Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The prestigious Access MBA tour will once again take place in Baku on October 25.

With a groundbreaking one-to-one event concept, Access MBA helps business professionals tap into the global leadership pool by matching them with international business school programs. Worldwide leader in one-to-one events, the Access MBA tour features over 125 business schools and visits more than 65 cities per year.

The tour gives candidates the unique opportunity to meet admissions directors from some of the world's best business schools during individual, face-to-face meetings.

Four out of five global companies plan to employ MBA degree holders in 2014

Eighty percent of corporate recruiters plan to employ recent MBA graduates in 2014. This percentage is up seven percentage points from last year and 30 percentage points from 2009, in the heart of the economic crisis, when just half of employers hired MBA graduates. The outlook is even better in the United States. 86 percent of the U.S. employers said they plan to hire MBA graduates in 2014, up from an already impressive 81 percent in 2013.

When asked by GMAC for their reasons for hiring business school graduates in this year's Corporate Recruiters Survey, employers say that the degree holders bring "the ability to think outside the box", "have the leadership potential needed", "provide a strategic focus, acumen, and proven ability to perform", and tend to have a "short learning curve and ambition".

Forty five percent of global employers plan to increase MBA graduates' starting salary

Hiring companies expect to pay median starting salaries of $95,000 for MBA graduates in the U.S., similar to last year, according to the GMAC's 2014 Corporate Recruiters survey. The majority of employers said they plan to maintain salaries for this year's hires at 2013 levels. 27 percent of the responding companies said they plan to increase base pay by the rate of inflation, while another 18 percent expect to increase starting pay by levels above the inflation rate.

The findings in the 2014 GMAC Alumni Perspectives Survey Report indicate that nine out often (91 percent) business school alumni from 2010-2013 consider their graduate management education of good to outstanding value. Additionally, 79 percent of the surveyed MBA alumni reported that their expectations for financial return on their investment (ROI) were met or exceeded.

There is no question that the cost of MBA education is a considerable investment in terms of both time and money. Today, getting the degree is not just about getting the education per se, but includes additional rather costly program-related expenses such as travel and various social events. However, these MBA-related "lifestyle expenses", as a New York Times article refers to them, prove to be the most effective for MBA graduates in landing extraordinary jobs, due to the unmatched networking opportunities that they provide.

One-to-one meetings: The first step to admission

Each one-to-one event gives MBA candidates the chance to meet individually with Admissions Directors of the world's best business schools, providing a premium face-to-face opportunity for candidates to impress the recruiters. Access MBA is based on a simple and original concept: a candidate has twenty minutes to illustrate his or her suitability for admission, as well as to objectively evaluate which MBA program is the best for his or her career and aspirations. Upon registering online for a one-to-one event, candidates are hand-selected, contacted over the phone, and matched to the best business schools for them by our team of expert consultants.

About the Access MBA Tour

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Access MBA Tour is the leading global organizer of one-to-one events, connecting qualified candidates with Admissions Directors around the world.

The aim of the events is to match selected candidates with top-ranked international business schools. The innovative â€Â³One-to-Oneâ€Â³ event concept was founded by Advent Group in 2004 and has set a new standard for educational events in the industry.

The tour currently takes place in over 55 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Canada, Asia and Africa. It will travel to 35 international destinations this fall with 130 of the most prestigious business schools from 30 countries. Of the total, 70 percent are in the top 100 MBA programs worldwide. Schools participating in the fall tour include Insead, London Business School, IESE, IE Business School, HEC Paris, Esade, Duke, Kellogg-WHU, Georgetown, and many others.

Prospective MBA students that would like to participate in the Tour must register on http://www.accessmba.com/baku/index.html?ui=7SWRFU1411741157.