, Google AdWords, Advanced Excel, and so on.
As popular American writer Zig Ziglar said, “Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation.” Your preparations on how to start will determine how successful you become in your endeavor.
Now that you are aware of the LinkedIn courses to learn from, give everything you have got to make the most of them.
If you are someone who is looking for an MBA program that will help you achieve your career goals, we are here to guide you. This MBA from Shiv Nadar University will help you learn the managerial as well as technical skills required for you to build a successful career. The course is conducted online for two years, post which you will receive a UGC entitled MBA degree from Shiv Nadar University, Delhi NCR. Apply now to kickstart your professional career!
