MBA Career Services Council Fall 2009 Survey

The MBA Career Services Council has released the findings from its fall 2009 MBA hiring survey. Not surprisingly, on-campus recruiting is still down (79 percent of career centers reported a decrease in the fall 2009 CSC survey, the same percentage as fall 2008). Yet, although fewer companies are coming to campus, job postings are actually showing signs of recovery. Only 48 percent of respondents reported a decrease in job postings--much better than the 70 percent that reported a decrease in fall 2008. In addition, 34 percent told the CSC that they've experienced an increase in job postings in fall 2009. What this gap between job postings and on-campus recruiting implies is that companies are hiring MBAs but haven't returned the funding for travel and expensive recruiting events to their HR budget.

Sadly, traditional industries that hire MBA grads are still suffering. According to the CSC survey, more than 20 percent of career centers reported that recruiting is still down in consulting, investment banking, investment management, private equity, venture capital, commercial banking and financial services. On the other hand, more than 20 percent of career centers told CSC that recruiting is up in the government, energy, biotech and pharmaceuticals, health care services and technology sectors. Which should come as no surprise to anyone who's been following recent employment trends.

So what should MBA students do to snag jobs or internships in nontraditional industries in which they may not have any work experience? Al Controne, the director of career development at the Ross School of Business, told MBA Podcaster that students should make a case for why they're right for the position. Students must make sure not to broaden their horizons too far, as this can hurt their performance at individual interviews. He says that the people who succeed in their internship search are "the people who are more clear and reduce their target to just a couple of companies."