Special Report March 17, 2010, 2:13PM EST

Fight for Jobs Easing at Career Offices

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"We're bringing in organizations that haven't been to the school before," says Director of Careers Derek Walker, noting that Saïd held 14 careers events for MBAs in February alone, or one every other day. Meanwhile, since December 2008, INSEAD has offered its students a year of additional career services if they graduate without a job.

Crucially, schools are maintaining their relationships even with companies that aren't recruiting. One new strategy has been to invite them on campus anyway for "no strings attached" networking events. "We're not asking them to come as recruiters—it's risk-free," says Karen Siegfried, MBA executive director at University of Cambridge Judge Business School.

The approach looks to be paying off now that the economy is better. As the market began to pick up in the fall, says IMD's Ooms-Suter, the groundwork had already been laid. "Companies who had said they weren't recruiting started calling back saying, 'Actually we can take one or two,' " she says. Another novel tactic, employed by London Business School: When Accenture said it wasn't hiring, the school asked the firm to send student résumés to its nonprofit clients—a relatively new sector for MBAs. Four graduates got hired by Accenture clients this way.

European schools also are joining forces to boost employment opportunities for students. After several of its local school partners pulled out of its national MBA fair, GISMA business school in Hannover, Germany, united with five other European programs, including Britain's Warwick Business School, for what is billed to be the first European MBA fair. About 25 companies, including BASF (BASFY), Barilla, and the original fair's long-term partner Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), will meet 290 students in April. Others are taking a more singular approach. London's dean, Andrew Likierman, used the World Economic Forum at Davos as a platform to promote students—a first for the school.

Staying in B-School Longer

In a further sign of just how tough the market is, students are opting to stay in school longer. Among the first class to undertake the new flexible MBA at ESADE—where students can opt for a 12-, 15-, or 18-month course of study—only 10 chose the 12-month option and 50 chose to stay for 15 months. The vast majority of students, some 120, plumped for 18 months, preferring to enter the labor market as late as possible. Meanwhile, for the first time starting this year, students at Judge will be able to take on internships, giving them additional opportunities to impress potential employers.

Forget the "triple jump," where ambitious MBAs once changed their location, business sector, and role after graduation. These days, switching countries post-MBA is becoming more and more difficult. Visa regulations, notably in the U.S. and U.K., are getting tougher. "It's protectionism," says ESADE's Batllori, who says that recruiting foreign employees has become too difficult for some companies to manage. "They can hire someone local with equal talent and fewer obstacles," she says. Further complicating matters, recruiters from nontraditional MBA sectors, such as nonprofits, tend to be less well-versed in navigating onerous work permit and visa applications.

But ultimately, in tough times, some firms simply prefer local people with an international background. "Companies don't want to take risks so they hire Germans in Germany or French in France," says Alex Herrera, career services director at Spain's IESE. Students at London Business School, meanwhile, are leveraging their school breaks to go home to make contacts in a way they haven't in previous years, says Director of Career Services Diane Morgan, noting however that two-thirds of its graduates manage to stay in Europe. The London school this month hired former HSBC (HBC) recruiter Dina Khudairi as a senior business development manager in Dubai, the first time it has created a post devoted to career development in another region. "We're very cautious but it just makes you work harder," says Morgan. "Overall it's been really promising. Companies still want good people."

Ellen Groves is a freelance journalist in Paris.