Recruiting Trends, 2010-2011. 40th Anniversary Edition

This paper presents the recruiting trends for 2010-2011. This year's report is based on nearly 5,800 respondents, of which approximately 4,600 provided useable information, and 3,714 included complete hiring figures used for the projections. Despite the gloomy national labor market situation, the college segment of the market is poised to rebound this year. While overall hiring across all degrees is expected to increase 3%, hiring at the Bachelor's level is expected to surge by 10% according to the 4,600 employers who responded to Michigan State University's "Recruiting Trends 2010-2011" survey. Led by upturns in hiring in manufacturing, professional and scientific services, the federal government, and large commercial banks, the Bachelor's market will enjoy its first expansion in two years. With this good news comes a word of caution. This step is the first out of a deep hole; yet, many organizations are still not in a position to contribute positively to hiring. The average figures reported above mask what is actually happening in the college job market. In fact, college hiring growth is being generated by only a small group of organizations (approximately 350 to 400) who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. This group is comprised of two highly optimistic cohorts: (1) Large companies who are aggressively filling positions that have been open for several years; and (2) Fast growth and small companies who are creating new positions. The MBA market, which is also awakening, paints a very different picture. An equal number of employers are decreasing as are increasing their hiring. Fortunately, employers who are expanding their MBA workforce more than offset the cuts being made by other companies. This market segment will remain tight as the supply of graduating MBA students is high. Nearly 40% of employers indicate that they will seek candidates from across "all majors," focusing more on the skills and abilities needed in the organization than the academic discipline. "All majors" is not a proxy for the liberal arts but a signal that employers are seeking the best talent regardless of major. Business majors will be the strongest discipline in this market with the rebound of accounting hires. Engineering appears sluggish with the exception of computer science and IT students whose market is exploding this year. Some majors will see fewer opportunities, including construction, law, publishing, nursing, social services, and health sciences in