2026年企业招聘者调查报告 Corporate

CorporateRecruitersSurvey2026

ReportTheresultsof

the

2026Corporate

RecruitersSurveyrevealthe

resilient

valueof

graduate

managementeducationduringtimesof

change.

Employerexpectations

for

AIandtechnology

skillscontinuetorise,butincreasinglyinserviceof

betterstrategicthinking,decision-making,and

problemsolving-

capabilities.Businessschoolsare

preparing

graduatesfora

profoundlydifferentbusinessenvironment,

yet

withdurableskillsthathavelonghelpedleadersinnovate

withnewtechnologies,manageintergenerational

workforces,and

navigateeconomicand

geopoliticaluncertainty.GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2026

Report

2JoyJonesCEO,

GMACTableof

contentsIntroduction.................................................................................................................4Executive

summary

...................................................................................................5Key

findings.................................................................................................................6Skill

demand

in

the

AI

era

.........................................................................................7Employer

confidence

in

GME.................................................................................20Hiring

and

compensation

trends............................................................................32Conclusion................................................................................................................46Methodology..............................................................................................................47Respondent

profile

..................................................................................................48Appendix

...................................................................................................................49Contributors.............................................................................................................50GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2026

Report

3Since

2002,the

Corporate

RecruitersSurveyfrom

GMAC™

has

providedtheworld’sgraduate

businessschools

andemployerswith

dataand

insightsto

understand

currenttrends

in

skill

demand,

hiring,

compensation,

and

perceptions

of

MBAand

business

master’sgraduates.GMAC,togetherwithsurvey

partners

European

Foundationfor

Management

Development(EFMD)

andthe

CareerServices

and

EmployerAlliance

(CSEA),

conductedthesurveyfromJanuaryto

Mayof2026,

in

associationwiththe

careerservices

offices

at

participatinggraduate

businessschoolsworldwide.

GMAC

alsoworkedwith

a

market

researchfirmto

recruit

additional

participantsto

makethe

overallsample

moreglobally

representative.Intotal,

621

corporate

recruiters

and

hiring

managersfromstaffingfirms

aroundtheworldparticipated

in

GMAC’s

2026

Corporate

RecruitersSurvey.

Respondents

camefrom39

countries,

providing

adequatesamplesizesto

report

detailsforCanada,

Central

and

SouthAsia,

EastandSoutheastAsia,

LatinAmerica,the

Middle

East,

UnitedStates,

andWestern

Europe.

Global

results

areweighted

bythe

percentagegross

domestic

product

(GDP)

ofeachworld

regiontoadjustforthe

regionalemploymentopportunity

potential.Additionalinformationonthe

report’s

methods

is

available

inthe

methodologysection.Thefirstsectionofthis

report

identifiestheskillsthat

employersvalue

in

business

schoolgraduatestodayand

inthe

comingyears.

Itthen

examineswhyemployers

remain

confident

ingraduate

management

education

(GME)

before

evaluating

howtheirconfidencetranslatesto

real

and

projected

hiring

and

compensationtrends.1.

To

determine

region-leveltarget

sample

sizes,we

calculated

power

analyses

based

on

observed

effectsfrom

lastyear’s

CorporateRecruiters

Survey.

Ofthe

key

effectsthatwere

chosen,the

lowest

effect

size

had

a

Cohen’s

d

of0.46.

Using

G*Power,we

simulated

required

sample

sizes

given

d

=

0.46

usingt-tests

and

80%

powerwiththetarget

of

having

unequalsample

sizes

at

ratio

of2.5.

For

atarget

effect

size

of0.46,

asample

size

of53

is

requiredfor

the

smaller

group

and

131

for

the

larger

group

to

achieve

80%

power

to

observe

effects.

For

our

regionaltargets,we

increasedthe

largergroupto150

to

increase

power.Introduction621surveyrespondents139countriesrepresented53%from

GlobalFortune

500GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2026

Report

42026sample

statsThe

2026

Corporate

RecruiterSurvey

results

suggest

thatthe

integration

ofartificialintelligence

(AI)

into

theworkforce

has

reshaped

employerexpectations

and

behaviors.

Unsurprisingly,the

demandforAI-relatedskillsgrewfasterthan

any

other

capability

surveyedthisyear.When

askedwhich

skills

willbe

most

importanttotheir

hiring

decisions

infive

years,skills

usingAItools

topped

the

list

forthesecondyear

in

row.

Butwhen

asked

how

capable

today’sgraduates

areto

leverageAI

tools

in

their

organizations,

mostglobalemployersthought

they

werejust

somewhat

prepared,

notvery

prepared,

or

unprepared—a

new

but

criticalgap

in

employer

expectations

ofAI

integration

intothe

classroom.However,AI’s

impact

is

not

necessarily

mostrecognizable

in

how

employers

expect

GMEgraduatesto

use

specifictools

andtechnologies.Instead,

its

impact

is

perhaps

most

profound

inthe

growth

ofemployerexpectationsfor

complementary

skills

like

data

analysis

and

adaptability.AI

hasbecomeso

ubiquitousthat

it

has

boostedtheneedforemployeeswho

can

analyze

its

output,change

direction

based

onthe

new

information,

and

effectivelycommunicate

a

pathforward.Atthe

sametime,

one

inthree

employers

reportedalready

replacing

at

least

some

entry-level

roleswith

AI—asignalthatthetechnology

is

reshaping

notjust

whatskills

arevalued,

butwhich

opportunities

areavailableto

newgraduates.Thischallengetoentry-level

rolescomesasemployers

also

express

less

confidence

intoday’s

GME

graduates’

“professionalism,”

suchastheir

reliability,

respectfulness,

accountability,

or

professionalappearance.Thoughthe

impact

ofAI

is

undeniable,

it

is

nottheonlyfactor

reshaping

employerexpectations

ofGME.

Attitudestoward

how

andwhere

adegree

is

earned

continueto

evolve,with

61

percent

ofemployersnowvaluing

online

and

in-person

programs

equally—

upfrom

55

percenttwoyears

ago.The

picture

onmicro-credentials

(such

as

professionalcertificates)

is

more

nuanced.Whileglobal

employers

stillbroadlyfavor

GME

degree

holders

overthosewithmicro-credentials

alone,

U.S.

employers

have

grown

incrementally

more

opento

alternative

credentials,

a

trendworth

monitoringforschools

considering

how

to

diversifytheir

program

offerings.As

internationalstudentsflockto

programs

inWestern

Europe

andAsia,

it

appears

employers

inthose

regions

are

morethanwillingto

hirethe

influx

oftalentfrom

abroad.

U.S.

employers,

bycontrast,havegrown

less

opento

sponsoring

internationalhires

inthe

pastfiveyears,with

some

companiesredirecting

international

hiringtotheiroffices

abroad

in

responseto

changes

in

U.S.

government

policyThrough

allofthese

shifts,the

fundamentalvalueof

agraduate

business

degree

remains

intact.

MBA

graduates

are

stillexpectedto

out-earn

directindustry

hires,

and

business

master's

graduatescontinueto

command

a

premium

over

bachelor'sdegree

holders.

Employer

confidence

in

GME

isuniversal,

and

hiring

intentions

are

up

acrossdegreetypes.

For

business

schools,the

challenge—

andthe

opportunity—isto

build

onthat

strongfoundationwhile

adapting

quicklyto

suitthe

needs

oforganizations

undergoingfundamentalshifts

inhowthey

work.ExecutivesummaryGMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2026

Report

5Key

findingsSkilldemand

in

the

AIera⚫

Technology,AI,

and

data

analysisskillsgrewthe

most

in

importance

compared

to

lastyear

as

communicationskills

and

adaptabilitysurgedtotop

spots.⚫Morethan

half

of

employerssaid

candidates

arevery

well

or

adequately

prepared

todemonstrate

most

ofthesurveyedskills

intheir

organizations—exceptfor

AI

skills,

grit,

managing

human

capital,

and

emotional

intelligence.⚫

Two-thirds

ofAI-concerned

employerswant

GMEgraduatesto

useAI

tools

to

automatetasks,

and

half

of

communications-concerned

employers

prioritizedgraduates’

presentation

andverbalcommunication

skills.EmployerconfidenceinGME⚫One

hundred

percent

of

employers

express

confidence

in

GME;

however,therewas

a

meaningful

decline

inthe

share

of

employerswhothinktoday’s

GME

graduates

are

as

professional

astheywere

in

previous

years.⚫

Across

most

industries,

more

employersviewed

online

and

in-person

programs

equallyin

2026

comparedto

2024.

Consulting

employers

are

stillthe

least

likelytovalue

themodalities

equally

comparedto

recruiters

in

other

sectors,thoughthey

demonstratedthe

mostgrowth

over

the

past

twoyears.⚫

As

in

pastyears,

employersfromAsiawere

especially

likely

to

agree

that

employees

with

GME

degreestendto

be

more

successful

intheir

organizationsthan

those

with

micro-credentials

alone,while

U.S.

employerswerethe

least

likely

to

agree.Hiringandcompensation

trends⚫One-third

of

global

employers

reported

replacing

at

least

some

entry-leveljobswith

artificial

intelligence.⚫Comparedtofiveyearsago,employers

in

Western

Europe

and

East

and

Southeast

Asia

are

more

likelyto

hiretalentwho

requireadditional

legaldocumentation.

U.S.

employers

have

grown

less

likelytosponsor

international

hires

in

recentyears,thoughone-thirdof

U.S.employers

plannedto

hire

internationaltalenttotheirofficesabroad

in

2026.⚫U.S.

MBAgraduatesarestill

expectedto

out-earn

direct-from-industry

hires,

and

business

master’sgraduatesstillgetastartingsalary

premium

compared

to

bachelor’s

applicants.GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey2026

Report

6⚫Adaptability

and

data

analysis

are

the

meta-skillsoftheAIera:

Employers

are

placing

growingvalue

on

adaptability

and

data

interpretation

as

AI

disruptsworkflows,so

careerservices

teams

should

helpstudents

articulatespecific

examples

of

navigating

change

and

interpreting

outputfrom

different

sources.⚫

Demand

for

AI

proficiency

is

rising

fast,

butsomeemployersareworriedGMEgraduatesareunprepared:

Skills

usingAItools

sawthe

largestyear-over-yeargrowth

in

employer

demand,yetit

remains

one

ofthe

skills

graduates

are

seen

asleast

preparedto

demonstrate—making

it

an

urgent

curriculargapfor

programsto

continue

to

address.⚫Communication

skills

remain

the

foundation:

EvenasAItransformstheworkplace,

employers

still

rank

communication

atthetop

oftheir

hiring

criteria.Program

and

careerservicesteams

should

continue

to

prioritize

presentation,verbalcommunication,and

active

listening

coachingwithout

letting

newer

priorities

crowdthem

out.AsAIandothertechnologies

reshape

howorganizationsoperate,

understandingpreciselywhatemployersvaluein

newhires

has

neverbeen

morecritical.

This

sectionexplores

the

skills

employers

prioritize

today,

how

they

assess

current

graduatereadiness,and

which

capabilities

they

expect

to

matter

most

in

five

years.The

resultsoffer

a

practical

benchmark

for

schools

looking

to

keep

their

programs

and

careerpreparation

strategies

ahead

of

employer

expectations.Skilldemand

in

the

AIeraProgramandcareerservicestakeawaysGMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey2026

Report

7Technology,

AI,

anddata

analysis

skills

grew

the

most

in

importance

compared

to

last

year

as

communication

skills

and

adaptability

surged

to

top

spots.Lastyear,

employers

considered

problem-solving,

communication

skills,

and

strategicthinking

most

often

intheir

hiring

process

(Figure1).

In

2026,

communication

skills

and

problem-solving

stilltopthe

list

ofmost-valuedskills,with

adaptability

jumpingtothethird

spot.

Altogether,the

evolvingvaluation

ofskillsthat

employers

use

intheir

hiring

processes

signalworkplaces

profoundlydisrupted

byAI.Acrossthe

board,

employers

inthe

2026

surveysamplevalued

each

skill

morethan

lastyear.Even

in

ayearwhen

employers

placed

morevalue

in

skills

generally,therewas

especially

large

growth

inthe

share

ofemployerswhovalued

dataanalysis

and

interpretation.

Data

analysisskills

surgedthe

most

in

employervalue

overthe

pastyear,

movingfromthe10th

positionto

employers’fourth-mostvaluedskillandsurpassing

even

strategic

thinking.

With

the

rise

ofgenerativeAI

usage

acrossworkplaces,

organizations

may

needtheir

employeesto

have

even

sharpercapabilitiesto

reviewthe

output

and

understandtechnology-enhanced

dataanalysis.Despitethe

surging

popularityofAI

skills,whichgrewthe

most

ofallthe

skills

surveyedyear-

over-year,

it

still

ranked

lowerthan

one

might

expect.

In

2025,

skills

usingAItoolswasthe16th

mostvalued

skillamong

employers.

In

2026,

itwas

stillonlythe14th

mostvalued

capability.The

more

generalcategoryoftechnology

and

ITskills

alsogained

popularity

among

employers,

movingfromthe11thtothe

ninth

position.These

rankings

suggest

that,

at

least

for

now,

AI

is

an

increasinglyvalued

butstillsupportive

capability

ratherthanthe

definingskillemployersseek.And

more

importantthan

skills

usingAItoolsthemselves

arethe

abilityto

analyzethe

output,

adapt

based

onthe

new

information,

and

effectivelycommunicate

a

newapproach.GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2025

Report

8Most

important

skills

for

current

GME

graduates,

2025

and

2026

2025

2026Communicationskills

Problem-solving

AdaptabilityData

analysis

and

interpretation

Strategicthinking

Interpersonal/teamworkskills

Decision-makingTime/project

management

Technology/IT

skills

InitiativeLeadership

skills

InnovationEmotional

intelligence

Skills

in

usingAI

tools

CoachabilityNetworking/relationship

building

Lifelong

learning

GritGlobal

business

skills

Managing

human

capital

Cross-cultural

competence

Entrepreneurship0%

25%

50%

75%100%Share

of

employers 51%

64% 54%

62%46%

60%%

59% 51%

58%4%

58%4%

57%4%

55%

55%4%

54%4%

53%

52%

52%

50%

49%

48%42%1%42

4

4 4 40%

4

4

39%

40%

31%

38%

34%29%30%429%36%25%34%26%34%

25%

28%In

additionto

better

understandingwhich

businessschoolskills

employersvalue

most,thesurvey

also

asked

employers

how

preparedthey

believe

current

graduates

areto

leveragethese

capabilities

intheirorganizations.

Halfor

more

of

responding

employersviewed

candidatesasverywelloradequately

prepared

across

nearlythefull

list

ofskills,

with

the

exceptions

ofFigure1:

Data

analysis

and

interpretation,skills

using

AI

tools,and

othertechnology/ITskillsgrewthemostinvalueinthelastyear.Adaptability

isnowthethirdmostimportantskillemployersvalueintheirhiringdecisions.GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2026

Report

9Note:Skills

are

definedin

the

appendix.Preparednessofcurrent

GMEgraduates

by

skill,

2026nVerywellpreparednAdequatelypreparedSomewhatprepared

Notveryprepared

Notatall

preparedTechnology/IT

skills

Communicationskills

Global

business

skills

CoachabilityInterpersonal/teamworkskills

Data

analysis

and

interpretation

Cross-cultural

competenceNetworking/relationship

building

Strategicthinking

Lifelong

learning

Problem-solvingTime/project

managementLeadership

skills

Entrepreneurship

Decision-making

Innovation

Adaptability

InitiativeSkills

in

usingAI

tools

GritManaging

human

capital

Emotional

intelligence0%

25%

50%

75%

100%Share

of

employers22%46%26%

5%22%45%24%6%23%39%31%4%18%44%31%6%19%42%31%6%22%39%24%13%23%37%34%6%21%39%31%7%20%39%34%5%19%40%32%8%19%39%36%6%17%41%38%4%17%38%35%10%22%32%7%17%36%39%8%18%34%42%6%16%36%40%7%13%37%39%10%16%33%42%8%13%34%28%22%15%30%32%22%16%26%38%19%emotionalintelligence,

human

capital

management,grit,

and

skills

usingAItools

(Figure

2).Infact,

roughlyone-in-five

employersviewed

current

GMEgraduates

as

notvery

or

not

at

all

preparedto

manage

human

capital,

demonstrategrit,

orexercise

emotionalintelligence—indicative

ofthegrowing

relevance

of

human

skills

in

anAI-affectedworld.Figure2:

Mostemployerssaidcandidatesareverywelloradequatelyprepared

todemonstratemostskillsintheirorganizationsexcludingAIskills,grit,managinghumancapital,andemotionalintelligence.Employersweremostconfidentincandidates’

preparednessrelatedto

technologyand

communicationskills.GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2026

Report

1039%Emotionalintelligence,

defined

asthe

abilityto

recognize,

understand,

manage,

and

effectively

use

one’s

own

emotions

andthe

emotions

ofothers

invarioussocialand

interpersonalsituations,was

acommon

concern

regardless

ofan

employers’

region

or

industry.

Fewerthanhalfofemployers

in

Canada,

East

and

SoutheastAsia,the

United

States,

andWestern

Europereportedthat

current

GMEgraduates

areverywelloradequately

prepared

to

leverage

emotional

intelligence

intheworkplace.

Likewise,fewerthan

halfofemployers

hiringfor

positions

inconsulting,finance/accounting,

manufacturing,

and

products/servicesthought

current

GMEgraduates

can

operatewith

an

appropriate

levelofemotionalintelligence.Yetforthe

skills

that

employersvalue

most—communication

skills

and

problem-solving—most

employersviewedgraduatesto

beverywelloradequately

prepared

regardless

oftheir

region

or

industry.With

an

understanding

ofwhich

skills

employersvalue

most—and

how

preparedtheybelieve

current

GME

graduates

areto

leveragethose

capabilities

intheir

organizations—weasked

employerswhich

skillstheythinkwill

be

most

influentialtotheir

hiring

decisionsfiveyearsfrom

now.

Like

lastyear,

skills

using

artificial

intelligencetoppedthe

list

offutureskills,followed

bystrategicthinking

and

othertechnology/ITskills

(Figure

3).

Also

like

lastyear,

problem-solvingwas

stillatopfuture

skill,though

communication

skills

dropped

sixpositions.While

it

is

strikingthat

a

portion

of

respondents

said

communication

skills

areimportanttoday

but

nottomorrow,the

share

ofemployers

reportingthe

future

importance

of

communication

skills

is

onlyeight

points

shyofthetop

spot—a

differencethat

is

within

the

margin

oferror,

meaning

it

could

be

a

reflection

ofthe

sample

ratherthan

atrue

reflection

of

the

employer

population.GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2025

Report

111Communication

skills(64%)1Skillsin

usingAltools

(53%)2Problem-solving(62%)2Strategic

thinking(50%)3Adaptability(60%)3Technology/IT

skills(49%)4Data

analysis/interpretation(59%)4Decision-making(47%)5Interpersonal/teamwork

skills(58%)5Problem-solving(47%)6Strategic

thinking(58%)6Adaptability(46%)7Decision-making(57%)7Communication

skills(45%)8Technology/IT

skills(55%)8Data

analysis/interpretation(42%)9Time/project

management(55%)9Innovation(42%)10Initiative(54%)10Leadership

skills

(42%)11Leadership

skills

(53%)11Emotional

intelligence

(39%)12Emotional

intelligence

(52%)12Networking/relationship

building(39%)13Innovation(52%)13Lifelong

learning(38%)14Skills

in

using

Al

tools

(50%)14Time/project

management(38%)15Coachability(49%)15Global

business

skills(36%)16Networking/relationship

building(48%)16Initiative(36%)17Lifelong

learning(42%)17Interpersonal/teamwork

skills(34%)18Grit

(41%)18Coachability(33%)19Global

business

skills(36%)19Grit

(33%)20Cross-cultural

competence(34%)20Cross-cultural

competence(31%)21Managing

human

capital(34%)21Managing

humancapital

(31%)22Entrepreneurship(28%)22Entrepreneurship(28%)Figure3:

Employers

anticipated

skills

using

AI

tools

will

grow

the

most

inimportanceinthenextfiveyears.Morethanhalf

of

employersthoughtstrategicthinkingisimportantnowandfive

years

fromnow.Most

important

current

skills

Most

important

future

skillsGMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2026

Report

12个

13个

5↓

6By

region,there

are

severalcommonalities

inwhichskillswere

mostvalued

by

employers—as

wellassome

exceptions.

Communicationwas

atoptwo

currentskill

among

employers

across

regions—withthe

exception

of

LatinAmerica,where

itwas

not

even

inthetopfive

(Figure

4).Like

lastyear,

U.S.

employerswere

especiallyconcerned

abouttoday’s

GMEgraduates’

socio-emotionalskills

comparedto

otheremployers,with

adaptability,

interpersonal/teamwork,

and

coachabilityskills

included

intheirtopfive.

Problem-solvingwas

atop

currentskillamongemployers

in

all

regions,

and

atopfutureskillamong

employers

intheAmericas

andWesternEurope.Strategicthinkingsimilarlyfeatured

in

most

regions’top

current

andfuture

skills.

Skills

usingAItoolswere

especially

importantto

at

least

halfofCanadian

andWestern

Europeanemployers’

hiring

oftoday’s

GMEgraduates,

and

atopfivefutureskill

among

employers

across

all

regions.GMAC

|

Corporate

Recruiters

Survey

2026

Report

13TopcurrentskillsTopfutureskillsCanada1.

Communication

skills

(56%)1.

Decision-making

(56%)1.

Interper