Graduate Placement Levels Reflect Impact of the Economy
As on-campus recruiting traffic slowed down, recruiting staff working with students in the Jenkins Graduate School programs stepped up to the challenge. They put students in contact with more people through guest speakers programs, career panel presentations and group coaching sessions, such as the one in the photo above, and tours to company sites.
Career resources staff working with students in the Master of Accounting partnered with recruiting professionals with Ajilon Finance, a firm that focuses on placement with accounting and finance positions for a workshop on “how to find a job in a tough market, and the importance of staying organized and consistent with your job search,” said Kelly Hardy, assistant director of career resources for the MAC program.
Although placement rates as of graduation on May 9 are down from 2008, they are fairly strong considering the economy.
In the MBA program, 75 percent, or 24 of the 32 full time students seeking full-time employment at the time of graduation, had secured a position, with a median salary of $72,000. This is down from a placement rate of 83 percent of 30 students seeking employment in 2008, with a median salary of $73,000. The average salary for 2009 was $65,972 for 2009, down from $72,933 in 2008.
In the Master of Accounting program, 84 percent, or 75 of 89 students seeking full time jobs had positions at graduation. This is down 13 percent from 2008, when 86 of 88 students had positions at graduation, for a 97 percent placement rate. The MAC program also had a 74 percent internship placement rate at the end of the spring 2009 semester, with 31 of 43 students selected for the NC State Jenkins Accounting Internship Recruitment Program [AIRP] securing a paid internship position. One of the AIRP students secured a full time position directly out of the program.
In spite of the downturn in the economy, there are a number of success stories. Beth Byrd, who will be a senior in the NC State College of Management’s Bachelor of Accounting program, landed a prestigious internship with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) this summer in Washington, D.C. “The PCAOB is a private sector, non-profit corporation created by the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the auditors of public companies and protect the interest of investors and further the public trust,” Hardy said. “This is a well respected internship in the accounting profession in which Beth will develop valuable skills to carry with her into the future,” Hardy said.
Beyond the new programming efforts made this past year, individual career coaching continues to be the cornerstone of the college’s career resources activities, Taylor said, and students are encouraged to use the career resource tools available to them, including Interview Mastery, Interview Stream, Career Beam, the MBA JobLInk, Career Leader and other resources.
