Norfolk, Va. — January 5, 2010 — MinorityMBAs.com, the online career community connecting high-performing minority MBA professionals to hiring managers committed to diversity recruiting, recently surveyed its more than 2,500 members to determine their job search criteria and goals. Among the most significant findings: more than 90% of respondents would change careers or industries to find work, 55% are more willing to relocate, yet 74% maintain hope that 2010 promises a better job market. Further, by a factor of 2-to-1 online job boards are the leading tools used by job seekers to identify new career opportunities.
MinorityMBAs.com founder and CEO Owen Griffin echoes the optimism hedged with common sense, “As we see some positive change beginning to reverse the jobless numbers into the new year, it is reasonable to assume next year will bring some thawing in overall hiring freezes, particularly for MBA professionals. That said, our survey also uncovered that these executives are willing to reinvent themselves and remain flexible with their job search goals. In sum, our survey was designed to provide actionable information to hiring managers. We are pleased to be able to share our findings.”
Portia Kibble Smith, Vice President of Recruiting Services agrees, “We are hopeful that renewed interest in merit-based recruitment and our respondents’ willingness to stay positive will help create a more prosperous job market in the near-term.”
Other Selected Survey Results
• 65% of respondents characterized themselves as actively searching for a job, 29% as passively searching and 6% as not searching. 58% of our participants graduated from business school within the last five years.
• 86% of respondents indicated the current job environment has affected their approach to their job search. 68% indicated that their job searches have lasted longer than expected.
• 55% of respondents indicated they were more willing to relocate to secure a job opportunity as a result of the current job environment. The increased willingness to relocate jumped to 74% for respondents out of business school for five years or less.
• 74% of participants expect the job market to recover during 2010. 19% of respondents expect a recovery after 2010. 7% of participants expected a recovery before the end of 2009.
• 50% of respondents indicated online job boards were their #1 tools for job searches. 26% selected personal networking, 12% chose online social networking websites, 10% indicated company career websites were most important and 2% selected other. Online job board use as a primary search tool jumped to 59% for candidates out of business school for five years or less.
• Respondents were generally optimistic about their job searches. 60% of participants characterized themselves as moderately optimistic and 14% as very optimistic. 26% percent indicated they were not optimistic.
About MinorityMBAs.com
MinorityMBAs.com is the leading online career community for top tier diversity job candidates. Beyond hosting a database of MBA level jobs, MinorityMBAs.com provides diversity branding services for companies, governments and non-profits committed to diversity recruiting. Its tools for job seekers include job alerts, online job applications, employer profiles and career coaching services. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, MinorityMBAs.com serves over 2,500 MBA job seekers representing a wide range of professional backgrounds, industries and minority groups. In 2009, it instituted an annual scholarship program to reward the efforts of talented minority MBA students. For more information, visit http://www.MinorityMBAs.com or email e-mail protected from spam bots.
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