Last week, I had the privilege of going on a Finance TREK sponsored by Thunderbird School of Global Management.  Basically for 3 days, I met with a variety of finance companies and departments which included Yahoo, Cisco, HSBC, Wells Fargo, Barclays, Belvedere, Duff and Phelps, and Goldman Sachs.  As far as an educational experience to be on the front lines of the financial crisis, the trip was a success.  However, most of us were hoping this trip would also lead to potential jobs next spring – not exactly.

I heard a variety of terms being used for what essentially amounted to the exact same thing such as “hiring freeze”, “hiring pause”, “being more selective”, “program delay”, and perhaps an honest “this is not a good time to be graduating”.  This seemed to trail into a discussion where almost every one of the company representatives discussed how the economy was equally as bad for them when they graduated.  But, no one could argue the success they now had with titles such as Senior Vice President, Head of Treasury, Principal, Managing Director, and CEO.

For those considering going to school right now, the timing couldn’t be better.  Most likely by the time you graduate, the “freeze” will have thawed and you will be highly sought after as companies drastically try to ramp-up for a recovering economy. During the last economic speed bump we had in 2001, I used this as my reasoning to go back to school and get my first graduate degree, a law degree from Seattle University.  I was then able to leverage the degree into higher pay, promotions, and job opportunities as the economy rebounded.

Just remember, that a down economy is like a game of musical chairs, those that have more to offer will likely get to keep a chair and perhaps even get a better one.�