At the reception held for MBA students at the London headquarters of a prestigious US investment bank, bankers mingled with a crowd of 30 aspirants. "Have you accepted our offer?" was their hosts' opening gambit. If they answered yes, the bankers gave a nod and rapidly moved on to the next recruit. Out of the 30, 15 had already accepted the bank's offer. No-one missed the fact that the hosts hovered around the undecided MBAs in the hope of persuading them to accept.
"It's the best job market in over a decade," says Geoff Grout, UK managing director of recruitment consultant Robert Half International. European banks expanding into global franchises and US banks taking advantage of privatization, pension fund and corporate restructuring and M&A across Europe are hiring to keep pace with markets. In Europe Merrill Lynch has grown to 4,700 employees, from 2,000 four years ago.
