And Now, Extreme Recruiting
招聘競爭白熱化
Despite the global crisis, the struggle to hire top MBAs is as fierce as ever - for now
盡管全球處于經濟危機之中，招聘頂尖MBA的斗爭仍很激烈。
The stock market is plummeting『筆直下落』.The worldwide financial crisis deepens by the day. Corporate profits are slumping『下跌；下降』as companies from Gillette to 3M to Hewlett-Packard struggle with『掙扎；艱難地進行』the double whammy『致命打擊』of sharply lowered demand and a higher dollar. And the finance industry— which hired 35% of all MBA graduates in the Class of ’98—has been particularly hard hit, with the worst yet to come.
股市大跌，全球金融危機日益加深 。公司的利潤驟然下跌，包括吉列公司、3M公司和惠普公司在內的眾多公司，都在產品需求量陡降而美元比價居高不下的雙重打擊下苦苦掙扎。雇用了35％的98屆工商管理碩士畢業生的金融業尤其受到重創，而且最沉重的打擊還在后面
Given the carnage『大屠殺』, you might think that the booming『景氣好的；大受歡迎的』 market seen in recent years for newly minted『剛完成的』MBAs is collapsing as well. But so far, you’d be wrong. Despite growing fears that the global financial turmoil『騷亂；混亂』could push the U. S. economy into layoffs『失業；裁員』and recession『衰退；倒退』, corporate recruiters『招聘人員』say that for now, the battle to hire top-quality MBAs remains as tough and competitive as ever.
談到這番慘狀，人們可能會認為近年來興起的工商管理碩士生需求旺盛的市場也將不復存在。然而迄今為止，事實并非如此。盡管對全球金融混亂將給美國經濟帶來失業和陷入停滯狀態的擔心在不斷加劇，但是企業招聘人員說，迄今為止招聘高級MBA人才的斗爭仍像以往一樣棘手和競爭力很強.
【背景知識】
工商管理碩士（MBA）教育起源于哈佛商學院，至今已有近百年的歷史了。隨著經濟的發展以及對人才的需求，其規模越辦越大。在美國已有700多所大學設有MBA教育，相關的學位有近百種，累計畢業生人數已達100多萬人，成為美國工商界不可缺少的高層管理人才。近年來，由于申請入學的總人數減少，而MBA的需求卻大量增加，造成對學生的爭奪日趨激烈。
And make no mistake about it: It is a battle. Spend a day with Catherine H. Baker, vice-president in charge of worldwide recruiting at Mercer Management Consulting Inc., and that much is clear. Sure, as she and her team of Mercer MBAs head for a Sept. 22 presentation『贈送禮物』to first- and second-year students at the Wharton School, they’re riding a Metro-liner from Washington, D. C., to Philadelphia, rather than a warship『軍艦；艦艇』. But there’s no doubt that the Wharton trip is the first shot in a long campaign『戰役』for what continue to be some of the most sought-after『受歡迎的』trophies 『戰利品；獎品』of the late 1990s: graduating MBAs.
準確地說：這是一場戰斗。與莫塞爾管理咨詢公司主管全球范圍內招聘的副總裁凱瑟琳·H·貝克共度一天后，體會就更清晰了。當她和莫塞爾公司的MBA從華盛頓特區出發，乘地鐵到費城的沃頓商學院去向一年級和二年級的學生贈送禮物時，他們象軍艦一樣浩浩蕩蕩。毫無疑問，渥頓之行只是長期戰役的第一場戰斗。這場長期戰役的戰利品是在90年代后期最受歡迎的：即將畢業的工商管理學碩士們.
The reason is simple. Thanks to a tight job market for top managers in recent years, most of the leverage『力量；影響力』in the job-search mating『相配』dance has shifted『轉移；移動』from recruiters『招募人員』to students. The average member of the Class of 1998 at Business Week’s top 25 B-schools boasted『包含；擁有』3.2 job offers, up from 2.3 in 1992. The median starting salary-plus-bonus『獎金；額外補助』rose to $ 91,560 this year, up 19% from two years ago. That doesn’t include extras–ranging『額外報酬』from free rent to stock options to tuition paybacks-worth a median $19,860. “The competition for MBAs has definitely quickened『加快；活躍』,” says David L. Reed, director of global recruiting at Andersen Consulting. “It’s as fierce as I’ve ever seen it"
道理很簡單。鑒于近年來人才市場上頂類的管理人員十分緊銷，職業市場供求關系的重心已從招募人員轉到了學生一邊。在《商業周刊》評出的25所最佳商學院中，98屆畢業生平均每人有3.2個可供挑選的就業機會，1992年僅為2.3個。中等收入水平的起始薪金加獎金今年已提高到91560美元，比兩年前增加了19％。這個數字還不包括平均19860美元額外的報酬－如免交房租、認股權、預付學費等等。安德森咨詢公司負責在世界各地招募人才的主任戴維·里德說：“招聘工商管理碩士生的競爭已明顯加劇。這是我所見過的最激烈的人才競爭。
5]He and others say that there is little reason to expect change, despite the global gloom『陰暗；昏暗』and doom『厄運；毀滅』. In part, that’s because companies are very happy with the skills today’s MBAs possess『擁有；具有』.They have a rare mix of financial, technical, and communications skills that companies have trouble finding in engineers or other degree holders. As costly as MBAs are, they’re still cheaper than they will be later, when things improve. “You’re making a long-term investment,” says Peter D. Kiernan, co-head of the recruiting committee at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and co-chair of the communications, media, and entertainment banking group. “It’s an illusion『幻想；錯覺』to think you can cut bank now and be in a strong position when the markets begin to recover『恢復；復興』.”
