MBA hiring demand recovers to pre-pandemic levels

MBA graduates can feel less gloomy about their employment prospects after a survey of recruiters indicated that demand had returned almost to pre-pandemic levels.

The number of consultancies, banks and large technology groups, the mainstay of MBA employment, saying they planned to hire MBA graduates this year fell from 92 per cent of 712 companies in a survey conducted before March, to 77 per cent by July.

However, in the most recent update to the figures, which are compiled by the Graduate Management Admission Council, the administrator for business school entrance exams, 90 per cent said they would be hiring MBA graduates next year.

At the same time, only 8 per cent of respondents said they were rescinding job offers to MBA students graduating in 2020, although 32 per cent said start dates for these new hires had been delayed.

The vast majority of those that hired MBAs this year said they would honour salary levels offered before the pandemic took hold.

However, pay for those employed in 2021 is likely to be lower, according to the survey responses.

The median salary offered to MBA degree holders in 2019 was $115,000, according to the GMAC survey. That figure fell to $105,000 in the most recent survey.

The return on an MBA is still higher than all other business masters degrees, however. GMAC added that it was considerably higher than the $65,000 median offered to graduates with a bachelor’s qualification in business.

The pandemic has done little to undermine the feeling among those hiring MBA graduates that they need to pay a premium for their skills.

In data compiled by GMAC up to March this year, 90 per cent of respondents said they were either highly confident or confident in graduate business schools’ ability to prepare students to be successful in their organisation. This dipped only slightly, to 87 per cent, in the second survey.

Sangeet Chowfla, president and chief executive of GMAC, said: “[Business] school classrooms have long been preparing MBA students for a dynamic and often uncertain environment. Employers place a premium on that.”

The top three reasons the survey respondents gave for confidence in business school graduates were their strategic thinking, communication skills and versatility.

“Candidates with graduate management education tend to have greater ability to analyse problems, define strategies and communicate with peers and superiors,” one recruiter from a Fortune 100 technology company was quoted as saying by GMAC’s research team.