A Resurgent M.B.A. Jobs Market

It looks as if confidence has finally returned to the M.B.A. jobs market, according to the latest survey of employment trends for professionals and managers around the world. The July edition of the 'Global Snapshot' from the international recruitment specialist, Antal, for example, questioned nearly 13,000 companies on six continents and found 52% currently hiring, up from 50% in February. And in many of the top emerging markets confidence is even higher.  In Brazil, for example, 70% of employers are planning to recruit at professional or managerial level in the next three months, in China 70% and in India a staggering 80%...

...What is significant about 2011 is that it appears to mark a shift in the balance of power between potential employer and potential employee. Since the demise of Lehman Brothers in 2008, M.B.A.s have been able to find jobs, but only by pursuing every opportunity with real energy and commitment. Now, however, it seems that McKinsey's famous description of a 'war for talent', which has been little more than a minor skirmish for several years, is breaking out once again. "We're seeing companies wanting to come on campus earlier and earlier because they are concerned about missing out on the candidates they want," says Marie-José Baudin of the Desautels Faculty at McGill in Canada. "And they're also investing in more internships to tie them in even before they hit the permanent jobs market."

Read full article: Forbes, August 3, 2011