Wall Street MBA Job Market Improves

Wall Street Job Market Improving for MBAs

 

This week, Training the Street (TTS) released its fourth annual employment survey of MBAs. The survey, which encompassed 200 MBA students and graduates from top institutions, shows that Wall Street firms are ramping up their hiring. And MBAs are benefiting with more interviews and offers.

TTS, a Wall Street training firm that tutored over 25,000 financial professionals in 2012, reports that 40 percent of survey respondents had received four to seven interviews, while another 31%  participated in eight or more interviews. 80 percent of respondents had already received job offers, with 50%  reporting multiple offers. In addition, 47% of respondents shared that they’ll earn base salaries between $100,000-$125,000, while another 21% will receive bases from $75,000-$99,999.

As a result, MBAs are upbeat, with 89 percent of respondents answering that they’re either “Very Optimistic” or “Somewhat Optimistic” about their job prospects.  And why shouldn’t they be? According to Scott Rostan, Founder and CEO of TTS, disclosed to the International Business Times that “one major Wall Street bank, which Rostan declined to name, told him that the entire summer crop of investment banking interns received offers this summer, even though usually only 50 to 70 percent of interns receive offers.” Rostan adds that, “I think you’re probably going to see, the MBA hiring market, with hiring upwards of 5 to 10 percent, maybe even up 20 percent,”

In addition, respondents reported that large banks and consulting firms were the biggest recruiters, with 48% being recruited by the former and 35% by the latter. However, only 22% percent of respondents listed large banks as their top choice, while consulting firms were preferred by 19%.

And how are students getting jobs? TTS found that 48% of students received offers through interviews. However, another 40% landed jobs through references or independent efforts.  Still, don’t expect a boom in MBA hiring, according to Rostan. “You aren’t seeing a market shift, but it is a steady interest over time. People are getting more offers, and people are more satisfied with their offers. As opposed to statistical data, this is more about mood and sentiment….We are not going back to the boom years. “But I think the bias is more positive leaning than negative leaning.”

Editor’s Note: Three quarters of survey respondents were males, with 78% of respondents between the ages of 26 and 34.

Sources: Digital Journal and International Business Times

At Harvard Business School, Lessons in Leadership From Literature

 

Truth may be stranger than fiction. Sometimes, fiction is more informative than fact.

That seems to be the opinion of Harvard MBA candidates who’ve taken Professor Joseph L. Badaracco’s literature and leadership course. Here, fiction is the case study. And the focus is on what drives characters to make decisions – and how those decisions ultimately impact those around them.

For example, Badaracco teaches A Man For All Seasons, where Sir Thomas More must balance his loyalty to King Henry VIII with his religious opposition to divorce. For More, following his conscience and maintaining the rule of law are paramount. However, he also realizes that the political winds have shifted – and publicly opposing the king could jeopardize his nation’s stability. As a result, he remains silent on the king’s divorce, but refuses to take a loyalty oath that’d supersede his loyalty to the Catholic Church. For that, More is executed as a traitor.

More’s dilemmas are similar to those that employees face every day. In Badaracco’s view, More “is trying to preserve the safety of his family and his conscience. You see that balancing may be more important than ‘doing the right thing,’ the simplest definition of ethics. What do you do when the world is complicated and there are several ‘right’ things?…Maybe the right thing with respect to one of your obligations is failing with regard to another of your obligations.”

And that’s why Badaracco’s course is so different: His readings take you inside people…and their constantly clashing and evolving contradictions, facades, fears, excuses, and convictions. According to Badaracco, “Literature gives students a much more realistic view of what’s involved in leading…Literature lets you see leaders and others from the inside. You share the sense of what they’re thinking and feeling. In real life, you’re usually at some distance and things are prepared, polished. With literature, you can see the whole messy collection of things that happen inside our heads.” In doing so, Badaracco believes students become aware of their own blind spots, opening themselves to other perspectives (and potential solutions).

Editor’s Note: For leadership lessons from Badaracco, along with his reading list, click on the links below.

Sources:  Harvard Gazette, Bloomberg Businessweek