GRADUATING IN A RECESSION

Ed Catto

University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, 1990

Career: Even though Catto's traditional marketing career (at Unilever) wasn't affected by the 1990 recession, when it came to the next recession he was working at BigStar.com, a startup. "The money dried up, and it was a real scramble to get back," says Catto. Nowadays he works for Chadwick Communications, a Manhattan consulting and advertising firm and loves it. "The days of Big Company X and Big Company Y are really over."

Advice: Catto recommends that MBA grads look at "smaller, less traditional organizations" when starting out in a recession, because it provides better quality experience. "The best and the brightest are an ambitious bunch who are looking for new ways to make things happen," he says.""