In the past, graduates of MBA programs, especially in the US, are almost always assured of a job after graduation. The sad reality now, however, is that this is no longer true.The below shows how depressed the job market (i.e. investment banking, consulting) for business school graduates got in 2009.
That said, these 2009 levels occurred at just about the peak of the financial crisis as business schools finished up in May 2009. Based on the recent hiring that I've witnessed, along with my belief that motivated (i.e. indebted) students are highly adaptive to new opportunities, my guess is these figures have snapped back in 2010 (albeit not to 2007 levels).
Source: BusinessWeek
"Highly adaptive to new opportunities" often means underemployed or employed in previous jobs. I am a member of a top 10 MBA program Class of 2009, and I and many of my classmates headed back to our old industries. It was the only option short of remaining unemployed, which several in my class are also doing at the moment. (Keeping in mind we can't even get unemployment either...) May 2009 was still hell in the markets, having hit rock bottom only in the March prior.
ReplyDeleteOn-campus recruiters are willing to take new grads with no post-MBA experience, but this does not hold true once you're out of b-school. Everyone then wants experience, so the only experience new MBA grads have is in their old industries.
For those who didn't secure something prior to graduation (or had an offer disappear), it's particularly painful after graduation, since recruiting on your degree is not an option in this economy. The only thing it does is open more alumni doors, but the alums who do the hiring are worried about their own retirement - not what to do with unabsorbed new grads.