"Parallel paths" is a phrase that 2011 Columbia University MBA candidate Elizabeth McCarthy knows well. It's the euphemism her school used last year to prepare students for the possibility of not immediately landing a job in their desired field. "I'm not sure everybody would admit to this, but there are some jobs that are sort of stepping-stone jobs," she says.
Her first choice, consulting, was one of the hardest-hit recruiting areas for new MBA hiring last year, according to a poll of 89 business schools conducted last spring by the MBA Career Services Council (CSC). So she made backup plans to look for positions in general management. As it turned out, she didn't need to. She landed a consulting internship at Bain & Co. last summer, which was followed by a full-time offer.
McCarthy's experience was the Class of 2011's writ small. Expecting the worst after an epic downturn in the market for MBA talent, many developed Plan Bs that new research suggests will end up being the road not taken. New MBA hiring picked up slightly in 2010 and is likely to increase again this year, with the traditional MBA magnet fields of financial services and consulting expected to make comebacks, according to the most recent MBA CSC data, released earlier this month.
Evidence of a rebound is everywhere. Seventy percent of business schools surveyed by the CSC in December said full-time MBA job postings were up. Employers are not shy about their intentions, either. The Graduate Management Admission Council, the organization that publishes the GMAT, polled 210 employers in November, and 64 percent said they plan to hire new MBAs in 2011 vs. 60 percent that said the same in the prior year. The percentage of employers likely to hire holders of new bachelor's degrees remained unchanged.
"It now appears that 2009 was likely the low point for us," says J. J. Cutler, deputy vice-dean for MBA admissions, financial aid, and career management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (Wharton Full-Time MBA Profile).
Class of 2011 MBAs are also likely to face less job competition than their 2010 counterparts, who were competing against 2009 graduates for a smaller pool of entry-level MBA positions, says Elena Bajic, chief executive of Ivy Exec, a recruiting company focused on MBA job placement.
When it comes to pay, this year's class may not see too much of an advantage compared with 2010 grads. Sixty-nine percent of employers polled by GMAC said they do not plan to increase starting salaries of new MBA hires over last year. Four percent said they would decrease salaries vs. six percent the prior year.
Campus recruiting in consulting and financial services improved the most over last fall, according to the council's December data—a sign that bodes well for spring and summer job placements. About 65 percent of schools surveyed by the CSC reported an increase in recruiting by consulting firms, while nearly 60 percent reported an increase in financial services recruiting, the December data show.
JPMorgan Chase has not reduced new MBA hiring levels and will search for talent at 20 to 25 schools this year vs. about 15 last year, says Joanna Moody, head of campus recruiting for the company's investment banking unit in North America.
While hiring in financial services is up—about 55 percent of schools responding to the CSC survey reported an increase this school year—the types of financial service jobs available appear to be shifting. "Within financial services, we're seeing wealth management as the booming sector," says Ivy Exec's Bajic.
Post a comment about this story in Reader Discussion…
RSS Feed: Most Read Stories
RSS Feed: Most E-mailed Stories
RSS Feed: Most Discussed Stories
Buy a link now!
About Advertising EDGE Programs Reprints Terms of Use Disclaimer Privacy Notice Ethics Code Contact Us Site Map
©2011 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.
Read Full Article »