Manufacturers snared a smaller portion of graduates this year from all but two of the 10 schools. Money is a big problem. And while they've long offered more lucrative salary packages, consulting firms are sweetening those deals even more. Now many industrial concerns are trying to get back in the game. They are promising M.B.A.s juicier pay packages. including signing bonuses.
More employers send senior officers to recruit on campus.
To combat the glamour and intellectual challenge promised by a consulting job, other manufacturers have devised faster career tracks, expanding leadership-development programs or moving rising stars into important jobs quickly. N.Y. ITT'S aggressive pursuit of bright business-school graduates typifies the industrial sector's intensified talent hunt. Rand V. Araskog, chairman and chief executive officer of the New York conglomerate, created the Chairman's MBA Career Development Program in 1992. Yet an early start can be crucial. Every school year, three ITT executive vice presidents and a senior vice president visit seven schools to interview candidates for the program.