Signing bonuses paid to graduating MBA students at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management are 33 percent higher, on average, than last year. The average bonus paid to Cornell MBA graduates for taking a job with a corporation or consulting group is $12,500 compared with $9,400 last year, according to a survey of graduating students.

The signing bonus and other perks, such as attractive relocation packages, are part of the formula prospective employers use to entice top-notch MBA students to accept their offers.

"There has always been much interest in our graduates from the consulting industry, where signing bonuses have been the usual practice, but the competition for these students is so intense that we're seeing other industries offer bonuses as well," said Stephen F. Johansson, director of career services for the Johnson School.

The amount of the signing bonus and how it is paid differs from company to company, says Johansson. Often, the bonus is paid out in a lump sum after the individual has started working at the company.

Johansson said the practice of receiving signing bonuses is quite common for graduates of the nation's top 20 business schools. "In fact, it's something the MBA student has come to expect."

The $12,500 signing bonus plus the average starting salary for a Cornell MBA graduate, more than $70,000, along with other benefits, such as guaranteed year-end bonuses, brings the graduate's first year remuneration to well over $90,000.

But salary is not always the major factor in deciding what offer to accept, Johansson noted. In a survey, students rated job function, level of responsibility, firm stability and advancement potential as more important than salary in considering whether to accept a job offer.

Marie Wong, 28, had five job offers to consider. She chose to work for the tea maker Lipton, where she could gain experience in brand management.

"I weighed both financial and nonfinancial factors in deciding to accept a particular offer," she said. "I wanted traditional training in brand management in food, beverage and consumer products. Lipton fit that category." Wong's other offers came from telecommunications, high technology, consulting and financial services firms.

But Wong said salary and other financial perks, such as signing bonus, were considerations in weighing her various offers. "I'm graduating with education loans to pay off; I had to consider salary."

Wong, who earned a bachelor's degree in communication from Cornell in 1991, said she was offered signing bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.

A key to securing employment for many MBA students is summer internship experience.

"Approximately 40 percent of offers come from companies in which our MBA students held summer internships," Johansson said. "The internship opportunity is an important part of the employment process. It provides the student with the chance to dazzle a prospective employer."

If MBA students haven't landed jobs by graduation, it's probably because they are still weighing several offers. A preliminary survey of graduating MBA students this year shows that more than 80 percent already have job offers in hand.

"It's been an extremely good year," said Johansson. "The strong economy is a primary reason the employment outlook is so good."