Top MBA Recruiters: IBM
Finding a job after graduating with your MBA isn’t typically the issue. There are hundreds of industries and companies that would be happy to hire a freshly minted MBA graduate. The trouble is choosing the right company and job for you. If IBM hasn’t been on your list of top tech companies, maybe it should be.
About IBM
Headquartered in Armonk, New York—north of NYC and bordering Connecticut—IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) is a multinational technology company that operates in over 170 countries worldwide. It got its start in 1911, and since that time has manufactured leading-edge computer hardware, middleware, and software. The company also provides hosting and consulting services across the technology industry on topics ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.
IBM is dedicated to a constant state of innovation, which is evidenced by its performance. In 2017, the company earned $79.1 billion in revenue and demonstrated that it’s still a cutting-edge technology company by expanding on many of its services including the IBM Cloud—who’s revenue accounted for 21 percent of total revenue. Other top products from the company include:
- z14: The world’s most powerful transaction system that encrypts data at scale, all the time.
- POWER9: POWER9 systems and software cut training times by 4x and boost AI accuracy.
- IBM Q Experience: The world’s first (and only) prototype 50-qubit system, which leads in quantum computing.
And IBM is always looking for new ways to be competitive. Last year, the company spent $5.6 billion on research and development. And in 2016, IBM filed 8,000 patents (the most of any company). It’s a company that is moving forward quickly, which can make it an exciting prospect for many MBA students. So, why should you work for IBM?
Why IBM?
Nicknamed Big Blue, the appeal of working for a company like IBM is fairly obvious. It’s one of the world’s largest employers with over 380,000 employees as of 2016, and those employees are top notch. Throughout the company’s history, employees have been awarded:
- Five Nobel Prizes
- Six Turing Awards
- Ten National Medals of Technology
- Five National Medals of Science
And some former IBM employees include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft Chairman John W. Thompson, SAP Co-Founder Hasso Plattner, and former Lenovo CEO Steve Ward.
In addition, if you choose to work for IBM, you have the opportunity to work almost anywhere in the world. The company has several main campuses across the globe including:
- Austin, Texas
- Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
- Rochester, Minnesota
- New York City, New York
- Silicon Valley, California
- Rome, Italy
- Winchester, UK
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Tokyo, Japan
And that’s just to name a few of IBM’s premier locations. And no matter where you land a job, you’ll be called an “IBMer” and receive a myriad of benefits including group life insurance, survivor benefits, paid vacation, and more.
In 2017, IBM was also recognized by Mogul as one of the Top 100 Innovators in Diversity & Inclusion as well as one of the Top 100 Companies for Millennial Women. And in 2015, IBM was named to Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies list for the 30th consecutive year.
Landing a Job at IBM
So, how do you land a job at IBM as a new MBA graduate? There are a few options. The first is the IBM General Management Leadership Development Program (GMLDP), which is the premier leadership development program for top MBA graduates. If you’re accepted, you’re hired into IBM on an accelerated path to leadership with opportunities across many of IBM’s areas including cloud, Watson, digital, offering management, and consulting.
And speaking of consulting, MBA graduates also have the opportunity to work as consultants in IBM Global Business Services. Within this area, MBA consultants are given a chance to combine sophisticated analytics with market-leading global solutions to provide deep industry insight and expertise alongside an actionable plan.
At any given time, there are over 5,000 job openings available in every industry and area from project management to marketing. Some available jobs for MBA graduates include:
- Strategy Consultant
- Projects Manager
- Account Executive
- Offering Manager
- Associate Partner for Tech/Data Strategy
- Digital Business Consultant
- Business Analyst
Meet an Employee
According to Nish Parekh, who leads IBM’s client and partner programming teaching businesses how to use IBM’s Watson technology, she’s living her dream. With Watson, she gets to work on the leading edge of AI technology and touch a variety of industries, which is exciting in and of itself.
“They bring in a lot of people from different parts of IBM, as well as some folks from outside IBM. Seeing the mix and all these people work together is fun. I get to learn from them,” Parekh told Fast Company. “Also, one of the greatest things about my job is the ability to stay on top of the latest and greatest technology. AI is up and coming; it’s exciting to be a part of that moment.”
Marshall Online MBAs Tap into IBM Watson For Business Solutions
Online MBAs enrolled in the USC Marshall School of Business’ Opportunity Recognition and Implementation course were recently tasked with developing a startup that takes advantage of the supercomputing capabilities of IBM Watson, the tech company’s flagship artificial intelligence system.
The course, taught by Professor of Clinical Business Communication Pete Cardon and Associate Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship Elissa Grossman, has been part of the MBA curriculum at Marshall for two years. The project, meanwhile, goes as follows: Students studied how Watson’s analytics software works, and then identified a problem they can solve with that technology. Each team then formulated a business plan that could be introduced and put into action, and pitch it to a panel of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
“This is not an abstract exercise,” Cardon told USC Marshall. “This is a very intense project that places students in a situation where they are thinking about how to use cutting-edge technology for new products. And we provide access to the people who are really doing this—the experts at IBM.”
Each MBA team was supported by IBM mentors and experts, such as Daryl Pereira, the Creative Content Director of Watson and Cloud Platform. Pereira told USC Marshall that IBM’s collaboration with the school and it’s Online MBAs has produced impressive results.
“We knew it would be exciting partnering with USC to explore the possibilities of artificial intelligence with the brightest business minds,” Pereira said. “What we weren’t prepared for was the creativity in the startup ideas from the students: everything from the automated review of legal contracts to the creation of a data-driven record label.”
This year’s winning was the Music Predictor, a plan drawn up by the MBA team of Steven Truong, Michele Rosette, and Erin Young. The predictor was described as “a cognitive tool that analyzed song metadata and social media to provide projections of future revenue for a potential song, allowing smaller record labels to refine their budgets.” As the winner of the pitch competition, the Music Predictor team earned an invitation to the IBM Watson Developer Conference.
“We spent a significant part of our time applying our fresh business knowledge to the various IBM technologies that were showcased,” Troung said. “We discussed feasibility of novel technology-business concepts, pondered the unmet market needs for various exhibitions and discussed real startups with more veteran entrepreneurs that are in high-growth technology spaces.”
