Employer interest in hiring MBA graduates is ticking up across the United States and the rest of the world due to how they’re preparing business leaders to manage today’s remote-work environment, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council.
As of 2021, nearly twice the amount of employers believe recently graduated MBA earners can navigate the post-pandemic landscape better than experienced employees hired directly from the industry. This sentiment is most pronounced across the finance, accounting and manufacturing industries. Employers also believe MBA graduates are better suited for the fast track to upper-level positions and higher salaries.
As a result, hiring funnels for MBA graduates were stronger than for holders of bachelor’s degrees and those already in the workforce in 2023, and this pattern is expected to continue into 2024. Moreover, U.S. employers are more likely to believe demand for business graduates will remain stable in the coming years.
This might come as a surprise to some graduate students: Their enrollment declined in 2023, and a survey last fall suggested students entering the job market were having a tough time finding work.
Over 900 employers in 38 countries across industries in technology, products, finance/accounting, consulting and healthcare/pharmaceutical submitted responses to the international nonprofit’s survey. Over half (51%) hire for Global Fortune 100 and 500 companies.
What employers want out of MBA graduates
Problem-solving, strategic thinking, communication and teamwork remain the preeminent skills employers expect from business graduates. This holds true across all industries because most want professionals to excel at client-facing, project-based work.
Only 13% of U.S. corporate recruiters say AI skills are important in today’s market. That’s far lower than employers in Central & South Asia, Africa and East and Southeast Asia, where there is significantly higher demand for AI know-how. Over the next five years, however, AI ranked in the top five in skills employers most want to see out of graduates across industries.
“As disruptive technologies like generative AI reshape the labor market and the skill economy expands, employers are putting a premium on strategic thinking, people leadership and problem-solving while betting on the rising importance of tech prowess,” said Joy Jones, CEO of the Graduate Management Admission Council.
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Employers with an eye toward the future encourage future graduates to master today’s core traits along with up-and-coming skills such as emotional intelligence, grit, adaptability and technological literacy in information technology and AI. Employers expect graduates to be proficient in using AI in the following ways:
- acquire knowledge and learn new skills (63%)
- develop business strategy and make decisions (62%)
- conduct research (51%)
New ways of learning—and earning—credentials
More than any other country, the U.S. is more open to students earning their graduate degrees online. However, most still believe in-person learners develop stronger leadership and communication skills. Sentiment toward professional certificates, earned via micro-credentials, has also warmed up considerably. Only 45% of employers believe degree holders will perform better than those who only earned a microcredential.
