Inside the Tuck MBA Career Experience: Insights from Stephen Pidgeon
In this conversation, Stephen Pidgeon, Director of Career Services at the Tuck School of Business, shares insights into current hiring trends for MBA graduates. Pidgeon provides an experienced perspective on the dynamics of the job market and how MBA students can effectively navigate their job searches.
MBA Pathfinders: Can you talk about trends you're seeing in hiring for MBA candidates right now?
Stephen Pidgeon: Things have been tight for a couple of years now. Back in 2022, companies were hiring aggressively. People had multiple job offers and were even getting poached after accepting offers. It was chaotic.
In 2023, that slowed down dramatically. We saw a lot of layoffs in tech, and even consulting and banking began to slow. From what I hear from senior folks at those firms, the issue was over hiring in 2022.
Since then, some companies have paused leadership development programs, and layoffs continued in tech, though there are signs of stabilization.
This Spring is still a pretty tough hiring environment. The economy had started to re-bound, but now we have all kinds of uncertainty from the White House.
MBA Pathfinders: How has that affected what you’re doing on the career side? How are you advising students in this environment?
Stephen Pidgeon: There’s not a massive change in philosophy. We've always emphasized having a broad list of career options. MBA candidates can't just come in with a dream company and bet everything on that. I think students arriving this year are more grounded and understand the importance of having a Plan A, B, and C – just like they were when applying to schools.
Our advice remains the same: Don’t pin all your hopes on McKinsey, Goldman, or Amazon. That’s never been wise, and even more so now. That said, we've done well. Our employment stats last year were second-best among peer schools at three months out. I expect similar results this year.
That’s partly because we’re deliberate about resourcing. We have a strong team that works closely with students. When a student doesn’t get an interview at McKinsey, or Amazon isn’t hiring, we’re right there to help them pivot. That level of support makes a real difference.
MBA Pathfinders: What does your process look like for incoming students, especially if their goals have shifted from what they wrote in their applications?
Stephen Pidgeon: We reach out in the summer. When students log into our system, we ask them to forget what they told admissions and tell us what they actually want to do – Plan A and Plan B. Then, we do one-on-one calls with everyone and run virtual programming to cover topics like, “What is consulting?” “What is banking?” “What is product management?” – things like that.
We want students to hit the ground running, but if they’re traveling or busy, that’s fine too. On day one of orientation, we talk to them about how to approach their job search.
MBA Pathfinders: That’s great. On the flip side, what are some of the mistakes you see students make?
Stephen Pidgeon: The classic one is being completely blinkered: “It’s McKinsey or bust,” or “I’m only here if I get into PE” – even if they have no background in it. The odds are against them, and it can be tough to redirect.
Networking is another challenge – it can be intimidating. And yet so much of recruiting – especially in consulting and banking – is networking-driven.
If someone comes in having done a few practice chats in a low-stakes environment, they’re ahead of the game. We try to guide students thoughtfully. If I talk to someone and they have great people skills, I might say, “Go ahead and reach out to a Tuck alum.” But if someone seems unsure, I’ll suggest waiting and getting more coaching before reaching out.
MBA Pathfinders: That makes a lot of sense. Can you talk a bit more about your team and how you support students throughout the year?
Stephen Pidgeon: We believe we’re one of the most well-resourced MBA career teams out there. We only work with MBA students and only run one program – so we’re fully focused.
We work one-on-one with students and are organized by industry expertise. For banking, you meet with Deirdre, who has years of experience at Lehman Brothers. For tech, you might meet with Laura on our team who’s based on the West Coast. We make it clear students can meet with any of us, depending on what they need.
We tell students to imagine meeting with us every two weeks, but some meet with us much more. In fact, some students had met with us eight times in one week.
We also track engagement. If someone hasn’t met with us in a while, I reach out. Sometimes I even put a meeting on their calendar. That proactive approach really works – students usually appreciate it.
MBA Pathfinders: Do students have a “primary” coach, or is it more flexible?
Stephen Pidgeon: One of us will usually reach out first, based on the student’s interest, but we make it clear we’re not “assigned” to each other. Students can meet with anyone on the team. We’ve found they really appreciate that flexibility.
MBA Pathfinders: How do you and your team stay on top of market trends?
Stephen Pidgeon: A lot of it is through our ongoing relationships with companies – seeing who’s hiring, who’s posting jobs. Our coaches also talk regularly to recruiters. That helps them bring real-time insights into coaching conversations.
We also deliberately hire people with industry experience. Laura, for example, has been a product manager at both big and small tech companies. Our consulting coaches have MBB experience and have been recruiters themselves, so they know the inside story. That credibility matters to students.
MBA Pathfinders: What makes Tuck’s alumni network so uniquely responsive?
Stephen Pidgeon: I think it’s partly the immersive experience here. You come to Hanover for two years, and you’re really living and learning with your community. That creates strong bonds.
It’s like a two-year retreat. So after graduation, there’s this shared passion. When I was at McKinsey, I’d meet teams from other schools, and they’d say where they went. I’d start gushing about Tuck.
Alumni also genuinely want to help. They remember getting support when they were students, so it feels natural to give back. That culture just builds on itself.
MBA Pathfinders: Do you recommend that prospective students reach out to the career team?
Stephen Pidgeon: Honestly, I’d rather speak with students after they’ve been admitted. At that point, I can help them make an informed decision and understand how we work.
Sometimes prospects reach out thinking it’ll help their application if they can say they spoke to me. It won’t – we don’t report that to admissions. If you’re trying to decide between schools or you have a question you can’t find an answer to, sure, reach out. But don’t do it just for the sake of saying you did.
MBA Pathfinders: Final question – do you offer career services to alumni as well?
Stephen Pidgeon: Yes, we do. We have a full-time alumni career advisor, Heather Law, and she’s recently added support due to demand. It’s lifetime access. And I regularly see the feedback – our alums are really grateful for it.
MBA Pathfinders: That’s fantastic. Thanks so much, Stephen. This has been incredibly insightful.
Stephen Pidgeon: My pleasure. I’m happy to help however I can.
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