The Insead File:Insead is one of the few major global business schools to offer an accelerated, 12-month MBA. Whereas most similar programmes take two years to complete, an Insead student only leaves the workforce for one year, which limits the opportunity cost of his or her investment to one year's foregone wage, writes Niall Dunne

Yet some students find themselves questioning the attractiveness of this policy when, with only two months' tuition remaining, they find themselves still seeking an offer to re-enter the workforce.

All of which explains why the mood on campus has changed in recent weeks. Classes have taken a back seat for now, and the job search has started to dominate. As a result, students have split into two clearly divided camps.

First up, there are those of us who have found the MBA student's holy grail: the "offer letter". With an offer of employment safely secured, some are now negotiating for challenging managerial roles with old employers.

Others have opted for a milkround position, and are counting the days until the French banking system clears the sign-on bonus cheque that lured them to accept the job.

Whatever the postgraduation choice, those in possession of an offer have a relaxed air about them. Then there's the second camp, consisting of those without offers. They have set up their base in the student bar, where members spend their time commiserating and comparing their PFOs.

For the uninitiated, PFO isn't an acronym relating to grades ("pass/fail/other"), nor does it relate to the "potential future options" granted as part of a remuneration package. PFO actually stands for "please . . ." - well, for the sake of decency, let's just say it stands for "please find other" employment.

In short, the PFO is a rejection letter, through which an employer (or, more often, an employer's computer) conveys a firm's rationale for not hiring an applicant. The receipt of a PFO is a key part of an initiation process, through which the bearer gains entry to an elite club, namely those at the bar who are entertaining each other by comparing the excuses chosen (seemingly at random) by the mysterious computer that sends the letters.

So far we've heard of students who have been told that they are "too analytical", "too creative", "too accurate with numbers" and "lacking in business acumen" (despite just completing an MBA).

The list of excuses on offer is endless and, given that some companies require up to 10 interview stages before deciding on a candidate, you would expect more insightful feedback.

In more polite society, the PFO is also known as a "ding" letter, although the origins of the expression have been lost over time. In fact, being "dinged" makes little sense, since most sales professionals will be familiar with the idea of ringing a bell to celebrate the closing of a deal. Or maybe that's just estate agents.

Nevertheless, legend has it that there was once such a bell in the bar area of Insead, where newly hired students could ring said bell to their heart's content to tell the world they had been offered a job.

The same legend suggests the bell was unceremoniously dismantled during the stock market turmoil of 2002 (ie mothballed due to lack of use).

So nowadays, when we hear of someone being "dinged", we don't automatically think of the mayhem in our local hypermarché car park. To be "dinged" is to be rejected by a recruiter, or a recruiter's computer, which obviously never took the time to read your excellent application letter in the first place.

In fairness, while it's easy to laugh at recruiters' short-sightedness, it's equally funny to watch some students employ a scattergun approach when applying for jobs.

When panic sets in, CVs start flying in all directions, cover letters get recycled, and suddenly you find the most analytical of engineers applying for marketing roles selling cosmetics in China, just for the sake of applying. Needless to say, this seldom works, and only adds to the air of unease among those at base camp.

However, just in case there's anyone out there considering an MBA, don't let the above put you off. It's nothing more than gallows humour, which students use to let off steam during the job search. Of the MBA class recently graduated from Insead, 90 per cent were gainfully employed within three months of graduation.

The other 10 per cent are not technically unemployed; they are either suffering from post-traumatic stress and have chosen to recuperate on a beach somewhere, or they are busily trying to raise funding for an entrepreneurial venture (and have set up their office on a beach somewhere).

In other words, an MBA doesn't detract from your employability - but potential students should be aware that the qualification doesn't necessarily guarantee a milkround offer. Instead, as an MBA, you sometimes have to identify, locate and apply for the job of your dreams without any help from your school.

Maybe that's the most important managerial lesson business school can teach - how to stand on your own two feet.