INSEAD Jobs: A Consulting Boom At A Consulting Powerhouse

INSEAD MBAs made more money in 2022-2023, but job opportunities were fewer

The MBAs who graduated in two cohorts from INSEAD’s 10-month program in December 2022 and July 2023 faced major economic headwinds in their search for employment. For the most part, with a degree in hand from Europe’s top-ranked MBA program and Poets&Quants‘ Program of the Year, they more than survived — they thrived.

INSEAD’s latest employment data, set side-by-side with the numbers from its cohorts that graduated in December 2021 and July 2022, shows gains in average and median salaries and signing bonuses. What it does not show — mirroring the slump faced by MBAs graduating from the top B-schools in the United States — is gains in job opportunities: 88% of INSEAD’s latest double cohort reported receiving a job offer by three months after graduation, down from 94%.

“In the face of 2023’s dynamic macro-economic challenges, marked by persistent inflation and geopolitical shifts, INSEAD’s MBA graduates have stood resilient,” Rhoda Yap, global director of INSEAD’s Career Development Centre, writes in an introduction to the new employment data. “Despite the complexities of the global economy, the adaptability of INSEAD talent has been strikingly evident.”

INSEAD MBA EMPLOYMENT BY THE NUMBERS

Source: INSEAD

CONSULTING: MORE THAN 60% CHOOSE THE SECTOR

In U.S. dollars, average salary for INSEAD MBAs grew to $122,824, up 8% from $113,700 in 2021-2022, which was a slight decline from the previous cohort’s average of $113,900. In euros, INSEAD’s grads reported an average salary of €113,400, up 6.8% from €106,200 — itself up 11.7% from 2020-2021.

Median salary, in U.S. dollars, was $118,708, up 7.8% from $110,100; and median signing bonus was $30,868, up 13.4% from $26,900. The latest INSEAD’s cohort’s top salary was someone in energy in North America who reported a starting salary of $450,000; the lowest was $22,100 for someone in manufacturing.

INSEAD remains a consulting hotbed — and then some — with 61% of the class finding work in the sector, up from 53%. The top three firms hiring the school’s latest crop of MBAs were once again all consultancies, led by the MBB firms: McKinsey (167 hires, up from 160), Boston Consulting Group (108, same as the previous cycle), and Bain & Company (89, down from 91). See table below for details. Interestingly, three of the top employers of INSEAD MBAs in the 2020-2021 recruitment cycle — Deloitte, Credit Suisse, and Microsoft — have not hired INSEAD MBAs in the two cycles since.

The other top sectors for INSEAD MBAs were Corporate Sectors (16% of grads), Financial Services (14%), and Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (9%). The latter was down from 22% in the previous cycle. “Amid a cautious hiring outlook in the technology sector, our graduates have skillfully navigated towards sectors with robust demand, gravitating towards corporate and consulting roles,” Yap writes.

A MORE CAUTIOUS COHORT IN MORE CHALLENGING TIMES

The double cohort was significantly smaller than usual for INSEAD, at 875 graduates; the school based in Fontainebleau, France with campuses in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and San Francisco customarily graduates more than 1,000. And it was more cautious: 78% of the class changed country, sector or job function post-graduation, down from 84%; 49% changed sector, down from 57%; and 25% changed all three, down from 27%.

Among world regions, Yap notes an uptick in those relocating to the Middle East: More than 100 INSEAD grads in the latest double cohort found jobs there.

“We observed an upward trend in compensation, with median and average base salaries (in euros) increasing by 7% respectively,” she writes. “The Middle East has emerged as a particularly attractive destination for our INSEAD talent, offering competitive compensation packages that have drawn considerable interest.

“As we look to 2024, the INSEAD Career Development Centre remains exceptionally positioned in its commitment to support our students. Leveraging our extensive and diverse global employer network and fortified by our robust alumni connections, we are confident in our graduates’ ability to tap into growth sectors and capitalize on burgeoning markets. We look forward to empowering, connecting, and educating responsible leaders in their life-long career journey in the upcoming year.”

INSEAD TOP MBA RECRUITERS DECEMBER 2021-JULY 2023 

Source: INSEAD

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