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MBA students left high and dry

30 October 2007

Anonymous

Spare a thought for the classes of 2007 and 2008. It seems investment banking jobs are proving hard to come by.

A student at a leading European business school says banks are still coming to present on campus, but that with the exception of Credit Suisse, few appear to have any full-time places left for 2008: “Places have already been filled by last year’s summer interns. If you missed the boat last summer, it’s a lot of work to find a place – especially if you don’t already have a finance background.”

A spokesperson for London Business School assures us it’s too early to establish what’s going on in terms of banks’ recruitment, but that banks are still coming on campus and conducting interviews.

Really? Other business schools are a little more explicit about the situation. Sandra Schwarzer, a finance careers manager at INSEAD, says they’ve had an “exceptional” year in terms of summer interns and that banks are on campus making offers, but admits that three have already filled corporate finance places – largely with interns.

And another London-based business school careers service manager says MBA students are definitely less popular among banks: “There are a lot more MBAs on the market, and banks appear to be more interested in MSc students with a really good specialty background.”

Malcolm Horton, head of European graduate recruiting and programme management at Lehman Brothers, says this year is no different from any other: “There are some business areas that don’t need to top up offers made to interns with additional full-time hires, and there are others that are still looking.”

Summer interns typically account for 65% to 90% of full-time associate hires, says Horton.

In many cases it looks like 90% may be closer to the mark.

Comments (20)

The stories you hear about very long hours and tyrannical workplace culture are sadly, true. If you value your sanity, don't work in an investment bank for more than 2 or 3 years.

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Comments (20)

  • MBA - Master of B All.

    len 30 Oct 2007

    RECOMMEND Recommended 1 time | Alert Moderator

  • Git yawself a proper job, mofo

    Darren 30 Oct 2007

    RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator

  • some of us who have the right qualifications will always be able to get the job we want....For all others i have a valuable piece of advice: go get another job!!!!!!! maybe in a grocery shop

    Sean 30 Oct 2007

    RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator

  • so sean, which one are you? hope you enjoying packing my groceries, mate...

    Tim 30 Oct 2007

    RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator

  • Asset Management - Couldn't manage their own Ass.

    For Len 30 Oct 2007

    RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator

  • What a load of bankers you all are.........

    Adam 30 Oct 2007

    RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator

  • haha, move to Albania

    yomama 30 Oct 2007

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  • Interesting to see this, having received my MBA last year from a top business school. It's always a case of supply and demand but people should not be too despondent, if this career is your burning desire and you push hard enough you will get it. But anyone coming out out of A MBA program now should seriously think long and hard about this type of career. The stories you hear about very long hours and tyrannical workplace culture are sadly, true. If you value your sanity, don't work in an investment bank for more than 2 or 3 years.

    Mark 30 Oct 2007

    RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator

  • It would be nice if a candidates skills and abilities could be more easily and accurately discernable rather than going for the credentials, but that being said, degrees show that you have the discipline, self-motivation, thought processes and at least some intellegence to thrive in most business environments.  They are probably more relevant for the soft skills they provide than the actual degree one has achieved.  But I certainly don't think MBA students deserve the premiums they normally garner.  There is a lot to be said for applicable experience.

    Sarah 30 Oct 2007

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  • what's the big deal? So they don't have as many spots for non summer associte interns, this is just because they are being cautious but if you actually follow results you would notice that for october deal flow was actually higher than what it was in October last year. Forget PE deals, it's all about cash right now baby and a lot of companies have some to splurge, so as I see it, jobs will be back in abundance. If you didn't get an internship, sucks to be you, if you can still get one then you should be set...

    Derka Derka 30 Oct 2007

    RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator

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