Spotlight for Career Services Professionals
June 20, 2012 

A majority of schools participating in the M.B.A. Career Services Council's (MBA CSC) Spring 2012 Recruiting Trends Survey have seen increases in M.B.A. recruiting activity.

The findings among 70 colleges and universities worldwide that participated in the survey show that both on-campus recruiting opportunities and full-time job postings for M.B.A.s have increased. M.B.A. recruiting has slowed slightly compared with previous years, suggesting an overall market stabilization. Still, most schools are seeing growth, with only 11 percent noting a decline in on-campus M.B.A. recruiting activity.

Following are some of the survey’s findings:

• Fifty-one percent of participating schools reported an increase in on-campus M.B.A. recruiting activity for full-time positions. In 2011, 76 percent reported such an increase.
• Full-time job postings increased for most schools with 69 percent reporting more opportunities than last year. In the 2011 survey, 86 percent of respondents reported more full-time postings over 2010.
• Responding schools reported increases in recruiting activity in all industries; over 30 percent of schools reported increases in consulting, consumer products, manufacturing, pharma/biotech/healthcare products, and technology.
• Of schools reporting offer information, 50 percent indicated that 75 percent or more of the class of 2012 had received a full-time offer. In 2011, slightly less (47 percent) of schools reported that 75 percent or more students had offers.
• Eighty percent of reporting schools indicated that at least 75 percent of students had received an internship offer which is just slightly higher than in 2011 when 64 percent of schools reported that information.
• When asked about hiring methods, alumni-initiated hiring saw the largest increase (58 percent reported an increase). MBA CSC says this seems to be a direct result of efforts on the part of career services offices to increase alumni engagement through referrals and networking events.

How can you best serve your students and the employers with which you work during the job-search and recruiting process? Following are some creative ways to assist students and employers:

• Start working with M.B.A. students as soon as they accept your school’s offer of admission. Give them assignments to complete over the summer so they get a jump-start on some of the critical job-search tasks.
• Become flexible and social media savvy. Since M.B.A.s are extremely time-challenged, with classes, social activities, projects, and recruiting, disseminate information and educate students where they live and when they are available.
• Train successful second-year M.B.A.s to serve as peer coaches, extending your coaching services and allowing you to reach more students in a short amount of time.
• Form job-search teams to assist students with their career searches.
• Offer stipends to assist students with attending career fairs.
• Conduct virtual career counseling appointments.
• Hold elevator pitch competitions.
• Provide joint career programming with business school faculty.
• Encourage recruiting partners to participate in networking events instead of the traditional corporate presentation.
• Create opportunities for employers to engage M.B.A. students long before the formal interview process. Hold employer panels, roundtable discussions, and a case competition during pre-M.B.A. student orientation.
• Host mock interviews at company locations.
• Hold student business simulation presentations.  

For more information, see “Best Practices for the M.B.A. Job Search.”