The MBA Job Market: Up Yet Again!

Big Increase In Interest In Startups Among MBAs

Most schools saw the same or increased recruiting activities across all types of organizations. But the largest increase was seen in startups, an area of increasing interest among MBA graduates, as well as firms not located in the students’ geographic location, a circumstance of the larger percentages of international students enrolled in many MBA programs (see above). For the third year in a row, however, start-ups showed the strongest increase by company type.

Meantime, smart networking appears to be playing an increasing role in job offers. The schools said that MBA hiring increased most from alumni-initiated efforts as well as from direct referral requests (see below).

More MBA Job Offers The Result of Alumni-Initiated Hiring

The good news wasn’t only confined to the full-time MBA job market. Schools also reported increased recruiting for MBA internships, with the biggest increases in internship recruiting in high tech, consulting, and financial services. Because many industries use summer internships as job tryouts for eventually offers, internship activity can signal likely career trends among MBAs a year early.

Some 68% of the business schools reported that tech firms had increased their internship recruiting, while 55% saw stronger recruiting from both consulting and financial services. Petroleum and energy showed the largest decrease in the survey.

Biggest Increase in Internship Recruiting From Tech Firms

Schools told the group that they were helping graduating students by continued one-on-one career advising and coaching, encouraging students to consider additional industries or geographic areas, using increased connections with alumni and resume books, and hosting industry-specific networking events. The schools also said they were enlisting faculty in student job searches, increasing their use of career treks, and enhancing on-boarding efforts to better prep students for their hunt for jobs.

DON’T MISS: CONSULTING: WHY SO MANY MBAS DO IT or STARTING MBA SALARIES BY INDUSTRY AT TOP BUSINESS SCHOOLS