The Wall St. Journal continues the drum beat of bad news. Recruiting is down at business schools.
A survey by the MBA Career Services Council, an association of business school career offices, reveals:
- 56% of surveyed career office representatives -- a significant jump over the fall figure of 12% -- say on-campus recruiting has declined by more than 10% this winter.
- About 50% of career service offices report a 10% or more drop in full-time postings, up from 19% in the fall.
- 62% foresee at least a slight decline in internships this summer.
The bright spots: health care, alternative energy, nonprofits, and government. Unfortunately, these industries tend to be less lucrative than the traditional MBA employers like financial services and consulting.
At the risk of being Pollyannaish, I find the hysterical tone of this article more depressing than the actual data. I am somewhat surprised that the threshold of decline is only 10%. I would expect bigger declines considering the recession and general economic carnage. I also find it interesting that Carnegie Mellon reports that 61% of its graduating class has lined up full-time jobs as of January, as opposed to 81% last January. That figure certainly represents a decline, but it still means that 61% have lined up jobs months before graduation.
Let's hope the data doesn't get worse and evaluate it as you make your MBA plans.
