Consultancies return to MBA hiring

Consulting remains a popular career choice for MBA students and there is no shortage of work for them as demand for business school graduates continues to grow.

These days a top MBA is almost a prerequisite in order to reach senior or even mid-management levels at many of the major consulting firms. The leading strategy consultancies in particular have redoubled their recruiting efforts: McKinsey hired over five hundred MBAs in 2005 and this figure was set to rise in 2006; Booz Allen Hamilton, BCG, Bain and IBM Consulting all hired over one hundred MBAs in 2005 and were expecting increases again in 2006. By comparison, the larger banks have been hiring as few as two hundred MBAs a year and the numbers relating to the technology and industry sectors are significantly lower again.

According to the 2005 TopMBA.com Recruitment and Salary Survey, demand for MBAs in the consultancy sector rose by a colossal 35% in just twelve months (June 2004-5), and it