Today, there is a distinct workplace focus on Continuous Professional Development, or CPD, and employees are encouraged to take training courses in order to build and develop their existing skill sets. If you work for a particularly forward thinking and progressive organisation that recognises the value of additional professional qualifications, you may be encouraged to undertake such things either voluntarily or compulsorily.

An Executive MBA is an example of such a professional qualification. Enrolling on such a course, and completing it successfully, has the almost guaranteed potential to breathe life into your career and its ongoing prospects. While they are certainly not inexpensive, and should not be undertaken lightly, as they last for either one or two years full time (or longer part time), require great dedication and hard work, the potential rewards far exceed the outlays. You will build a high quality network of contacts that may even help you in a future job search, and will massively enhance existing business skills.

The essential point about an Executive MBA is that it draws on existing skills and experiences gained through your career to date, and gives you the chance to share these with other course participants. This enables most to benefit from this shared expertise, and the training given by the MBA institution will enable participants to harness these for everyone's benefit. If anything, enrolling on the Executive MBA lets likeminded and motivated individuals come together, in a cooperative and innovative environment, and learn from one another.

Therefore having gained your Executive MBA from an institution like Ashridge Business School, the assumption is that recruitment departments will be more interested in your CV, and that is on the whole pretty much correct. You will also have opened your eyes to other opportunities and other ways of thinking, and have injected a new vigour into your career and future prospects.