Those who believe an MBA is only about a job in banking or consultancy, think again. Two of the leading recruiters for MBAs at the top US schools this year are rival games companies Electronic Arts, creators of the Sims characters and Zynga, which runs the FarmVille game on Facebook.
有些人以为，念MBA就是为了在银行或咨询公司找份工作。错了。今年美国顶级学府MBA的招聘大户中就有两家游戏公司，一家是艺电(Electronic Arts)，《模拟人生》(Sims)就出自该公司，另一家是在Facebook上经营FarmVille游戏的Zynga公司。
For EA, the need for top MBA graduates is fuelled by the company's changing role from a packaged goods company to a digital company, says Jessica Rawson, who is in charge of university relations. "What is driving us is what our customers are doing".
艺电负责大学关系的杰西卡•罗森(Jessica Rawson)表示，对于该公司而言，对优秀MBA毕业生的需求，源自于该公司正从一家将产品包装销售的公司转型为数字公司。"推动我们的是我们的客户在做的事情。"
The focus now is on graduates who are skilled in analytics. "It's being able to take the numbers and create a story and communicate that story," says Ms Rawson. The games companies are not alone in valuing the combination of analytics and communications, says Julie Morton, associate dean for career services at Chicago Booth and one of the schools where EA recruits. "I think of it as critical thinking rather than numbers per se."
现在受到青睐的是善于分析的MBA毕业生。罗森表示："也就是说，他们要善于分析数据，设计一个故事然后将故事传达给别人。"芝加哥大学布斯商学院(Chicago Booth)就业服务处副主任朱莉•莫顿(Julie Morton)表示，不只是游戏公司会重视分析与沟通相结合的能力。"我认为这是一种批判性思维，而非仅仅是与数字有关。"布斯商学院是艺电招人的院校之一。
As jobs on Wall Street wane, the most numerate MBA graduates are finding a welcome home in companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and Yahoo, groups for which data analytics are critical.
由于华尔街就业岗位减少，数学能力突出的MBA毕业生受到了亚马逊(Amazon)、Facebook、谷歌(Google)和雅虎(Yahoo)等公司的欢迎，在这些公司，数据分析至关重要。
Such is the case at Wall Street specialist Columbia Business School in New York, says Gina Resnick, associate dean and managing director of Columbia's career management centre. "What's been exciting has been the changing opportunities and the technology renaissance in New York City."
纽约哥伦比亚大学(Columbia)职业管理中心副主任、常务主管吉娜•雷斯尼克(Gina Resnick)表示，曾经的华尔街就业大户、哥伦比亚商学院(Columbia Business School)就是如此。"机遇的变迁以及纽约的科技复兴令人兴奋。"
Although the final statistics for 2012 have not yet been compiled, MBA recruitment in the US appears to be closely tracking that of 2011. "It is certainly not down, not at all," says Regina Regazzi, executive director for corporate relations with UCLA Anderson. At Harvard Business School, where MBA students graduate this week, Jana Kierstead, executive director of the MBA programme, is even more positive. "Optimism is in the air. Students are really willing to wait [for the right job] and are determined to pursue their vision." Salaries have also rebounded. At Harvard, the bellwether for MBA pay, the median for the class of 2012 is expected to be $125,000, up from $120,000.
尽管2012年的最终数据尚未得出，但美国的MBA招聘似乎在紧紧追随2011年的趋势。加州大学洛杉矶分校安德森商学院(UCLA Anderson)企业关系执行主任瑞格纳•瑞格兹(Regina Regazzi)表示："肯定没有减少，一点也没有。"哈佛商学院(Harvard Business School)MBA项目执行主任亚娜•基尔斯泰德(Jana Kierstead)的态度甚至更为乐观，她表示："乐观情绪正在弥漫。学生们确实愿意等待（合适的工作），并决定追求梦想。"哈佛的MBA学员近期毕业。薪资也已反弹。在哈佛商学院（MBA薪资的风向标），2012届毕业生的薪资中值预计将达到12.5万美元，高于之前的12万美元。
But in Europe, the euro crisis and economic austerity has resulted in recruiter caution, says Fiona Sandford, director for career services at London Business School.
但在欧洲，伦敦商学院(London Business School)就业服务负责人菲奥娜•桑福德（Fiona Sandford)表示，欧元危机和经济紧缩让招聘企业态度谨慎。
In London, as in New York, the "bulge banks" have reduced the number of MBAs they hire this year, but asset management firms continue to recruit, says Ms Sandford. The students who are finding it hardest to secure jobs are those who want to change sectors, she says.
桑福德表示，在伦敦，就像在纽约一样，大型银行今年减少了MBA的招聘数量，但资产管理公司在继续招聘。她表示，最难找到工作的学生是那些希望换行业的人。
A decade ago a third of all graduates from top schools went into finance – largely investment banking – with a further third going into consultancy. But these days up to 50 per cent of graduates find their first job in other sectors – consumer goods, pharmaceutical, media, technology and industrial companies, as well as NGOs and charities. Social media strategists are also in demand across all sectors, says Kevin Frey, who runs the full-time MBA at Rotman in Toronto.
10年前，在顶级商学院的所有毕业生中，有三分之一进入金融行业（基本上是投行），另有三分之一进入咨询行业。但最近，高达50%的毕业生在其它行业找到第一份工作——消费品、制药、媒体、科技和工业企业，以及非政府组织(NGO)和慈善组织。在多伦多罗特曼商学院(Rotman)负责全日制MBA项目的凯文•福雷(Kevin Frey)表示，社交媒体策略师在各个行业也很受欢迎。
Recruitment methods are also changing. EA is typical in that it is taking several routes to hiring students: as well as on-campus recruiting, it is posting job adverts for specific roles. Increasingly, company hiring patterns reflect company culture, says Ms Morton, citing Zynga, where students interview via videoconferencing on Skype. "That's very much the norm now," she says.
此外，招聘方法也在改变。艺电较为典型，同时运用几种学生招聘方式：除了校园招聘之外，该公司还发布了一些职位的招聘广告。莫顿表示，企业招聘模式越来越反映出企业文化，她举例说，在Zynga，学生面试是在Skype上通过视频会议进行的。她表示："现在这在很大程度上已成为标准做法。"
Students are behaving differently too. Even at Harvard, the master of on-campus recruiting, almost 50 per cent of students now find a job via a different route. And they are looking to small companies for employment. "We're seeing students looking at more customised, smaller shops, so they can see their impact early on," according to Ms Kierstead.
学生们的做法也有变化。甚至在校园招聘的高手哈佛，几乎50%的学生现在也是通过其它途径找到工作的。他们正考虑到小公司就业。基尔斯泰德表示："我们看到学生们正在考虑更具个性化且规模更小的公司，这样他们就能在早期就看到他们对公司的影响。"
Meanwhile more students are finding jobs outside their country of study. Harvard, for example, reports that a growing number of its US graduates are taking jobs outside the US.
与此同时，更多MBA学生在学习的国家之外找到工作。例如，哈佛称，其越来越多的美国毕业生在美国以外就业。
EA, which has studios in the UK, China and North America, is looking to recruit in Europe and Asia. The company has one obvious attraction, says Ms Rawson.
艺电在英国、中国和北美设有工作室，该公司正考虑在欧洲和亚洲进行招聘。罗森表示，该公司拥有一种明显的吸引力。
"People have grown up playing these games . . . It's a really cool way to come into analytics."
"人们是玩着这些游戏长大的……来这里从事分析确实是一件很酷的事。"