Job Market: Mixed experience in 2010

At New York University's Stern School of Business 76 per cent of graduates had a job offer at graduation in 2009; at University of Texas-Austin's McCombs School of Business that figure was 70 per cent. In non-recession years, more than 90 per cent of students usually have job offers when they graduate.

At some elite schools like University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, hiring has picked up over 2009, one of the worst years many administrators can remember. Others, such as McCombs School of Business and Stern School of Business, say the situation is about the same as last year. And that means that it’s not so great. Students say that the bulk of their job search has shifted from a school-led recruiting effort to the sort of individual search that most job seekers in the workplace face. Abby Scott, Executive Director of MBA Career Services at University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, has dubbed it "the year of the networked job search."

Many sectors haven't seen much hiring growth for MBA’s. Jobs at firms in the luxury and retail sectors have been difficult to find.  Private-equity and venture-capital jobs, always hard to land, have had virtually no positions on offer this year. Still, there are some signs that companies are beginning to ramp up. Consulting and financial services have shown recent signs of a hiring rebound.

In years past, Boston Consulting Group, for example, made most of its offers in the autumn. This year, the firm finished its hiring for full-time post-MBA’s not before spring, says Mel Wolfgang, a partner and head of Americas recruiting. New hires usually begin work several months after graduation, but the firm is asking new hires to start sooner, says Mr. Wolfgang. "We've been growing faster than we anticipated," he says.

There's also been a recovery in rotational positions, where graduates work across a few functional areas in a company, such as sales or operations, for several months at a time before eventually landing a management role. Stacey Rudnick, director of MBA career services at University of Texas-Austin, says 27 per cent of offers accepted by its current students are for rotational programs at major corporations. In most years that figure would be closer to 18 per cent.

Some schools, like Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, say they've seen growth in hiring from companies based overseas, particularly in Asia and South America—with higher salaries than in years past. "A few years ago, companies abroad just couldn't offer the financial incentives," (to hire U.S. grads), says Blair Sheppard, the school's Dean. "Our students wouldn't have been able to pay off their loans. Those salaries have increased significantly."

There are signs that next year's graduating class will do better in their job hunt, as many schools report that internships are at, or close to, pre-recession levels. Michelle Antonio, Director of Career Management at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, says on-campus internship postings increased 30 per cent for this summer. Investment banking and consulting firms in particular have expanded internship programs. She predicts:  "This will have a huge impact on the number of students who return to campus for their second year with a full-time offer."

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• Kellogg School of Management
  Full-Time MBA
• McCombs School of Business, Univ. of Texas at Austin
  Full-Time MBA
• New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business
  Full-Time MBA
• Duke University: The Fuqua School of Business
  Executive MBA