The GMAC Advisor Blog

Did COVID-19 Impact Hiring Demand and Salaries for MBA and Business Master’s Graduates?

Written by Rahul Choudaha | Jun 3, 2020 6:45:00 PM

Thanks to participating schools, the GMAC 2020 Corporate Recruiters Survey (CRS) received responses from over 700 employers by mid-March. In the wake of COVID-19, GMAC is launching a follow-up survey in June to get a better picture of the hiring landscape for business school graduates. If your school did not participate in the February/March survey, the June opportunity is your chance to gain insights into the hiring and salary projections for the class of 2020, as well as the skills employers will be looking for in GME talent post-COVID.


In early February, GMAC conducted in partnership with MBA CSEA, EFMD, Highered - EFMD Shared Career Services, and business schools around the world our annual survey of employers to collect vital insights that would allow us to keep business schools informed of the latest trends in the hiring market for recent MBA and business master’s graduates.

However on March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, which disrupted the education and hiring landscape for 2020. Recognizing the data collected pre-COVID-19 may not accurately reflect the current intentions of employers, GMAC is conducting a follow-up survey to collect updated hiring and salary projections that reflect this disruption.

Survey topics will include:

  • Updated hiring projections
  • Expected starting salaries and starting bonuses
  • Internship offering plans and intern hiring by candidate type
  • Skills employers will be looking for in a post COVID-19 workforce

If you did not participate in the February survey, now is your chance to hear from your employers. Please click on the link to sign up and participate in the June 2020 Corporate Recruiters Survey: www.gmac.com/surveysignup. All participating schools will receive a comprehensive report outlining the survey findings.

Once you register, GMAC will provide your school with a suggested invite email, and a generic school-level URL, so that your school can invite your employers to participate in the survey directly. Deadline for schools is July 6 and for corporate recruiters July 15.

Reach out to gmac-research@gmac.com with any questions.

You can access past reports based on the Corporate Recruiters Survey at gmac.com/corporaterecruiters, including two reports based on last year’s findings: Business School Hiring Report 2019 and Employability and Business School Graduates 2019