Before M.B.A. student Ryan Utsumi received his diploma from the University of California—San Diego this month, he already had a job offer in hand. He was relaxed when he graduated, but the process of landing that job had tested his nerves. Utsumi spent the better part of 2010 searching for work at finance firms and startups. He had little luck, sending numerous applications and getting just a smattering of interviews. He'd heard the job search horror stories from 2009 M.B.A. graduates, Utsumi says, and, like many of his classmates, began to sweat when the calendar turned to March and he was still jobless.
Fortunately, Utsumi got a call from Charles Schwab the firm he'd interned with during the previous summer and stayed in touch with intermittently through the academic year and was offered a management position in the firm's strategy group. He starts at the end of the month, and he says that he's glad that, though they had to sweat, he and his classmates had better luck finding a job in the ravaged economy than their predecessors. "The job market is a little bit better [for me] than my classmates who graduated in 2009, but it still seemed to be very competitive and it was very difficult to get my foot in the door," he says. "Ideally, I would've had something wrapped up earlier on."
While Utsumi's job search was anything but brief, his reward was a full-time position. That, experts say, is something 2010 M.B.A. graduates should expect as they wade into the employment pool. While graduates may not find their ideal job or find a position as quickly as they'd hoped, there are more jobs to be had than in 2009, which was a dismal year for M.B.A. hiring. "This time last year, I had to check to see if my phone was still plugged into the wall," says Lynne Sarikas, director of the M.B.A. career center at Northeastern University. "It didn't ring. People weren't looking to hire. This year, my phone is ringing."
The phones are ringing in career centers nationwide and new M.B.A. graduates still looking for work should take advantage of such a valuable resource. University officials report that while the hiring outlook is rosier for M.B.A. student this year, it still requires a great deal more effort to land a position than in flush times. That's why some schools are giving personalized career advice to their students, even in the months beyond graduation. Cornell University's S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, for instance, assigns career advisers to each student, which helped 95 percent of the 2009 M.B.A. class get hired by year's end. The school plans to do the same this year, but in a quicker time frame, thanks to the improving market. "Everything is trending up, but we still have work to do," says Joe Thomas, dean of the Johnson School. "We're going to do it this year, but I just don't think it will take as long."
The most accurate insights into the current hiring market are likely anecdotal. While the Graduate Management Admission Council’s 2010 Global Management Hiring Survey indicates that hiring of full-time M.B.A.s is down 10 percent from last year, GMAC chief executive Dave Wilson notes that the 2009 data was based on hiring decisions made in 2008, before the economy reached bottom. Despite the survey results, he expects 2010 to be better than 2009. Career center officials agree.
As Wall Street deals with its self-inflicted tumult, hiring of finance students at investment firms continues to lag while other sectors slowly improve, M.B.A career center officials say. Experts note that finance students should turn to corporate finance positions, which are more readily available in this climate. Marketing, consulting, and supply chain management are other fields where students will have more luck finding a job this year, according to business school experts. Wilson notes that one of the most promising indicators of a recovery in the M.B.A. job market is that 60 percent of firms surveyed by GMAC claim they plan to offer signing bonuses to new hires. "[Companies] are signaling already that they're ready to hire," he says. "If I were coming out right now, I'd be optimistic."
Comments on general postings:
Fortunately, Utsumi got a call from Charles Schwab the firm he'd interned with during the previous summer and stayed in touch with intermittently through the academic year and was offered a management position in the firm's strategy group. He starts at the end of the month, and he says that he's glad that, though they had to sweat, he and his classmates had better luck finding a job in the ravaged economy than their predecessors. "The job market is a little bit better [for me] than my classmates who graduated in 2009, but it still seemed to be very competitive and it was very difficult to get my foot in the door," he says. "Ideally, I would've had something wrapped up earlier on."
While Utsumi's job search was anything but brief, his reward was a full-time position. That, experts say, is something 2010 M.B.A. graduates should expect as they wade into the employment pool. While graduates may not find their ideal job or find a position as quickly as they'd hoped, there are more jobs to be had than in 2009, which was a dismal year for M.B.A. hiring. "This time last year, I had to check to see if my phone was still plugged into the wall," says Lynne Sarikas, director of the M.B.A. career center at Northeastern University. "It didn't ring. People weren't looking to hire. This year, my phone is ringing."
The phones are ringing in career centers nationwide and new M.B.A. graduates still looking for work should take advantage of such a valuable resource. University officials report that while the hiring outlook is rosier for M.B.A. student this year, it still requires a great deal more effort to land a position than in flush times. That's why some schools are giving personalized career advice to their students, even in the months beyond graduation. Cornell University's S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, for instance, assigns career advisers to each student, which helped 95 percent of the 2009 M.B.A. class get hired by year's end. The school plans to do the same this year, but in a quicker time frame, thanks to the improving market. "Everything is trending up, but we still have work to do," says Joe Thomas, dean of the Johnson School. "We're going to do it this year, but I just don't think it will take as long."
The most accurate insights into the current hiring market are likely anecdotal. While the Graduate Management Admission Council’s 2010 Global Management Hiring Survey indicates that hiring of full-time M.B.A.s is down 10 percent from last year, GMAC chief executive Dave Wilson notes that the 2009 data was based on hiring decisions made in 2008, before the economy reached bottom. Despite the survey results, he expects 2010 to be better than 2009. Career center officials agree.
As Wall Street deals with its self-inflicted tumult, hiring of finance students at investment firms continues to lag while other sectors slowly improve, M.B.A career center officials say. Experts note that finance students should turn to corporate finance positions, which are more readily available in this climate. Marketing, consulting, and supply chain management are other fields where students will have more luck finding a job this year, according to business school experts. Wilson notes that one of the most promising indicators of a recovery in the M.B.A. job market is that 60 percent of firms surveyed by GMAC claim they plan to offer signing bonuses to new hires. "[Companies] are signaling already that they're ready to hire," he says. "If I were coming out right now, I'd be optimistic."
Comments on general postings:
Fellow potential MBA candidates:
Over the past several months, I have considered pursuing my MBA. Part of my research has included reviewing many online postings such as this. Based on my reviews, I have seen a wide gap in stories: Some people have indicated an MBA has made a significant change in their employment status while others have had a much different experience.
Although my education at this time, does not include an MBA, many of my subordinates have a post-graduate education. So, why are some able to succeed while others do not? While one individual was a bit blunt by stating that puncuation had a significant impact on an applicant's success, this is, unfortunately, a common reason that many graduates are not able to find a job in today's marketplace.
As a hiring manager for a national organization, I see hundereds of resumes each day. There is certainly competition in today's job market. While education is always a plus, the first thing I look at is grammar. If an applicant claims to have completed any post-high school progam, proper grammar is an expectation. Yes, 2 spaces follow a period. Spell check is also a helpful tool.
As I have read many on-line postings, I have been amazed at the use of improper grammar by people claiming to have post-graduate degrees. Much of what I have read would not have been accepted in high school.
In conclusion, a word of advice: In the business world, the written word is a powerful force. It can either be your greatest advocate or your worst enemy. The choice is yours.
Best of luck to all.
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By Brian Burnsed
Interesting and insightful article, but how is leaving 2 spaces between sentences considered grammatical? Why would that be something that gets resumes dismissed? I claim to have my post-graduate degree but have yet to come across anyone extolling the merits of double over single-space formatting.
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