- 最后登录
- 2007-3-12
- 在线时间
- 0 小时
- 寄托币
- 744
- 声望
- 0
- 注册时间
- 2003-3-20
- 阅读权限
- 20
- 帖子
- 0
- 精华
- 1
- 积分
- 313
- UID
- 129218
- 声望
- 0
- 寄托币
- 744
- 注册时间
- 2003-3-20
- 精华
- 1
- 帖子
- 0
|
不是有意打击大家,看看这篇文章吧
New Batch of MBAs Finds Tough Job Market
By BERNARD WYSOCKI JR.
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
From The Wall Street Journal Online
It's just weeks until graduation at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, and 40% of the M.B.A. students here are still searching for a job.
Officials here can't remember a year when the job market was so tough. Of the 400 total graduates-to-be, those with jobs are relieved and careful not to gloat. Those still looking, about 160 of them, live in a state of rising anxiety, compounded for many by steep tuition debt. Some fret about "interviewing down" -- that is, taking jobs at a level below what they had expected. Others worry about finding work at all.
Last month, Kenneth Goldman nervously awaited a call from Cablevision Systems Corp., where he said he was one of 18 finalists for a full-time position that rotates young M.B.A. holders through various choice assignments. Mr. Goldman, a 32-year-old former producer at the ESPN who is $75,000 in debt from B-school -- hoped he would get the word at any moment.
The next day, he did.
He was "dinged" by Cablevision and now is headed back to the drawing board in his job search. "We didn't expect to be in these straits," says Mr. Goldman of his classmates' employment predicament.
The disillusionment is profound for many members of the class of 2002. Almost half of the class is still jobless at several prominent schools. At Northwestern University's Kellogg School, assistant dean Roxanne Hori says placement rates were stuck at only 55% to 60% at the end of March. Meantime, the M.B.A. placement rate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is now 61% versus a robust 92% last May.
Last Friday's unemployment report underscores the continuing weakness in the national job market, as the overall U.S. jobless rate rose to 5.7% from 5.5% in February. But these numbers hardly depict the tough times facing coming college graduates. Employers will cut hiring by 20% this year from 2001 levels, according to a recent report from National Association of Colleges and Employers, Bethlehem, Pa.
Worse still may be the plight of fresh M.B.A. holders at prominent schools. Two industries favored by these graduates -- investment banking and management consulting -- have been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn that began more than a year ago. Layoffs have been more common than hiring. Stanford University's business school reports that 40% fewer recruiters showed up this year.
Ironically, the grim reality check comes as B-schools are reporting sharp increases in the number of people attending their recruiting receptions and requesting information about their M.B.A. programs. As the economy has cooled, many who postponed an M.B.A. during flush times are now drawn to the perceived safety of school and an advanced degree. NYU's Stern received about 5,000 applications for next September's class -- up about 25% from the year earlier -- for its full-time M.B.A. program. There are just 390 available spots in the class.
Business School Blues---MBA job placement rates from some schools:
As of April 2002 2001
Univ. of Penn. 70% 89% as of April
NYU 60% 80% as of April
M.I.T. 65% 92% as of June Graduation
Northwestern 55 to 60% 81% as of May graduation
The applicants' high hopes contrast sharply with what the current crop of M.B.A. graduates are finding. When they entered the M.B.A. programs two years ago, it was with expectations of lucrative offers and signing bonuses. At that time, some employers even reimbursed new hires for second year tuition payments. "I thought getting in was the main hurdle," says Jennifer Kim, an NYU student also still searching for a post-graduation job. "And when I was accepted, I let out a breath for 10 minutes. I saw my whole life stretch brilliantly before me."
But by the fall of 2001, the tables had turned and employers had retrenched. While 99% of the class of 2002 at NYU obtained internships last summer, the summer jobs were rarely followed by full-time offers. And by January of this year, assistant dean Gary Fraser and his team were scouring NYU alumni networks for possible job openings. They paid outside consultants to come and give students job-search tips and encouraged informal groups of student job hunters to share contacts and war stories.
Ms. Kim, 26 years old, organized one informal group of six students, which included Mr. Goldman, the former ESPN producer. In part it was a "group therapy" session, which the members joked was cheaper than professional therapy. Equally important, students agreed to share leads about possible jobs, especially once a member of the group succeeded and dropped out of the job search.
Most of all, the members wrestled with a single difficult question: Should they hold out for their dream jobs, or just take anything in these parlous times?
When one student in the circle, Nancy Wolfe, talks of the humiliation of, "interviewing down," the other members nod silently in agreement. Ms. Wolfe spent seven years in marketing jobs in New York, including a stint at Avon Products, before enrolling at NYU. She didn't have any specific ambition in mind. But she certainly didn't expect to emerge with an M.B.A. degree only to apply for jobs as an assistant brand manager, a job with less responsibility than the one she held before earning an M.B.A. Another difficulty: Some of the people interviewing her have less experience than she does, Ms. Wolfe says.
With the setbacks, Ms. Wolfe is pursuing every lead. During one of the meetings of the "therapy" group another member, 29-year-old Laura Parker, shows up with a binder holding hundreds of business cards from contacts she accumulated during months of job searching and networking. Having worked at Grey Advertising and at Black Entertainment Television, among other places, before enrolling at NYU's M.B.A. program in the fall of 2000, Ms. Parker had hoped to land a permanent job with a media conglomerate in New York City. Those dreams were dashed after an internship at Home Box Office failed to materialize into something more.
So Ms. Parker began attending job conferences and cocktail parties and made a habit of meeting at least three people at every event. In late February, she finally landed a job at Turner Broadcasting (in Atlanta, however, not New York City) as a strategic planner. The initial contact was through an NYU alumnus.
When Ms. Parker got the job, she decided to turn over her various employer contacts to the other members of her job-search circle. "Hey, I have a contact at Revlon," Mr. Parker announced to Ms. Wolfe during a meeting a couple of weeks ago.
Replied Ms. Wolfe: "We'll definitely have a conversation about this." |
|