For MBAs, A Recruitment Slowdown

HALF SEE INCREASE IN ON-CAMPUS INTERNSHIP RECRUITING 

How about the recruiting for those all-important summer positions? On-campus recruiting for internships for full-time MBAs increased for 48% of schools, and off-campus recruiting (job postings) increased for 62% of schools. For international students, opportunities decreased (47%) or stayed the same (37%) for most schools; in 2015, the picture was much the same: 43% saw a decrease, 41% stayed the same.

Recruiting for internships for full-time MBAs stayed the same for most industries, with technology (57%) and consulting (47%) seeing the largest increases. It was those two sectors leading the way last year, as well, though with higher percentages: 61% in tech, 56% in consulting.

Hospitality (82%), nonprofits (78%), and government (76%) led the way in flat recruitment, while consulting, consumer packaged goods, and financial services all tied for industries with the biggest decreases, at 14%.

Recruiting for internships for full-time MBAs stayed the same for most industries, with technology and consulting seeing the largest increase. Source: MBA CSEA

CONSULTING, TECH, FINANCIAL SERVICES, STARTUPS SEE INCREASES

Stability is the key word when it comes to which industries are hiring, as well. The consulting and technology industries continued to show stable if unremarkable increases in recruiting activity similar to what was seen in last year’s survey, MBA CSEA reports, while financial services experienced the highest reported year-over-year increase: 38%, compared to 27% in fall 2015. Consulting and financial services were also shown as decreasing by a large number of schools, showing further indication of an overall flat/stable recruiting environment on an aggregate level.

The largest increases in recruiting by organization type were seen in firms not in the same geographic location as the school (54%) and startups (50%).

“After experiencing several years of aggressive growth in recruiting activity following the Great Recession, many of our school members experienced a flatter but stable recruiting environment this year,” said Stephen Rakas, co-chair of MBA CSEA’s Research & Trends Committee and executive director of MBA Career Services at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, in a news release. “The technology and consulting sectors continue to lead in year-over-year growth,” Rakas added.

DON’T MISS FIRST-YEAR MBAs SHARE RECRUITING EXPERIENCES and MBA RECRUITING: TECH, CONSULTING UP AGAIN