Once they had acquired an MBA, the traditional route for students was to follow the well-trodden path into consultancy or investment banking. But times are changing and as sustainability and “green” issues attract a higher profile, more MBA graduates are looking for jobs that exhibit at least an element of corporate social responsiblity.
The trend is reflected in recent research by Net Impact – the international non-profit organisation and Ellen Weinreb CSR Recruiting, both based in the US.
The research, using Business for Social Responsibility’s jobs page and CSR-Chicks, a mailing list for CSR professionals, says there has been a 37 per cent increase per year in the number of postings for CSR jobs over the past three and a half years. In 2004, for example, there were only 19 postings per month. By 2007 this had risen to 48 per month.
The study says that environmentally-focused jobs are one of the fastest growing, especially within clean technology, public relations and consumer products. But the increase in candidates’ interest exceeds the growth in positions available.
According to Karin Cooke, formerly Net Impact’s career programme director, the demand for CSR jobs is blossoming.
“An increasing number of MBA students hope to find a career that blends business acumen with positive contributions to society and the environment.
“We advise members to look not only for traditional CSR jobs, but also for functionally mainstream positions within companies with strong CSR and environmental values,” she says.
Net Impact aims to make an impact on society by encouraging tomorrow’s leaders to use business to improve the world. Its membership currently stands at more than 10,000 members and spans six continents. It has a strong presence across business schools says Ms Cooke.
Companies are interested in recruiting MBAs who show an interest in CSR and sustainability, she says, even if it is not for a specific green role – because “they want holistic thinking”.
Alana Hatcher, director of corporate recruiting at Coldwater Creek in California, confirms she has seen an increase in MBAs wishing to work within CSR or sustainability sectors. “More students are pursuing it [CSR] as a career choice,” she says.
Of special interest, she adds, is CSR with regard to supply chain management, especially as it relates to international suppliers and manufacturers. But she echoes the report’s findings in that there are more students wanting these types of jobs, than there are posts available.
Schools, too, have responded to the increasing interest.
At Kenan-Flagler school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for example, 15 graduates from the class of 2007 are working in positions that are significantly focused on sustainability issues, compared with eight students for the class of 2002.
The Center for Sustainable Enterprise at Kenan-Flagler was established to help executives, organisations and business students understand the impact social and environmental considerations are having on business. Sustainable enterprise is part of the school’s MBA core and is taken by about 60 per cent of MBA students each year – the school allows flexibility in the core programme.
The centre also runs the sustainable enterprise career fair, which helps to connect MBAs with recruiters seeking graduates with a background in sustainable enterprise.
Katie Kross, executive director at the centre, says this year’s fair attracted the highest number of recruiters since it began in 2000.
The fair attracts both niche companies and larger corporations such as Deloitte and McKinsey, as well as non-profits such as the World Wildlife Fund and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
While some MBAs look for jobs only within, for example, sustainable enterprise, Ms Kross says increasingly graduates follow the more tradtional path, but then bring use their sustainable expertise to bear. “The biggest areas of growth I have seen in career opportunities for MBAs in the past two years are in renewable energy and clean tech industries, green building and sustainable real estate development and sustainability consulting,” says Ms Kross.
Recruiters are also happy with students’ burgeoning interest, she adds.
“Employers have told us they like to look at sustainable enterprise students, even for traditional positions because they [students] are more forward thinking, they have a level of understanding and bring SE expertise along with more traditional things.”
