For many candidates, the relief of gaining an acceptance is now giving way to concerns over the weak economy. Bloomberg recently released a list of prominent Wall Street firms and their layoffs during the last nine months, with Citigroup leading the way (6,200) by a significant margin and Lehman Brothers (4,990) and Bank of America (2,940) placing and showing in this rather dubious category. Of course, these stats don’t include the many Bear Stearns layoffs which are undoubtedly imminent. With the writing on the wall, the New York Budget office is predicting that 20,000 more in the financial services industry will get laid off, on top of the 34,000 who have already lost their jobs.
Is it time to panic? Well, according to Business Week, the job situation on campus is not as strong as it once was, but it also not disastrous. As of now, candidates have fewer offers and less room to negotiate, so some are accepting less money. Nonetheless, there are still jobs and there is no news yet of offersbeing rescinded.
If you have recently been admitted, “The Bear Meltdown Rattles B-Students” is certainly worth the read.