IE's Take on the Global Job Hunt

The head of the Instituto de Empresa career center talks about the European job market and how the Spanish school helps students in the job search

Guillaume Delacour
Director, Career Management Center
Instituto de Empresa Business School

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Guillaume Delacour has been the director of the Career Management Center at Instituto de Empresa (IE) for more than three years. The Madrid-based school also has programs in Shanghai and Mexico. More than 300 full-time MBA students at IE have access to career assistance from representatives in New York, Latin America, India, and China who know the local markets and help students and alumni get jobs in those countries.

In the first six months of the 13-month MBA program, students focus on finding a career path and learning how to market themselves. In the second part of the year, from June to December, students search for jobs and contact companies.

In 2006, the graduating class earned average starting salaries above $92,000 and signing bonuses topping $15,700. Also, 96% of graduates had jobs three months after graduation. Delacour spoke to BusinessWeek.com reporter Janie Ho and offered tips for those on the global job hunt. Here's an edited excerpt of their conversation:

As a former technology consultant working in five different countries, what experience served you best as a career-services director?

I speak five languages fluently—German, Italian, French, Spanish, and English—so students feel comfortable telling me what they want to do, in their own language. A lot of students want to change countries, learn a new language, and move from one continent to the other. I've seen a lot of industries in Europe and the U.S., so I understand the different needs and mobility in these continents.

What is the most innovative program you have to help students?

Last year, we started the Accelerate Program, which is a combination of career management courses and courses from the leadership, negotiation, and communication centers. It's mandatory. They get a pass/fail grade. We have 12 classes from the career center, and maybe the most innovative one was our mock interviews using a Webcam.

How much room is there for negotiating in the European sectors?

Definitely in Europe, it's more of an employee market. Students can negotiate for better salaries and signing bonuses—maybe even MBA tuition reimbursement. Some students last year achieved this, which is something like €40,000. They might have to stay with the company for like two to three years, but at least it's a very nice signing bonus. Also, about 60% of our students want to stay in Europe and about 50% achieve that.

When negotiating, is there anything that students do wrong?

We have noticed that in huge corporations like multinational banks...

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