McLean, Va.—Spurred by a growing sense of optimism about the economy, employers are preparing to hire significantly more new MBAs in 2006 than they did last year, according to a survey of corporate recruiters released today by the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®).
McLean, Va.—Spurred by a growing sense of optimism about the economy, employers are preparing to hire significantly more new MBAs in 2006 than they did last year, according to a survey of corporate recruiters released today by the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®).
Across the board, recruiters feel better about the economy now than at any other point since the GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey was launched in 2002, when global economic conditions were in a slump. Corporate recruiters said they plan to hire 18 percent more MBAs this year than in 2005, on average, with finance and marketing expertise in particularly high demand.
In addition, recruiters whose view of the economy is generally positive expect to visit an average of about 10 business schools in 2006, up from nine last year.
“The polish is back on the stone,” said David A. Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. “Every way you look at it, the market for MBA talent has come back strong.”
The 2006 GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey includes responses from 1,270 recruiters representing 737 companies that hire MBAs.
Recruiters said they are especially eager to find MBAs whose “soft” skills—intangible qualities such as leadership potential and communication expertise—are strong. Nearly 40 percent of recruiters said they place significant weight on soft skills when judging people they interview. A majority of the respondents said MBA students are receiving sufficient training in these areas in business school.
Most of the recruiters who participated in the survey also said MBA graduates are generally well grounded in traditional business skills such as problem-solving and analytical thinking. But GMAC surveys of MBA alumni indicate that people tend to rely more on softer skills as they advance in their careers—suggesting that business schools and their students could benefit from placing additional emphasis on developing these types of abilities.
MBA graduates this year can expect to earn an average starting base salary of $80,809, with total compensation hitting an estimated $99,737 when fringe benefits, bonuses and other factors are taken into account. In 2005, base salaries averaged $78,040, up from $77,066 in 2004.
The Graduate Management Admission Council (
www.gmac.com), based in McLean, Va., is a non-profit education organization of leading graduate business schools worldwide dedicated to creating access to and disseminating information about graduate management education. GMAC annually surveys thousands of corporate recruiters, MBA students and business school alumni to gauge their feelings about the job market and collect other data. The organization also owns the Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT®), used by business schools around the world to assess applicants. The GMAT was created in 1954 and remains the first and only standardized test specifically designed for graduate business and management programs.