More than a dozen students with post-graduation job offers at Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers are uncertain about employment possibilities after the current economic climate threatened the firms' futures last weekend.
While Merrill Lynch-, plagued by toxic assets and financial stress, was being acquired by Bank of America Corp. for $50 billion, global investment bank Lehman Brothers was fast approaching failure. On Monday, Lehman Brothers announced that it will be seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and Barclays PLC executives said Tuesday that Barclays would purchase a portion of the ailing bank.
Senior Helin Gai, who interned at Lehman Brothers last summer and received a job offer for after graduation, said his two-month experience with the firm was worthwhile and educational-even if his presumptive position disappears in the coming months.
"Most of us know that, after the Bear Stearns collapse, a lot of people have been speculating that Lehman would be the next one to go," Gai said. "When this happened, it's not so much surprising, but I certainly had a lot of hope that the firm would survive."
Gai, like other students who had lined up jobs at one of the two firms, said he has yet to hear from Lehman Brothers regarding the status of his position. He said he is not optimistic about his future with the firm, but is still strongly considering a career in investment banking.
"I'm obviously still looking for jobs," he said. "I remain very interested in a job offer on Wall Street.... It's kind of gloomy right now because a lot of firms are not hiring at all."
For students graduating in the next few years, the job market for investment bankers will be slim, said Alon Brav, professor of finance at the Fuqua School of Business.
"There's a lot of good people looking for jobs," he said. "And demand for them is probably going to shrink. For students coming out this year and next year, it will be very hard."
Investment Club President Jay Schulhof, a senior, said this past weekend's economic turmoil will make it much harder to get a job on Wall Street in the near future, but he added that this is not necessarily a bad thing.
"For those who do manage to land a job, rising to the top will be easier as those above them are laid off," he said. "Having an investment banking job at age 21 is not necessary to be successful, and I think these events will help Duke students realize this fact."
Brav said over the next few years students and administrators will have a better understanding of trends in the market and be able to decide whether or not to adjust their career paths.
But some Duke students already seem to be doing just that, said William Wright-Swadel, Fannie Mitchell executive director of Career Services. This year, interest in investment banking has decreased, with nearly every investment bank receiving fewer applications from Duke students in 2008 than they did in 2007.
"Duke students stay on top of this stuff," he said, addressing students' research into career options. "Student talent, combined with student interest, was down."
Senior Lydia Yao, who also had a job offer from Lehman Brothers after her summer internship at the firm, said she thinks it is in her best interest to look into other industries for employment.
"It's a real shame that this had to happen," she said. "I think I was definitely interested in accepting [the job] until everything sort of started falling apart. I don't really know what to expect.... In this market, anything can happen given what has happened."
Although many students with job offers from Lehman said they were ready to move on, some with offers from Merrill Lynch said they still have hope for the company.
Wright-Swadel added that Merrill Lynch will honor their job offers, but he encourages students to have a contingency plan.
Senior Zack Stiefler, who was offered a job in Merrill Lynch's investment division, said the sale to Bank of America will be good for all positions in the company, ranging from first-year employees to high-ranking officers.
Still, Stiefler said some students may change their minds about going into investment banking as the career path becomes more competitive and volatile.
"When it comes to financial services industries, no one knows what jobs are available, and I don't think many people know what to expect," he said. "I'm sure [the situation] can change students' minds... a lot of people want a concrete career and steady options."
With fewer Wall Street positions available than in previous years, students may choose to take advantage of positively growing job markets in other parts of the country and the world, said Campbell Harvey, professor of finance at Fuqua.
"There should be positive growth in Charlotte--the location of Bank of America's headquarters," he said. "It is one of the largest banking centers in the U.S. You have to look at demand in other money centers."
Wright-Swadel noted that whenever the regional market does well, it is an advantage for Duke students.
"[Charlotte's growth] will help, but not dramatically," he said. "But it makes Bank of America a more interesting experience."
Wherever the location of the bank, the market remains in a shaky position, Stiefler said. He added that few know the extent to which the weekend's events will change the job-hunting experience for future applicants.
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