These days, it is not sufficient to simply get top grades in your GCSEs, A-Levels and a good degree from a world class institution. In a modern, competitive environment; you also need something else to differentiate yourself from your contemporaries, who will share similar experiences to you.

 The best way to go about this is to consider what sort of extra qualifications you could get to land your dream job. While many people are going on to further study in the form of Master's degrees or PhDs, an increasingly more popular choice is to opt for an MBA.

 While an MBA has traditionally been seen as something done by those attempting to break through middle management ranks, and on to an executive level position, smart graduates have begun to realise the merits of starting out their career with it already in the bag.

 The MBA teaches you all sorts of skills essential to running a top flight business, and is increasingly in demand by potential employers as evidence that the candidate knows their stuff. It can potentially be seen as a form of vocational training relevant to today's demanding workplace, putting you a few steps ahead of your graduate peers before they've even started the race for a well paid and stimulating job.

 More importantly, it is an invaluable opportunity to network, and it is probably this aspect of the MBA that most appeals to people, and is what you will get the most benefit from. Recruitment departments in major companies recognise the many benefits that this will bring over the longer term to their organisation, as business is of course founded on opportunities gained through contacts.

 And for the graduate starting out their job search, the MBA will give them those networking opportunities that will stand them in good stead throughout their career: those individuals undertaking an MBA will have had one common objective, being to advance their career to the highest level in the shortest time possible. For the ambitious graduate, going for an MBA is a smart move, well worth the investment and effort expended. Ashridge offer MBA programmes and are worth a browse. It might also be worth checking out the About.com website for all that’s topical in the world of economics.