MBA hiring, pay soaring

For the second year in a row, recruiters are flocking to B-schools. In fact, 98% of 60 schools polled in a recent survey say theyre seeing a big increase in job offers to MBA students, and 70% report a jump in starting salaries and signing bonuses.

Much of the demand is coming from those traditional stalwarts of MBA hiring - consulting, financial services, and consumer goods companies.

But recruiters arent hiring indiscriminately, says Greg Ruf, CEO of MBA Focus , which maintains a database on more than 20,000 MBAs that it uses to help about 1,800 U.S. employers find job candidates from around the world.

Indeed, 42% of U.S. schools report that theyre playing host to more and more recruiters who are there to find students from other countries, and to woo them for overseas jobs either in their own home countries or elsewhere, according to the MBA Career Services Council, a trade group for B-school career counselors and corporate recruiters, which conducted the survey.

More: money.cnn.com

University of Phoenix to Offer Next-Generation MBA

As the Midwest emerges from the dark, cold days of winter, now is the time of year when many employees are looking to switch jobs. In fact, according to a nationwide online survey of working adults by University of Phoenix, more than two-thirds (67 percent) are looking for a job on some level. As the number of people searching for jobs grows, employers are increasingly looking for candidates with advanced degrees.

In response to feedback from some of Americas top corporations, University of Phoenix is launching a new MBA program throughout the Midwest, which applies proven teaching and learning methodologies to help working professionals solve real-world business problems.

Next-Generation MBA focuses on significant management, growth opportunity and leadership challenges based on business scenarios validated by Fortune 1000 companies. Several simulations are woven into the curriculum to support the learning necessary to solve the problems embedded in the scenarios. They allow students to make real-time decisions, just as they would in the workplace.

More: marketwire.com

B-schools just teach ‘theory’

In today’s rapidly changing global economy, upper management in most companies are becoming increasingly dependent on junior managers to take “complete ownership” in their areas of activity.

In fact, asking them to function more or less as entrepreneurs themselves! That can be exciting. But are most of our MBA graduates ready?

A tremendous amount of learning happens both inside and outside the classroom. While the breadth of material covered does not leave room for as much depth, the degree definitely leaves the graduating student confident of the theoretical exposure that he has acquired, coupled with the urge to try it out in practice.

But B-schools seldom provide the intermediary layer between theory and practice, especially in the context of running a business unit as a whole - as an entrepreneur.

I felt this strongly when I faced the first major crisis in my company and the core team of MBA’s that we had were unable to step up.

More: inhome.rediff.com

How Duke Helps Students Connect

Sheryle Dirks of the Fuqua School’s Career Management Center talks about her efforts to customize the recruiting process

In 2005, about 85% of graduates at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University had job offers by May, and 92% had job offers by August. This year, the school rolled out a new Intranet system to help students manage their on-campus recruiting process. That was a priority of Sheryle Dirks, the director of the school’s Career Management Center (CMC), who says she wants to focus on customizing services for students. With the new Intranet, MBA candidates can apply for jobs, sign up for counseling, bid on interview slots, post job leads, and network with other students.

Before coming to Fuqua in 1998, Dirks worked as the director of admissions at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in Illinois. During a brief hiatus from Fuqua in 2003, she was a consultant for North Carolina State University. Dirks recently spoke with BusinessWeek Online project assistant Janie Ho. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation

More: businessweek.com