MBA Graduates Raise the Bar for Career Success
The challenges of the past two years did not deter Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business Full-time MBA graduates from achieving extraordinary outcomes in their post-graduate roles. Instead, with support from fellow Hoyas and a team of dedicated career professionals, the Class of 2021 continued to break the mold and leave their mark with record employment results.
According to the 2021 MBA Employment Report, 96% of students received a job offer within three months of graduation and 95% accepted their offers. These are the highest levels ever achieved by Full-time MBA graduates from McDonough. Salaries also continued to impress, with an average base salary of $126,107 and an average signing bonus of $34,073.
“The Class of 2021 demonstrated impressive resilience, resourcefulness, and creativity in their recruiting efforts and their hard work resulted in our best year ever for career outcomes,” said Doreen Amorosa, associate dean and managing director of McDonough Career Services. “These graduates are equipped with the technical skills, global awareness, and principled leadership abilities needed to make an impact in a wide range of industries and functions. ”
Financial Services took over the top industry spot this year at 32% with Consulting coming in a close second at 26%. Technology was the third most popular industry at 17%, while Healthcare and Consumer Goods saw increases over 2020 percentages. The top employers included Amazon, Barclays, Capital One Financial, Citigroup, Deloitte, EY, Google, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, MorganFranklin Consulting, Navy Federal Credit Union, Nestlé USA, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rothschild, and StepStone Group. 78% of job acceptances were facilitated by Georgetown and 42% of graduates stayed in the Mid-Atlantic for their Full-time positions.
Among the Class of 2022, 99% of students seeking internships secured one, with an average monthly cash compensation of $7,460. A total of 81% of internships were facilitated by the school.
McDonough Career Services weathered ongoing pandemic and employment-related challenges by leveraging a first-rate team of professionals, student peer advisors, and alumni volunteers. Career preparation is woven throughout the McDonough MBA program with strong collaborations among academics, co-curricular programs, student initiatives, and alumni support. In the 2020-2021 academic year, Career Services introduced a series of ‘One McDonough’ career events to engage students across all of the school’s academic programs in developing the skills and strategies needed to be successful in the changing recruiting landscape.
Even in a fully remote setting, the school continued its experiential programs virtually, including the Executive Challenge, global career treks throughout the United States and around the world, and student career days that provided a hands-on, in-depth view of future opportunities. Additionally, faculty-led initiatives like Business for Impact and the Steers Center for Global Real Estate worked directly with students to create experiential learning opportunities and networking connections.
“Employers have fully embraced virtual tools and technology and, through our career curriculum, our students are prepared to shine in these settings,” said Kerry Kidwell-Slak, director of career curricula and communications. “By implementing cutting-edge career software and data insights alongside tried and true techniques of alumni networking, students learn to be flexible and versatile in their job search strategies and make the most of available opportunities.”
Tapping into a strong network of McDonough alumni, MBA students also had the opportunity to join a piloted mentorship program to navigate academic, career, and personal challenges with an alumni from the extended Georgetown community. The program has since expanded into a robust offering that paired 130 Full-time MBA students with Georgetown McDonough alumni in its inaugural year and over 190 Full-time MBA students in the current year.
In the spirit of Georgetown, hundreds of alumni – from all over the world and of all ages – mobilized for the spring “Hoyas Helping Hoyas” campaign to support student success during the pandemic. Alumni posted jobs, offered networking opportunities, shared industry insights, and made themselves available in a broad capacity to help McDonough MBA students reach their career goals.
“The career center was proactive and coached me throughout the internship search and interviewing process – the resources and partnerships formed by the career center were invaluable to me,” said Pricilla Mensah (MBA’22). “Faculty members and career advisors alike go above and beyond to support students on their academic and career journeys.”
“The Class of 2021 has set a new standard for career outcomes from our MBA programs,” Amorosa said. “Alumni and future students alike will reap the benefits from our collaborative and supportive culture – when one of us succeeds, we all succeed.”