Career Services Shifts into High Gear
Many members of the Class of 2008 were just settling into new jobs as reverberations from the financial crisis were felt around the world. While employment figures for the class remain strong, MBA Career Services has continued its support services for the class in anticipation of continued economic distress and its ripple effects on job seekers.
In late September, MBA Career Services staff also traveled to New York to meet with members of the class who were immediately affected by the meltdown on Wall Street.
“We put together a ‘just in case’ plan back in April that included graduates from the Class of ’08, current students, and employer relations,” says MBA Career Services Managing Director Jana Pompadur Kierstead. “We’ll be adding to our career coaching staff, compiling a résumé book for the Class of ’08, and doing more employer outreach.” Students from the Class of 2009 will also benefit from additional career coaches, increased program offerings, and extended walk-in hours.
“One thing we learned from the last downturn in 2001 and 2002 is that the students need more communication from us,” Kierstead adds. “The difference this time around is that there’s more uncertainty. We’ll be transparent, but our information is only as good as the source — and most sources are confused right now.”
Kierstead notes that an interesting trend has been an increase in the number of students accepting jobs overseas. In 2007, 47 percent of international students and 3 percent of U.S. students from the graduating class went abroad; in 2008, those figures rose to 50 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively. With that in mind, this year MBA Career Services will host conferences in Shanghai and Paris focused on potential employers.
As always, the School hopes to draw on its alumni network to assist with the MBA job hunt. And for alumni whose own situation has been affected by recent events, Alumni Career Services, headed by Christine Sullivan, is ramping up its offerings through increased career counseling and assistance (through HBS Knowledge and Library Services) with employer database searches to cope with what portends to be a long-term economic slowdown.
To contact MBA Career Services, call 617-495-6232 or e-mail mbacs@hbs.edu; for Alumni Career Services, call 617-495-1433 or e-mail career_advisors@hbs.edu.
CLASS OF 2008 Median base salary $120,000 Median total compensation $145,000 LEADING JOB LOCATIONS United States Total 80% Northeast 40% Boston: 13% New York City: 24% Mid-Atlantic 6% South 4% Midwest 7% Southwest 4% West 18% Bay Area: 12% Other 1% International Total 20% Asia/South Pacific 6% Europe 10% Latin America 2% Canada 1% Other 1% INDUSTRY CHOICES Financial Services 45% Investment Banking: 9% Investment Management: 6% Hedge Funds: 4% Private Equity/LBO: 17% Sales & Trading: 1% Venture Capital: 4% Other: 4% Consulting 20% Manufacturing 17% Biomed/Pharma: 3% Consumer Products: 3% Technology: 6% Other: 5% Retail 3% Other Services 5% Entertainment/Media 5% Nonprofit/Government 3% Real Estate 2%
