"Class of 2009: Flexibility is crucial in a difficult job market"
By Linda Anderson Published: January 26 2009 00:04
With the global economy facing one of its most turbulent periods in history and wage and recruitment freezes commonplace, spare a thought for the business school class of 2009.
Traditional ports of call – investment banking, financial services, consultancies and industry have all reduced their MBA recruitment markedly. Students are anxious and so are schools. Clearly one of the hardest hit sectors is banking.
However, John Benson, founder and chief executive of eFinancialCareers, a website focused on the student community notes: "Recruitment activity is down but not out."
Banks are cutting back but they are not stopping their hiring, he adds. This is in marked contrast to 2002/03 (after the dotcom bubble burst) he says, when recruitment almost dried up.
Mr Benson notes that even those banks that have cut back are appearing at recruitment fairs and on campus, to maintain brand awareness. After all, he adds, the banking industry is not going to disappear.
He stresses the need for MBAs to demonstrate flexibility in terms of industry and geography.
At the MIT Sloan School of Management, Jackie Wilbur, director of the career development office, says recruitment opportunities began to disappear at the beginning of October.
Some companies withdrew from the interview schedule and others, while remaining on the schedule, have said they are now considering making offers in the second quarter.
Certain areas of finance, such as risk, remain strong, says Ms Wilbur. Technology recruiting is stable but she says recruitment into the energy sector is not as buoyant as she would wish and venture funding is stalling.
The picture is similar in China, with Ceibs in Shanghai reporting recruiters are in a "wait and see" frame of mind.
"Overall, students have to be more selective in their search activity and less inclined to seek multiple offers before signing," says Lydia Price, associate dean and academic director of MBA programmes.
Sectors that continue to grow and recruit MBAs include health, pharmaceuticals, private equity and venture capital. In addition, says Prof Price, many entrepreneurs are using the downturn to move into market areas vacated by larger companies.
She notes that recruitment performance indicators at Ceibs are approximately 20 per cent lower than in 2008, including number of recruiting companies, number of positions advertised and number of jobs accepted by students.
At Lancaster University Management School in the UK, Cana Witt, MBA career development manager, says MBAs are looking to other fields – such as manufacturing, consultancies and utilities.
Investment banking recruitment has never featured strongly at the school, "so from that point of view we are lucky", she says.
At HEC School of Management in Paris, there is a pessimistic mood on campus, says Valérie Gauthier, associate dean of the MBA programme.
However, HEC does not rely as heavily as some schools on financial sector jobs, she notes. Moreover, because some sectors – those with a long cycle of production, such as aeronautics – are still recruiting, she is hopeful that all 190 MBAs due to graduate in June will eventually find employment.
One trend identified both at HEC and Lancaster is that career switchers – those students who had intended to move into a different sector – are having to revise their plans. With employers paying close attention to a candidate's previous experience, some students are returning to the sectors they came from.
At London Business School, which places many of its students in finance and banking, Diane Morgan, director of career services, says the one-year Masters in Finance programme students appear to be the most worried but, in general, students are adopting a pragmatic approach.
"We were really thrilled to see all our corporate partners from last year returned [for the current recruitment round]."
Ms Morgan anticipates recruitment will be lower in finance this year, although there has been a hiring spike in private wealth management. Consultancy is also strong, with particular demand for candidates with language skills and regional knowledge.
On the whole, the picture is not entirely gloomy. According to data released earlier this month by the Association of Executive Search Consultants, several sectors are expected to strengthen.
Recruitment consultants anticipate executive job opportunities will increase in healthcare, pharmaceuticals/biotechnology, government and natural resources. Professional services, IT, non-profit and education recruitment are expected to remainstable throughout the year.
Peter Felix, president of AESC, says: "Our members are optimistic that strategic recruiting will pick up by the second half of the year."
Nonethless, there is no doubt that graduating MBAs will face a tough climate, as they compete for jobs in sectors that have already experienced large-scale redundancies.
Those with language skills or who are prepared to be flexibile about the sector and region they work in may fare better than those who are determined to hold out for a particular opportunity.
The class of 2009 would appear to have its work cut out.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
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