Rise in demand for MBA graduates among recruiters

A recent survey published by The New York Times reveals that employer demand for MBA graduates in the international work force rose by 24% in 2010. This increase is remarkable given the slow global economic recovery and the 5% decline in demand for MBAs in 2009.

The most significant increases in demand occurred in developing countries like China and India, with an increase of 32% recorded in Asia, with only a 9% increase in North America and 3% in Europe, where companies limited hiring in response to the recession.

There is a strong connection between the strength of the world economy and MBA demand among employers. The last few years have shown a strong preference among recruiters for top MBA graduates to fill management positions.

Some of the interesting findings: MBA graduates recruited by pharmaceutical companies earn the most ($92,274 on average), followed by those in financial services ($90,926 on average). The average overall salary of MBA graduates in 2010 was $87,500.

Of the top 10 programs whose graduates earn the most, 8 are European, with Duke as the only American program. European graduates generally have more extensive prior work experience and therefore earn more after graduation.

According to the survey, recruiters most preferred MBA graduates from Harvard, Wharton, INSEAD, and LBS.

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Getting accepted gets easier this year

A recent Businessweek article reports that about a third of the top MBA programs became less selective when admitting students to their 2010 full-time programs.

While some schools, like Chicago, Harvard, and Kellogg did not become less selective, others like Michigan, UCLA, Indiana, and Maryland admitted a larger percentage of applicants in 2010 than in 2008, when application numbers were at their peak. The main reason for the drop in selectivity is the drop in the number of 2010 applications.

Michigan, for example, accepted 25% of applicants to its 2010 program, as opposed to 20% in 2008, mainly due to its new building which allowed the program to expand from 430 to 500 students per class.

Cornell accepted 23% of applications in 2010 as opposed to 19% in 2008, a change Cornell attributes partly to candidates improved smarts in choosing where to apply.

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Stanford's 2010 Employment Report

Stanford published the Employment Report for its 2010 Class that completed its studies a few months ago. Some interesting facts:

• 79% of graduates were offered jobs immediately upon degree completion, and 93% received job offers within 3 months of graduation.
• 82% of graduates reported a change in industry from their pre-MBA positions, and 70% reported a change in position.
• 11% of graduates aim to start entrepreneurial ventures, and only 2% returned to their pre-MBA employers.
• Graduates earned an average starting salary of $118,793 and an average signing bonus of $23,301. The industry with the highest average starting salaries was Private Equity/LBO, with the remaining finance industries all reporting top salaries.
• In terms of summer positions and internships for the Class of 2011, the average monthly salary was $6592, and the highest salaries recorded were in consulting and finance.
• The companies selected for Recruiting Excellence awards by the Class of 2010 were Eli Lilly and Company, J.P. Morgan, and Target Corporation.

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Tips from MIT Director of Admissions

In an interview with Businessweek, Rod Garcia comments on MIT’s MBA program and its admission process. Some main points:

"How quantitative is the school?
I don't think this place is more quantitative than other schools. You will have people here who have strong quant backgrounds, quant preparation. The game is much different than in other schools, where they may not have the same proportion of students that we have here who have quant backgrounds.

MIT receives some 4,000 to 5,000 applications for Sloan each year. Given the number of applications, how can an individual stand out?
That of course is a challenge. Two things will make someone stand out. One is what we call demonstrated abilities or demonstrated success, the things that are clearly visible when you look at the application—that is grades, your score on the test, your work experience, reputation of the company, quality of the school, quality of the degree. And then there are things that are not easily visible, and these are what we call "beneath the water." The beneath the water characteristics are ones that are a little bit more difficult to find. [One characteristic is] trust-building skills, so you look for evidence of candidates who are good at building trust, mentoring, coaching, advancing relationships. You're looking for people who are not just planners, but executors.

Do you have a minimum GMAT score or a minimum number of years of work experience?
No, because you look at [the application] as a portfolio.

Are there any common mistakes that you see in the application?
There are people who just recycle essays from other schools, and that's easy to figure out, because we know their essay questions. I think probably the other mistake [is that] most people are not good at managing their recommenders. It really is the responsibility of the applicant to manage the recommenders, manage the deadlines, and just follow up. The other thing is that people don't know how to write cover letters these days.

Who should applicants ask to write their recommendations?
Good recommenders are ones who know the [candidate], someone who has worked with the applicant. The more stories they can tell, the more data they can provide, then the more beneficial it is to the candidate.

Almost half of your students are international. Do you have any tips for international applicants?
Be mindful of the deadlines. I guess this goes the same for domestic applicants, but it's even more critical for international applicants. Apply in the first round.

MIT obviously has a very competitive admissions process. Just 14 percent of applicants got in last year. What should students do who don't get in?
People don't get in for a number of reasons. There are candidates [who] can do something. If the only reason why they were turned down was because they didn't have enough work experience, then staying in the job for a year and reapplying next year might make a difference. And others may just need reflection. My recommendation to anyone who is not accepted the first time is to go back to the application and read the application, or better yet, have someone read and critique the application. As in anything, you need to get feedback. Now, we don't give feedback, but you may be able to get that by asking someone who knows you.

Any recent or upcoming changes to the curriculum?
On the curriculum side—we didn't have this prior to 2008—we started offering two tracks: a track in finance and a track in entrepreneurship and innovation.

Can you tell me about how MIT students interact with the Boston and Cambridge area, both during the year and also during the job search and internship search?
The good thing about MIT is we are in the city and we've got these clusters [of companies]. We've got energy clusters here, we've got high-tech clusters, we've got biotech clusters.

The job market for MBAs has been tough for the past several years. How has MIT helped its graduates find jobs?
Certainly, this year is better than last year. Last year was one of the worst. Relatively speaking we still came out better than most. Part of that is we learned from our experience during the dot-com bust. So when this happened, we were prepared to respond. Part of that is just being more aggressive in selling our students. Instead of reacting, [the Career Development Office staff] were being proactive by reaching out to students earlier. They offered new programming in terms of career development for the students."

Check out what Rod Garcia said in his conversation with Vocaz consultants a few months ago here.

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Chicago explains its interview process

The Chicago Admissions Committee decided to shed some light on its interviews.

Once a candidate submits his or her application, the committee looks it over to confirm that it is complete and fills all the requirements. If so, the committee reads the application to decide whether to invite the candidate for an interview. Each year about half of all applicants are invited to interview.

Interviews are given either on campus by admissions committee members (2^nd-year students who help the committee to screen applicants) or off-campus (in the applicant’s native country) by a local Booth alumnus. The admissions committee understands that there are candidates who cannot make the trip to campus, and there is no preference for any given interview location. The committee relies on its extended global alumni network, enabling interviews in a wide range of cities.

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Stanford 2012 Class Profile

Stanford published data about its new class of 2012:

The current class includes 389 new students (of 7204 application submissions, 332 less than the previous year), with women representing 39% and international students at 37%. This class’ students hail from 53 different countries.

GMAT scores of accepted students range between 580-790, with the median at 730 (like the previous year). TOEFL scores ranged between 101-119 with a median score of 113.

The range of years of work experience was 0-13 with a median of 4 years (as in the previous year). In terms of industry of origin, 32% have a background in Consumer Products and 26% are from Investment Management. Fifty percent of students have undergraduate degrees in Humanities/Social Sciences,while 31% majored in Engineering/Mathematics/Social Sciences.

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The Economist releases its MBA rankins

The Economist published its annual ranking of the world’s best full-time MBA programs. This year’s ranking marks the return of U.S. programs to center stage, along with the relative decline of European programs. The main variables considered by The Economist are graduates’ starting salaries and rates of employment 3 months post-graduation, areas that showed more significant declines in Europe, less drastically in the U.S. The biggest drops include IESE, from last year’s 1st place to this year’s 5th, and LBS, from 8th place to 19th.

The rankins are:

Chicago
Tuck
Berkeley
Harvard
IESE
IMD
Stanford
Wharton
HEC - Paris
Schulich
Darden
Columbia
MIT

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