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。

[1]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.

[1]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

[2]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.

[2]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。

[3]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.

【背景知識】

MBA畢業生主要供職于商業銀行，管理咨詢，投資銀行，市場營銷，金融服務等行業。其中以投資銀行和咨詢公司為主。進入這兩行業的MBA畢業生在美國10所重點商學院中占很大比例，哈佛商學院為40%，芝加哥商學院為43%，哥倫比亞商學院為16%，密歇根大學商學院為17%，斯坦福商學院為28%，西北大學克羅格管理學院25%，等等。

[7]That has made Baker's job even tougher, Mercer has developed a strategy『戰略』that resembles a brand ,aimed at different “sales channels”. Baker also targets students, for example, she now works extra hard to get first-year students to take summer internships『實習期』 .

[7]這就使得貝克的工作愈發地艱難了，莫塞爾形成了具有其風格的戰略。他們把目標置于與眾不同的“銷售渠道”中。貝克也把目標鎖在了學生身上，例如，現在她就在努力工作以使一年級的學生參加夏天的實習。

[8]For schools and recruiters alike, the rush begins in the fall, when scores of companies hurry to the campus to peddle『宣揚;散播』their charms. The preemptive『先發制人的』tactic is gaining favor. Some are now also holding meetings on broader subjects in which high - level execs『管理人員』present their firms' ideas - and drum their brands into the minds of young MBAs.

[8]學校和招聘人員感覺是一樣的。高峰出現在秋天幾十家公司擁進校園宣揚其誘人之處。先發制人的戰術廣泛得到應用。現在有一些公司就廣泛的主題舉辦會議，在會上公司高層管理人員推出公司的理念，把他們的品牌灌輸進年輕的MBAs的頭腦中去。

[9]But getting in the door early and often is only the first phase of the fight. Some recruiters have also begun extending offers as quickly as possible in the fall in hopes of keeping targets『目標;對象』from succumbing『屈服』to later temptations『引誘;誘惑』. Sweeteners sometimes used by consultants and banks include tuition reimbursement『補償』for second-year students who sign early to preempt『先占有;先取得』the competition .

[9]找上門去僅僅是這場戰斗的第一步。有些招募人員在秋天還就開始盡可能的擴展自己的出價，希望自己的目標不至于被后來公司的誘惑而吸引走。咨詢公司和銀行利用的誘惑手段包括有為已簽協議二年級學生提供學費補償，從而在競爭中搶得先機。

[10]Adding to the intensity『強烈;激烈』was the increase in the number of students who rejected『拒絕』Corporate America for small startups『剛開始的;新成立的』and entrepreneurial『創業者的』ventures. Although the numbers remain small overall―4.5% in the top 25 schools―there were particularly large clusters『群;組』at West Coast schools, where many students headed for Silicon Valley. Even the most selective『有選擇性的』firms had trouble: Goldman Sachs got acceptances from only 40% of its Stanford offers, relative to 80% at other top schools.

[10]除了競爭越發激烈以外，越來越多的學生選擇去新成立的小公司和舉債經營的合伙企業工作而拒絕到大集團公司工作。盡管從整體來看這人的樣目前還為數不多-在前25名最佳商學院中僅占4.5%-但在位于西海岸地區的商學院中人數特別集中，這個地區有許多學生畢業以后選擇去硅谷工作。即使是最有競爭力的公司也遇到過這種困難：戈德曼一薩克斯公司在它向斯坦福大學學生發出的聘用信中，只有40%的學生接受了聘用，相對于其他的優秀學校來講，接受聘用的學生高達80%。