MBA Graduates to Get More Jobs in 2018: GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey Report

GMAC, popularly known as Graduate Management Admission Council has released its 17^th annual report, i.e., GMAC 2018 Corporate Recruiters Survey Report. According to the survey, MBA hiring is still strong and 81% of companies that took part in the survey are willing to hire more MBA graduates in 2018.

Among all the participants in the survey from across the world, 52% of the companies are planning to increase the starting salaries of MBA graduates. The survey further revealed that the MBA graduates continue to demand a salary premium relatively higher from bachelor’s degree hires and direct-from-industry hires.

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Highlights of GMAC 2018 Corporate Recruiters Survey:

• The expected median salary for fresh MBA graduates in the US (United States) is US$ 105,000 in 2018.
• For direct-from-industry hires and bachelor’s degree hires, the median salary offered in the US is US$ 85,000 and US$ 65,000.
• Compared to previous year’s hiring plans, there is a slight decline in expected hiring among European and US employers.
• In 2018, 64% European companies and 85% of US companies are planning to hire MBA graduates. Last year, 90% of responding companies were in favour of hiring MBA graduates.
• As per the survey, the demand for MBA graduates is strong in the Asia Pacific.
• According to the survey, US employers favour hiring international business school graduates. At least 47% of companies expressed their intent to hire international talent in 2018. Last year, 55% of companies favoured the same.
• Potential changes in visa and immigration regulations in the US are the major reasons for the decline in the number of companies hiring international talent.
• Even though there are no changes in H1-B visa rules, the companies are expected to make changes in future. Therefore, the employers have decided to wait a few more days to take a call on hiring international business talent.
• At present, the jobs market in the US is robust and the companies are constantly evaluating their prospects so that they can fill the available roles with the best talent.
• Right now, many B-Schools are actively promoting a global job search by creating employers in home countries of students.
• Close to 71% of companies are interested to place recent business school graduates into data analytics roles.
• Data analytics is the most preferred among job roles offered by employers followed by business development (74%), marketing (70%) and finance (69%).
• The demand for data analytics graduates is high among Asia Pacific employers. Europe and Latin America are also planning to make similar hires.
• The survey also revealed that 61% of US companies offer financial assistance for employee education and talent development. Some of the companies among them have also increased budgets for employee education and talent development in the recent years.
• Apart from the job offers for MBA graduates, most of the employers plan to offer internships to MBA graduates in 2018. Among various countries, MBA internships are more prevalent in the USA and the Asia Pacific.
• For MBA students in many B-Schools, internships are a gateway for securing jobs. On the other hand, internships also help students in getting placements in various companies.
• Majority of companies located outside the US are planning to hire Masters in Management (MiM) graduates this year. Latin America, Europe and the Asia Pacific have more demand for MiM graduates.
• Among most European employers, Masters in Accounting graduates continued to be the most preferred choice, while the demand for the same is down in the Asia Pacific.
• In Latin American countries, Masters in Finance graduates are dominating the jobs.

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From the overall analysis, we can say that MBA hiring is still strong across the world but the experts are hoping for the mix shift geographically.