Many employers consider themselves fortunate to find job candidates who have M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) degrees. After all, an M.B.A. is a sign of a highly qualified, well-trained worker, right? But before you jump on that freshly minted M.B.A. candidate, consider some factors that may give you pause.



1. Is the candidate affordable? M.B.A. degrees don’t come cheap (at least not the ones from good schools), so many M.B.A.holders price themselves high in the job market in order to cover their student loans. Your company may be paying too much for the added value that it is likely to get. Consider candidates who can do the job for less money.



2. Has the candidate traded real-world experience for book learning? Ideally, you should get all the experience you want, plus the benefits of an M.B.A. classroom program. Beware of candidates who have not been in the trenches; they may be using your company for on-the-job experience before jumping to a bigger ship.



3. Does the candidate have only one hammer? M.B.A. students specialize in one discipline, such as marketing or operations. You may be getting someone who prefers one solution to all sorts of problems. There are advantages to specialization, but the company may need someone who is flexible enough to rotate through several departments.



4. Can the candidate communicate with other employees? The M.B.A. curriculum may result in the candidate speaking in terms that the rest of the company does not understand. Communication styles are a common cause of friction within a company. Make sure that your M.B.A. candidate speaks and writes the company’s language.



5. Is the job big enough for a person with an M.B.A.? Those with M.B.A. degrees are generally looking for a chance to show their stuff. Putting a big degree into a small job is asking for turnover, since the employee may constantly have his or her eye on the next step up the ladder instead of the job for which he or she was hired.



6. Does the candidate need your company? A small company may not be the right fit for an M.B.A. holder with big ambitions of managing a multimillion-dollar division. However, someone with an M.B.A. may do well in a small company when given opportunities to move around and rise up the corporate ladder. Does your company offer such room for growth?



7. Will your employees be intimidated by someone with an M.B.A.? Some senior supervisors and employees resent “egghead” hires, which can lead to workplace frictions. Bringing in an employee with an M.B.A. is sometimes perceived as a sign that “ordinary” employees are not good enough to get the job done. You should be sensitive to such feelings and be prepared to counter them. Otherwise, pass on the candidate with the M.B.A.



8. Can a current employee do this job? No one knows your company like the people who work there. Perhaps, with a few M.B.A. night courses, a current employee can be promoted to the position. Promoting from within is good for morale.



9. Are people skills more important than quantitative skills? M.B.A. holders are generally trained to manage by the numbers. A job that requires a different type of leadership may not be the best place for a person with this degree.



10. Did the candidate come from a good school? There are lots of diploma mills out there that crank out M.B.A.programs over the Internet. Before you hire someone with an M.B.A., make sure that he or she attended an accredited course from a reputable institution.



There are instances when an M.B.A. holder is preferable to a less academically qualified candidate. But in general, you should avoid the temptation to inflate a job’s qualifications just to reduce the number of applicants. Hire a person with an M.B.A. only when you really need the skills taught in the particular program.



Dilip Sharma