Based on responses from nearly 1,000 corporate recruiters and staffing firms around the world, GMAC’s Corporate Recruiters Survey provides the latest information about skill demand, hiring, compensation, and perceptions of MBA and business master’s graduates.
In addition to new updates around these core themes, this year’s report explored what employers think about artificial intelligence (AI), and how it fits into the ideal toolbox of current and future technical and human skills associated with graduate management education (GME). Employers indicate business schools are setting up their graduates for success, with surging levels of confidence in GME graduates and favorable hiring outcomes and projections.
At a webinar AI and Future-Ready Skills: New Research on Employer Confidence in GME, the report author teamed up with career services directors from the Cambridge Judge Business School and Georgetown University McDonough School of Business to explore the report’s key findings and discuss on-the-ground, practical applications of AI in career services, changes brought on by Gen Z in business school, and new best practices for building student-employer connections.
1. There is still time to get ahead on AI.
The survey results indicate that most employers are not too concerned about AI for today’s GME grads, but its importance is expected to grow—and soon.
Currently, just about a quarter of employers say AI skills are important for GME graduates in their organizations—ranking 21st on a list of 22 skills respondents could choose from. AI skills are currently most important to employers in the tech sector, Fortune 100 companies, and in Central and South Asia.
But when employers were asked about the skills that will be most important five years from now, AI shoots up in importance—from second-to-last on the list of currently important skills to fourth on the list of future skills behind strategic thinking, problem-solving, and technology/IT skills.
The survey results also reveal what types of AI skills organizations are looking for. Employers who are currently interested in AI are less concerned about generating written or multimedia content quickly, and instead are more focused on how GME graduates can use AI as a partner in building new skills and developing business strategy.
Check out more AI findings in an infographic that highlights employers’ demand for AI skills now and in the future.
2. Recruiters appreciate the value of GME skills in remote work, but need help understanding the unique value of online education.
Employer confidence in GME has surged across measures of performance, promotion, and earnings. The results indicate this increase in confidence might be attributed to employers’ newfound appreciation for business school graduates in today’s remote and hybrid work environments.
However, this appreciation for GME skills related to the remote workplace did not translate to an appreciation for GME skills learned in an online classroom. Two-thirds of employers believe in-person programs impart stronger technical skills than online programs, and three-quarters believe in-person programs impart stronger leadership and communications skills.
Regionally, employers in Asia and the Middle East are most likely to say in-person programs impart stronger skills, while U.S. employers are the most open to online programs imparting skills equally to in-person programs. More regional distinctions, including hiring and salary trends, can be found in the regional profiles at the end of the main report on the Corporate Recruiters Survey landing page.
Though online education has changed dramatically in the past several years, employer perceptions may not have necessarily evolved at the same pace—indicating opportunity to re-educate employers about the unique value proposition of online learning.
3. Gen Z students are looking for academic and career experiences that affirm their values and consider their mental health.
GMAC has continued to keep the pulse on Gen Z in GME, including a qualitative study about how GME fits into the generation’s definition of success alongside regular quantitative updates from our GMAC Prospective Students Survey.
On the career services side, the webinar panelists weighed in on the changes they are seeing in the needs and priorities of their students.
“Mental health and wellness has become a less taboo topic to talk about,” said Christine “Christy” Murray, associate dean and managing director of the McDonough Career Center at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. “Resources and support that organizations and companies can provide to employees has become top of mind.”
The panelists signaled that employers are also engaging differently with this next generation of business school graduates.
“Employers have also changed their perspective quite a bit, and they’re moving with Gen Z attitudes—talking much more about values, talking much more about work/life balance, going out of their way to stretch their hands out to meet them halfway,” said Sadia Cuthbert, director of CJBS Careers at the Cambridge Judge Business School. “And I think it’s really helping.”
4. Participating in the Corporate Recruiters Survey can unlock access to an interactive dashboard and ability to compare your results to peer institutions.
Participants in this year’s Corporate Recruiters Survey received access to an upgraded Interactive Summary Data Report, which allows them to explore more detailed results from all participating recruiters by region, industry, and company size at their convenience.
Schools with 25 or more recruiters who participated also received access to a Benchmark Data Report, through which they can compare responses from recruiters who worked with their programs to responses from recruiters who worked with peer programs of their choice.
Want to make sure your program gets access to these free resources next year? Make sure you sign up to participate in GMAC’s Corporate Recruiter Survey and other research opportunities.
