How is Technology Changing MBA Recruitment?

Digital tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics can help MBA students get hired, as technology changes the way companies find talent. 

Many of the world’s top business schools are now using software that helps students improve their resumes, find and evaluate job opportunities, and prepare for competitive interviews. 

The schools are also introducing new courses to help MBAs prepare for the growing role of technology in the job market, as companies like IBM roll out tech such as AI to help them filter applications, or match candidates with suitable roles. 

VMock, for example, uses machine learning, predictive analytics and AI to provide feedback on MBA students’ resumes. More than 100 universities, including prestigious business schools, use VMock and the start-up has more than one million resumes on its platform. 

The tool is one of several used by the careers department at Imperial College Business School in London. Lisa Umenyiora, director of careers, says Vmock is useful in providing students with feedback on the format, word choice and presentation of their resumes. It has the additional benefit of speeding up the time it takes for the careers team to review students’ resumes, she adds. 

Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business uses GoingGlobal, which provides city-specific career and employment information. The platform has more than 450,000 corporate profiles in more than 190 countries. It includes data on sales, revenues, brands, offices and key contacts. GoingGlobal also features more than 16 million internship and job opportunities from around the world. 

Sheryle Dirks, Duke’s senior associate dean for career management, says the software is particularly helpful for students who are looking for jobs outside the country in which they are located, “Switching careers and geographies can be difficult without knowledge of the local job market.”

At IMD Business School in Switzerland, incoming admitted MBA students are encouraged to answer, via video, a series of questions about why they wish to pursue the degree. The videos are passed on to IMD alumni who are recruiters at large companies. They then review the videos and provide the students with feedback. In addition, IMD has established a course to prepare MBAs for using technology in companies’ recruitment processes. “You have to start grooming yourself for video interviews and artificial intelligence bots, which ask questions, now,” says MBA dean Seán Meehan.

Goldman Sachs, for instance, has dropped on-campus interviews and instead asks students to submit a pre-recorded video to apply for a job at the bank. Candidates are asked to speak to how their past experiences and skills are transferable to the role, as well as times they have demonstrated characteristics valued at Goldman, such as teamwork and sound judgment. Those who succeed in the first-round interview are invited to attend a final interview at a Goldman office.

Matt Jahansouz, Goldman’s global head of recruiting, says the videos have enabled the bank to recruit from a wider pool of candidates than in the past. “Students also appreciate that they can choose when and where they interview,” he adds.

While technology is increasingly prevalent in the recruitment process, Julie Papp, senior associate director of MBA career education at MIT Sloan School of Management, warns that software will not replace the role of the dedicated careers advisor. MBA students should continue having in-depth conversations with their schools’ careers teams. 

“We offer a comprehensive suite of programs and services that includes large group workshops, small group resume and cover letter reviews, and mock job interviews,” Papp says.