THE fourth and largest batch of graduates from the Singapore Management University (SMU) are getting higher starting salaries than their seniors from the year before.

They are also landing jobs sooner, with nearly all snagging positions within six months of graduation.

The overall starting salary for the Class of 2007 went up 6.7 per cent to $3,040 from $2,850 for the Class of 2006, the university's latest employment survey indicates.

The top 12 per cent - one in eight graduates or 69 of them from across all degree programmes - are doing even better, drawing starting salaries of between $4,000 and $10,000 a month.

Among the Class of 2006, just 8 per cent - or 26 - made it to this pay bracket.

Of the 69 high-fliers, nine are making between $8,000 and $10,000 a month, mostly from investment banking or management consulting.

Indeed, about half the graduates are in banking, finance, auditing and accounting jobs.

Miss Seetoh Zhi Min, 23, who has a double degree in accountancy and business management, landed a job as an associate at the Boston Consulting Group.

Part of her job involves analysing strategic issues faced by her clients' companies.

'I like the exposure to various industries, the type of work the job provides and, more importantly, the learning prospects that come with it,' said Miss Seetoh, whose name was a fixture on the Dean's List for three years.

The Class of 2007 distinguished itself one other way in the business of job hunting: More snagged jobs even before graduation.

Eight in 10 landed job offers either before graduation or, at most, within a month of graduation.

Two-thirds got two to more than 10 job offers.

Miss Delaine Cheong, 24, sent out over 10 applications and received five offers.

She is now an investment associate with the Financial Institution Group at Temasek Holdings, where she helps evaluate investment opportunities.

SMU's Graduate Employment Survey had a response rate of 87per cent - 618 out of the 711 who graduated between May and September last year responded.

The National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University have not released their employment surveys yet.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 13, 2008.