The collapse of major banks on Wall Street is putting intense pressure on students from the Marriott School of Management as they fight for top jobs in the financial industry.

In BusinessWeek's 2008 undergrad business school rankings, BYU's Marriott School of Management ranked seventh overall and first among recruiters. But with the collapse on Wall Street, students pursuing a career in investment banking have to work harder than they have had to in recent years to obtain jobs.

"It is very intimidating to be graduating in one of the worst economic environments since the Great Depression," said Eli Horton, a second-year master of accountancy student and co- president of the BYU Investment Banking Club. "Especially since I will be entering the investment baking industry, which has been hit extremely hard."

Horton, who has received a full-time investment banking job offer with Credit Suisse, is one of many students hoping the economy holds and their investment-banking job offers still remain after graduation in April.

"I'm most worried that I could end up without a job," said Kevin Butler, a second-year master of accountancy student and an officer in the BYU Investment Banking Club. "I worked for Lehman Brothers over the summer and had a job offer to return after graduation. When they failed, I had no idea where I would end up. Luckily Barclays bought up the North American operations and is honoring our offers."

Other students whose job offers were not honored after the collapse are now seeking careers in other fields.

"I've had a soft offer from Lehman Brothers which went away due to the crisis," said Kevin Khona, a senior in finance and another co-president of the Investment Banking Club. "My future is very strong, but I've sidestepped traditional investment banking completely because of the downturn."

But experts in the financial industry say they are more worried about students seeking internships this summer than those graduating in April.

"We are in a transition right now," said Kim Smith, managing director of the H. Taylor Peery Institute of Financial Services at the Marriott School of Management. "Virtually every student who had a great summer internship got a full-time job. So the question will be: What will this year's summer internships look like?"

Smith anticipates summer internships in 2009 will be down 30 to 50 percent in comparison to 2008, meaning fierce competition for those upcoming bankers.

Despite all this, many students are continuing their pursuit of a job on Wall Street.

"It just means that we have to hustle harder than in past years," Horton said. "The jobs are still there but fewer in number. We must work harder than them [Ivy League students] if we want to have opportunities. This should be very motivating, not intimidating, to us because we can obtain opportunities if we put in the effort."

In fact, this fierce competition may be preparation for students to be better competitors on Wall Street.

"Financial service jobs are among the most competitive," Smith said. "So by preparing to compete for those jobs it actually raises the bar for them and helps get them prepared for anything."

Both students and faculty say upcoming investment bankers may need to seek work outside of this country.

"I would encourage students to go out of the United States where the economy is growing the fastest," Smith said. "They're generally called the BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China. As another example, in the spring we took a group of MBA students to Dubai. It was really fun but with oil prices collapsing that may be negative for them too. It is tricky."

Smith said in this economy students have to be willing to adapt to the jobs the economy is offering.

"If you have a plan to go in to financial services great, but the whole time keep your eyes wide open," Smith said. "Rather than take the perfect job that you might want to work for in the best of times - look for something that is reasonable and attractive that would be a good place to go now. Don't settle but be more adaptable."

The key to obtaining jobs in the current market may be starting early and networking.

"I have advised that students begin the job search process early, that they never underestimate the power of networking, that they understand the critical need to be targeted in their search," said Shawna Gygi, who helps place BYU MBA students in jobs.

Smith suggests since BYU tuition is so low students should take the opportunity that many other students don't have to travel and get their face and resume in the door of companies.

"Even if you went to Harvard or Wharton or any one of the top schools those top students still do what I am describing - they go and visit," Smith said. "And since we aren't ranked at that level at this point we have to do it even more. Top BYU students look really good relative to everybody else, but the more they can really get out and meet people, learn about the business and show that they are really committed they have as good a chance as anyone."

Smith and Marriott School Assistant Dean Jim Engebretsen, both former colleagues at Goldman Sachs, took more than 50 students to New York recently to make connections and begin the networking process. Smith said students met with 22 different companies.

"That is better than we have ever done," he said. "So are times tough? Yes. So do we have to do more than we have done in the past? Absolutely yes."

Students also agreed the interviewing process has become more rigorous in recent months.

"Right now only the best and brightest people are able to find and keep jobs," Horton said.

But it appears that students from the business school are not the only ones with high hopes for their future. LDS businessmen and leaders are hoping graduates from the Marriott School of Management can help build up the church.

"We had a meeting back in September with the Area Seventy who has oversight for NYC, Elder Gary Crittenden, who is also the CFO for Citigroup," Smith said. "He called a meeting with a bunch of business and church leaders to help us find more opportunities for BYU students to effectively build the kingdom. So when all is said and done that is my objective."

Students and faculty members work toward obtaining this goal by seeking for these jobs and adapting to the market as it changes.

"I feel very positive about the future outlook for Wall Street and investment banking," Horton said. "The industry has been reshaped, but people are very smart and will adapt to the new environment."



Copyright Brigham Young University 3 Dec 2008