After seeing that business school applications are up, following the release of professional staff from banking etc, I see the consulting sector is suffering a down-turn [Economist, 20-26 Sep]. They should have anticipated this, and planned accordingly e.g. with their hiring from a couple of years ago, because it’s exactly what happened after the dot-com bust. Back then, there were horrendous stories of consulting firms withdrawing job offers to MBAs before they even got to the door. One firm I hear treated its new hires so badly that Harvard banned them from hiring for two years. Would be good to hear from anyone who has experience of them doing better this time round.