CNN.com - Recruiters up early for new intake

Recruiters are starting early to attract the best candidates to their school.

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FT's Executive MBA Rankings
1. Wharton, U.S.
2. Kellogg, U.S.
3. Chicago GSB, U.S.
4. Stern, NY, U.S.
5. Fuqua, Duke, U.S.
6. Hong Kong UST, China
7. Columbia, U.S.
8. Instituto de Empresa, Spain
9. London Business School, UK
10. Tanaka, Imperial College, UK
Source: Financial Times 2005

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EMBA SNAPSHOT

Executives taking the top EMBA courses in the U.S., Europe and Asia have average salaries of around $130,000 to $200,000.

A typical EMBA student is likely to be aged in the early 30s, with 6-10 years of working experience.

A top EMBA course can cost $100,000. Customized courses start at a few thousand dollars.

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(CNN) -- Even as a fresh crop of students sharpen their pencils for the start of the 2005/06 academic year, the attention of business school recruitment departments has already shifted to next year's intake.

With the number of participants enrolling in MBA and EMBA courses slowing, competition between schools to attract the best candidates is becoming increasingly fierce. They've decided the secret is to start early.

Top schools employ teams of people who travel the globe, pitching their offerings and interviewing the best and brightest prospects.

Typical recruitment road shows involve information sessions where prospective students can learn about course content and meet with faculty members.

Many schools also rely on their alumni members to act as evangelists, providing first-hand insights into exactly what students can expect from their courses and the benefits that should open up on completion.

For example, European business school INSEAD conducts a year-long series of events, both at its campuses and in selected cities around the world. At each event faculty members make themselves available to answer questions and provide information about course structures and content.

Dean of the INSEAD Asia campus, Professor Hellmut Schutte says such events are critical for the school in a market which is becoming more competitive each year.

"We are an international school and so it is important for us to go out and tell the world what we have to offer," he says. "We know our competitors are doing the same thing and so it makes the process even more urgent."

During the next six months, INSEAD recruitment teams will travel throughout Europe as well as to the Philippines, Argentina and Brazil. Other groups will travel to the United States, targeting strategic cities and encouraging students to consider undertaking their studies outside the country.

U.S. road shows

Aware of such growing global competition, U.S.-based schools are also investing considerable time and resources on road shows to ensure they remain high in the minds of future course participants. Where traditionally much of this effort would have been focused on their home turf, increasingly they are finding it necessary to venture overseas.

Thomas Caleel, director of MBA admissions at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, says institutions have had to become much more sophisticated about how they sell themselves to students.

Where in the past schools could effectively afford to sit back and wait for students to come to them, the combination of increased competition and cooling enrolment numbers has changed the game.

"We spend a lot of time on the road internationally talking to people," he says. "Around 42 per cent of our class participants are from international locations and we have to work hard to keep it that way."

Caleel says the school relies heavily on its international alumni network, calling on members to conduct interviews with prospective students on a regular basis. They also encourage prospective students to talk with those already in programs, thereby gaining knowledge of the pressures and expectations associated with what can be intensive periods of study.

As well as promoting themselves individually, growing numbers of business schools participate in collective events, designed to attract larger audiences and allow promotional budgets to be stretched further.

One example is the MBA Tour organisation which conducts regular information fairs in locations around the world. Since 1993 the group has conducted more than 160 events in some 28 countries.

Schools keen to participate in the tour events must first be reviewed by a committee of their peers. This ensures that the overall quality of the events is maintained and participants can be confident they are receiving accurate and useful information.

MBA Tour fairs are being held in September for the United States, Asia and India, and in Latin America during October.

Recruiters up early for new intake

Business schools locked in fierce competition

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U.S. road shows