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A review of MBA demand in North America
In North America, MBA recruiters are back in force. At UCLA this year, nearly 99% of MBA graduates report job offers, with an average starting salary package of $113K. Around 98% of first year students at the school sought and secured summer internships, with employers from consulting, investment banking, entertainment and high-tech industries. Indeed, the last time there was this much optimism was during the IT/Tech boom. So is this recruiting boom any different from the last? Where are MBA graduates setting their career sights in 2007? And are the recruiters here to stay?
In the last few years, MBA recruitment has been on a slow burn. "Employment of MBAs is an expensive proposition for corporations," says Richard E. Sorensen, chair of the board at AACSB International. "When the economy slows, MBA recruitment is an area where companies cut back. However, here in the United States, the number of recruiters on campus over the past two to three years has been increasing."
This year, however, the signs are that the market has finally ignited. Ask business schools in the US and Canada about the prospects for MBA recruitment and the response is overwhelmingly positive. Almost all schools report increased recruiter activity on and off campus.
"There has been a significant increase in recruiting activity at Fuqua this year," says Erin Gasch, Associate Director of Marketing and Employer Services at Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, North Carolina. "Compared to last year at this time the total number of companies recruiting on our campus is up 28 per cent, the number of company presentations is up 7 per cent, the number of second-year interviews for full-time positions is up 13 per cent, and the number of first-year interviews for internships is up 20 per cent."
Many other US schools are reporting an up tick in the quality and quantity of MBA job prospects, as well as base compensation and bonuses.
It is the same story in Canada. "We have definitely noticed an increase in activity from all sectors. More recruiters are looking for MBAs and recruiters have more roles to fill," explains Karen Theriault, Director of the Corporate Connections Centre at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. "Rotman students have increasing confidence that not only will they get a job, but they will get the job they want. Graduate hiring to date is up 10 per cent over last year."
After several years where IT firms were the fashionable place to work, and then a recruitment lull, traditional MBA career destinations are reasserting their popularity. "Accounting firms are back in full force, as are some of the consulting and financial service firms," says Darby Scism, Director of the F. David Fowler Graduate Career Center, at The George Washington University School of Business in Washington DC.
Aside from the more traditional destinations there are some interesting career trends developing. “Social entrepreneurship is a growth area. We are seeing significant growth in student interest in the public sector and non-profit space," observes Peter Giulioni, Executive Director of the MBA Career Resource Center at USC Marshall, Los Angeles. "It is a nod to the sense of social responsibility that is a very real part of how these students view their post-graduate careers." At Columbia Business School, a school noted for its strength in finance, the social entrepreneurship club has over 150 members.
This is probably a generational phenomenon. There is much research to suggest that the Millennials, who are now reaching the age to apply to business schools, are significantly more socially conscious than their immediate generational cohorts (GenX/GenY). According to TargetX this generation has a greater sense of destiny; they want to be part of something bigger and more meaningful than themselves. They have already experienced the power of collective action and are inspired by doing rather than talking. In terms of how this has altered their behaviour, we are seeing very high rates of volunteerism, raised interest in social entrepreneurship, greater desire to leave a legacy, and focus on money as a vehicle rather than an end in itself.
