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MBA/Masters Job Market Shows Industry Fluctuations

The latest research released by the MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance provides preliminary insight into the job market for MBA and master's in business students. Overall, we continue to see mixed hiring trends depending on industries and company types as the market continues to right-size.






 
The MBA CSEA Fall 2023 Recruiting Trends Survey presents key information about the recruiting trends for full-time and part-time MBA students, as well as for specialty master's program students. The report is based on confidential surveys completed in March 2024 by 63 MBA CSEA member schools.


Overview of the Survey Results

Full-Time MBA Students

  • 18% percent of schools reported an increase in full-time job postings (off-campus opportunities) in Fall 2023 versus the previous year, when 38% reported an increase. On-campus opportunities (school-scheduled interviews) showed similar trends, with 25% of schools reporting an increase compared with 40% the previous year. A new metric was added this year for informal full-time job postings (school-curated sources not posted through school-based job posting platforms). 20% of schools indicated an increase through this source, with more schools indicating this was flat compared with the other two job sources.
  • Unlike the past two years, the largest increases by industry were seen in Healthcare, Energy and Government. Consulting saw one of the largest decreases for the first time in three years. Technology also saw a decrease, which follows year-over-year trends for the past two years.
  • By organization type, the largest increase was seen from start-ups. The largest decrease was large-sized companies, which is in contrast from the 2022 survey when these companies saw the largest increase.  
Part-Time MBA Students
  • Full-time job postings (off-campus opportunities) for Part-time MBAs followed similar trends to Full-time MBAs, with 13% of schools reporting an increase compared with 18% in 2022. On-campus opportunities (school-scheduled interviews) showed similar trends with 4% of schools reporting an increase compared with 14% in 2022. Informal postings (school-curated sources not posted through school-based job posting platforms) were most likely to be flat, with 45% of schools indicating as such.
  • Industry trends were also similar to Full-time MBA programs, with Healthcare and Energy showing the largest increases and Consulting and Technology showing the largest decreases.
Specialty Master's Students (Master's in Finance, Data Analytics, Accounting, Marketing, etc.)
  • 27% of schools reported an increase in full-time job postings (off-campus opportunities) for these programs, compared with 6% last year. For on-campus recruiting (school-scheduled interviews), 27% experienced an increase, compared with 5% the previous year. Similar to MBA programs, informal postings were most likely to be flat.
  • Industry trends followed those for MBAs, with Healthcare and Energy seeing the largest increases and Consulting and Technology seeing the largest decreases.
A significant number of schools saw an increase in employer use of AI-empowered pre-screening tools and virtual interviewing technologies, which follows industry trends and discussions MBA CSEA has been hosting throughout the year. Companies also continue to shift toward in-person work modalities for internships, with schools continuing to report a decrease in virtual opportunities. Recruiters still seem to value virtual engagement and tools, while many are also bringing back in-person activities to round out their offerings.

“This year's survey results reflect the continued uncertainty in certain industries, as service-based sectors such as consulting continue to right-size post-pandemic,” says Rebecca Cook, Executive Director of Career Services at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, and MBA CSEA President. “Schools are responding to these shifts through expanding outreach to employers, building out programming, and remaining flexible to meet the ever-changing needs of employers and students.”
 
We look forward to continuing to provide you with hiring trends research and data. If you have any comments or suggestions for future MBA CSEA surveys, please contact us.

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