What IBM Seeks In An MBA Hire

Could you give us an overview of your MBA recruiting and interview process? What are the steps that students should expect? How can they make a good impression and stay on your radar?

Again, this will vary by group. Typically, there will be first year recruitment with internships available. The interview process itself will involve two campus interviews. For the consulting hires, this will involve a case interview. The final round event will consist of multiple interviews, along with team exercises where you’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate team skills and how well you fit with the culture.

The less formal opportunities consist of information sessions, office hours and coffee chats, along with  networking at conferences and engaging with alumni and recruiters.

I’d recommend that whether you’re doing an internship or another opportunity, grab it and show us your stuff.  Put yourself in the driver’s seat by reaching out. Let us know by talking to a recruiter or an alum that you’re passionate. Let us know what you’re interested in and how you can make an impact.

What are your expectations for entry level MBAs? What are your most successful new hires doing to hit the ground running and quickly add value?

What I’d say is, absolutely, hit the ground running. The most value is when you can dive in and be an active listener and a learner – and to make a contribution by rolling up your sleeves and applying your experience and knowledge to the task at hand. The most successful candidates will bring a fresh perspective and help drive the strategy and execution. With an MBA hire, it’s a very short ramp up to learn the job, with the expectation that the most successful individuals will reach a demonstrated period of true incremental value early in their tenure.

When it comes to IBM, what are some of the biggest misconceptions that students may have about your organization (and your industry)?

I do think that one misconceptions [of IBM] among MBAs [involves] our opportunities. We have multiple  tracks available. They may just see us as a product or technology company. But wWe span so many industries. So I think it’s important to go back to the fact that we’ve got leadership development programs for general management, corporate finance, consulting , marketing,  and sales organizations. As I mentioned before, we have MBAs in each of those different tracks. So we’re very diverse and versatile and have some dynamic opportunities that we encourage MBAs to discover along the way.

What types of clubs or extracurriculars do you see as particularly valuable [for MBAs]?

I would not name any clubs in particular. It’s not so much what extracurriculars they’re involved in. There’s really not a specific template or expectation. What’s important to us is whether the experience is meaningful for the student. Have they taken on a leadership role with responsibility? We like to see that they have made contributions and helped make a difference.

What are your favorite business schools doing differently (or better) to better prepare students?

We have many university programs where we have partnerships with schools on areas like big data analytics. For example, this year we announced we’re partnering with dozens of business schools and universities, such as Northwestern and University of California, to train tomorrow’s data scientists. The goal is the provide skills that merge business and IT for successful data science careers.

We appreciate programs that prepare candidates to think strategically, assimilate different points of view, deal with ambiguity, define issues, conduct complex analysis, and prepare and recommend solutions in the high tech space. That’s very attractive to us. We work with schools across the world and it’s the general preparedness and scope of knowledge that candidates are offering that’s attractive.

What excites you personally about working for IBM?

I’ve actually been with IBM for more than 30 year sand I stay for the people. I work with the most tremendous colleagues and I have access to experts in every field, with experience and knowledge that is phenomenal. Truly, it is the innovative people, the leadership, the versatility, and the groundbreaking work we do. We have over 430,000 employees working in 170 countries who make up what I think is the most exciting and challenging work environment in the world.

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