With Wall Street still bouncing around
and the nation squarely focused on the state of the
economy, business schools have kept the financial crisis
at the forefront of their communications to students and
alumni as financial giants withdraw recruiting sessions
and back off previously robust hiring forecasts. As the
economy shifts, top b-schools have put their alumni
networks and career services into high gear to help
today's students and tomorrow's graduates. Their actions
are helping students and alumni ride out the current
rough economic waters.
Harvard Business School's Admission Director Dee Leopold
posted an entry on her blog directed at prospective
students wondering how the current economic situation
will impact upcoming admissions volumes and cycles. Fear
in some circles is that the incoming class may not find
many jobs awaiting them upon graduation, so Harvard –
and many other b-schools – have increased communication
with students and ramped up their career services
departments.
According to Leopold's blog, the Admissions Office at
HBS has been receiving a new array of questions because
of the climate of uncertainty in the financial markets.
They have ranged from whether or not HBS intends to
increase the size of next year's class, to the number of
admits from financial services (because of higher
application volume), to whether prospective candidates
who are unemployed will be at a disadvantage.
"The class size next year will not increase and will
remain at roughly 900 students," Leopold writes. As to
increasing the number of admits from financial services,
Leopold's answer was less precise. "Not necessarily,"
she wrote. "Our goal is to compose a class which
represents many different kinds of diversity, of which
professional experience is only one element." But there
are no strict quotas that govern industry or
geographical areas so the overall class profile could
shift some in the coming year.
Leopold went on to assure applicants who find themselves
unemployed that they will not be at a disadvantage. "We
realize that these are unusual times and that many
strong contributors may find themselves in this
situation."
Other top b-schools have reached out to their alumni
bases to remind them that school career services, alumni
networks and support are available to those within the
MBA community who may need them.
MIT Sloan Dean David Schmittlein wrote in an email
address to alumni earlier this week that "[w]hether you
are employed by a fledging new venture, a not-for-profit
service or one of the firms in the headlines, these
services are there for you." He also encouraged alumni
in positions to provide support other alums in need to
get in touch with the school.
Dean Tom Robertson of the Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania issued a similar statement to
its alumni, listing a range of resources available to
those in need of support and encouraging others in a
hiring position to post job opportunities at no cost on
the school's job board.
Examples abound of how these instances
have been handled in the past. For instance, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
convened a dinner in New York after the announcement of
the Lehman bankruptcy for members of the 2008 class who
had accepted offers with the firm. Twenty-six members of
the 2008 Chicago class had accepted offers with Lehman
in cities across the globe.
The dean of Chicago's full-time MBA program flew to New
York to have dinner with the students two weeks ago.
Most had just completed training a week earlier and not
yet started their rotational programs. The school did
the event to remind them that they were there from them.
Other schools – including the Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania – are hiring dedicated staff
members to deal specifically with alumni career issues.
The director of alumni affairs at Wharton recently
commented that she has seen an increase in inquiries
from alumni who have not lost their jobs but are
interested in expanding their networks in these
uncertain times.
Back in 2003, NYU's Stern School of Business created a career services
centre specifically for alumni following the dotcom
bubble burst. The Career Center for Working
Professionals has a full-time staff of five and also
provides services for part-time MBA and EMBA students.
UCLA's Anderson School of Management has started a
series of eight "webinars” taught by career
professionals and designed to help alumni through the
basics of how to conduct a job search.
The effort put out by these top b-schools and others
makes a profound statement: MBA degrees are still in
high demand. Even as one emphasis loses 'value'
there are others that rise to replace it. And while wary
to predict a rosy picture for the future, economists do
agree that regardless, the outlook for MBA prospects
entering school in this fall still remains
bright.
"While the steps taken to stabilize the
financial markets won't have an immediate effect on the
economy, they will help prepare the economy for a
recovery in the longer-term," says Senior economist
Orawin Velz of the Mortgage Bankers Association.
"Remember, the economy is cyclical – what goes down will
go up again. Three years from now will see several
strong sectors again; it just may not be the same ones
as right now. Smart applicants will continue to watch
market trends and adjust their school experience to
position themselves for greater advancement upon
graduation." With the continued efforts by b-schools to
help their alumni and students navigate these troubled
waters, the future is favorable for today's – and
tomorrow's – graduates.
