MBA Job Outlook Strong for Grads
Posted by: Alison Damast on May 10, 2011
To no one’s surprise, the Graduate Management Admission Council reported today that 2011 MBA graduates are having an easier time in the job market than graduates from recent MBA classes. More than half the class of 2011, or 54 percent, received at least one job offer, up from 32 percent last year, according to the report. The finding are based on a survey, conducted in March, of 4,794 recent or soon-to-be graduates at 156 schools around the world.
On average, students with job offers submitted approximately 16 resumes and applications, received six job interviews and obtained two offers of employment, according to the survey.
Students benefitting the most from the buoyant hiring outlook are those from the Asia-Pacific region. About 67 percent had received offers by March, and of all those surveyed, 72 percent indicated that economic factors would have no impact on their future job search plans. U.S. students fared the second best, with about 54 percent of MBA students securing a job, the survey said. The economy weighed heavier on U.S. students’ minds than their Asian-Pacific counterparts, with only 55 percent of those surveyed indicating they didn’t expect the economy to alter their plans, the survey said.
The improved job climate was especially beneficial for students from part-time MBA programs, with 55 percent reporting at least one employment offer, up from a dismal 22 percent in 2010. However, their salaries lagged the most among graduates of business programs, with only 49 percent of part-time students with job offers reporting an increase in their annual base salary, down from 55 percent in 2010. Graduates of two-year full-time MBA programs had better luck when it came to starting offers, with 73 percent of students with job offers reporting an uptick in their annual base salary, up from 64 percent last year. Of one-year full-time MBA graduates, a whopping 80 percent reported a salary increase, up from 62 percent last year.
The good news comes at a time when more companies are feeling upbeat about their long-term outlook, and, as a result, are more inclined to hire a greater number of MBA students, said Dave Wilson, president and chief executive officer of GMAC, in a press release.
"There is a clear connection between the optimism employers are expressing and the improving job prospects business school graduates are seeing," said Wilson.
Campus recruiting, a key hiring indicator, has begun to improve and is up about four percentage points from 2010, according to GMAC's Corporate Recruiters Survey, which surveyed 1,509 participants from 905 companies around the world. Another encouraging sign? The average salary employers expect to pay business graduates has inched up this year to $91,433, up from $89,141 last year and $86,299 in 2009.
If you're a recent or soon-to-be MBA graduate, please share your job hunting story. Will you be walking away from commencement with a job offer in hand? How challenging has you job hunt been so far?
