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New Report Finds Uncertainty Ahead For MBAs

MBA grads, while highly qualified, may be facing an uncertain future.

New research by the Association of MBAs of more than 1,000 employers that recruit MBA-specific roles finds that recruiters are ‘overwhelmingly positive’ about the value of an MBA when looking for senior managers. However, there is a lack of confidence in the future of both global and local economies, with most survey participants taking a conservative – and in some cases pessimistic – view on their upcoming recruitment plans.

FAVORABLE VIEWS OF THE MBA

The survey was conducted just as much of the world began to lockdown in response to COVID-19 up until many countries began to ease restrictions.

Overall, employers view the MBA in a positive light, with 47% classifying themselves as ‘very favorable’ and 40% saying they were ‘fairly favorable’ towards b-schools.

Employers also tend to view the MBA as providing useful skills. 31% of employers ‘strongly agreed’ and 49% ‘tended to agree’ that MBAs had the relevant skills to make a significant contribution to the wider economy in their respective countries. Additionally, 32% of employers ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement ‘MBAs are good problem solvers’, while 49% ‘tended to agree’.

UNCERTAINTY IN ECONOMY

While the MBA is still viewed favorably by employers, a majority of those surveyed view the future of the economy with uncertainty.

61% of employers are either ‘not very confident’ or ‘not confident at all’ in the state of the global economy.

That’s certainly not a good sign as hiring freezes became commonplace starting in May when the pandemic was well underway.

While many major MBA recruiters have yet to implement hiring freezes, several other major employers have including the likes of Adobe, Visa, and even Facebook, which reportedly canceled interviews for summer internships back in March.

With so much uncertainty lying ahead, these numbers aren’t necessarily concrete.

For one, 14% of employers surveyed by the Association of MBAs think will be recruiting more management leaders than last year and 16% believe their recruitment of MBA-relevant roles will be the same as 2019.

Read the full report here.

Sources: Association of MBAs, Poets & Quants, Poets & Quants

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