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As technology continues to reshape industries, employers are rethinking what makes a great hire. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) 2025 Corporate Recruiters Survey, while technical fluency, especially in AI, is rising fast, human skills like adaptability, emotional intelligence, and communication remain at the top of the list for business school graduates. To unpack what this means for MBA candidates and the future of work, we spoke with Andrew Walker, Director of Industry Communications at GMAC—here’s what he had to say.
Vault: Your survey shows employers have an increased interest in human skills like adaptability, communication, and emotional intelligence. How did you measure that shift, and what stands out most in the data?
Walker: For GMAC’s 2025 Corporate Recruiters Survey (CRS), we asked employers around the world to rank the skills they value most when hiring business school graduates. This included both technical competencies, like data analysis and technology/IT skills, as well as human-centric skills like communication, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. Since the CRS is annual, we see there is a continued and growing emphasis on human skills like leadership and interpersonal domains, and it’s seen across the world. The fact that communication, emotional intelligence, and adaptability continue to be highly valued by employers underscores the need for complementary human-centric and technologically savvy business school graduates.
With AI tools becoming more common in business strategy and decision-making, why are skills like teamwork and adaptability still rising in importance alongside tech fluency?
In 2025, employers are slightly more interested in GME students learning how to use AI ethically compared to 2024. But we found that most AI-concerned recruiters want business school graduates to be able to leverage AI tools to develop business strategies and make decisions rather than generating content or conducting research. In other words, AI has the ability to support faster data analysis, but it cannot replace the need for judgment, collaboration and ethical reasoning, which are all strategic thinking skills employers look for. Employers are specifically looking for employees who offer a combination of tech fluency and human skills that allow them to turn technical knowledge into business impact.
What does the survey tell us about how employer expectations are evolving, and how closely those changes mirror the broader shifts happening in business and technology?
As the business landscape continues to evolve with new technologies, shifting global dynamics, and generational change in the workforce, employers remain deeply confident in the value of graduate management education. The evolution in employer expectations is in line with the business transformation we are seeing.
One notable shift that we observed from this year’s corporate recruiters survey is that when comparing which skills employers say are most important today compared to five years from now, AI and other technology skills are anticipated to become much more important. Like last year, problem-solving and strategic thinking remain top skills for current business grads and in the future. While AI skills and the broader category of technology and IT skills do not rank very high among the skills employers value today, they become the top and third-most selected skills, respectively, when employers consider how they will be hiring GME graduates in the next five years. This means that while core capabilities like problem-solving, strategic thinking, and communication skills are still top priorities for employers seeking new hires, the integration of AI and technology into how those skills are developed is becoming more urgent to employers.
Are there specific industries or sectors where soft skills like emotional intelligence and communication are more critical, or more overlooked, than others?
GMAC’s 2025 Corporate Recruiters Survey shows that the importance of human-centric skills like emotional intelligence and communication varies across industries. In jobs like consulting, client-facing work makes communication, teamwork, and adaptability especially important, alongside problem-solving as a top current and future skill. In healthcare and pharmaceuticals, the CRS finds that emotional intelligence is emphasized more than in most other industries, which reflects the sector’s need for people-centered leadership and cross-team collaboration. By contrast, in finance and accounting, employers prioritize technical and analytical skills such as data interpretation and problem-solving. This means human skills, while still valued, tend to be less emphasized. Similarly, in the technology sector, technical and AI-related capabilities are in high demand, and while communication and leadership are valued, they do not rank as high as in consulting or healthcare.
What’s the smartest way MBA candidates can use this data to position themselves in interviews and on their resumes right now?
MBA candidates should use the Corporate Recruiters Survey data as a strategic playbook to not only understand what employers want, but to learn how to frame their skills in a way that directly aligns with the values employers are seeking.
54% of employers rank problem-solving as the most important skill for GME graduates, with communication and strategic thinking just behind it. With the data showing that these core skills are top priorities for employers, candidates should be able to show how they have used these skills, giving examples and results. And of course, technical skills still matter. Candidates should highlight how their tech fluency has complemented their ability to solve problems and make decisions. As the data shows, the business world is shaped by constant change, so employers will be looking for candidates who thrive in this change. Show your ability to navigate change and lead in a fast-paced environment.
It’s also incredibly important to know the audience of the role you are applying for. If you are targeting a consulting or finance role, hone in on teamwork and communication as those are among the top current skills they are looking for. If you are going for a more technical role, weave in how your human skills enhance team outcomes or project efficiency. All in all, top MBA candidates don’t just list the right skills, they show how the skills meet the evolving needs of the employer.
AI skills jumped from the bottom of the priority list to one of the most valued for the future. Do you see that as a trend that will keep accelerating, or are we nearing a plateau in its perceived value?
Last year, just 26% of global employers indicated that knowledge of AI tools was important to their hiring of business school graduates, ranking second-to-last in a list of 22 skills respondents could choose from. This year, 31% of employers indicated these skills are important. While AI skills were once ranked near the bottom of employers’ priorities, they now range among the top future-facing skills that recruiters say they are looking for in years ahead. The demand for those who cannot only understand but also manage and apply AI is increasing. Employers are looking for candidates who know how to use it responsibly, strategically and ethically. In my opinion, organizations are still in the early or experimental stages of integrating AI, so they are eager for talent that can help them build this part of their organization.
Your data shows that U.S. employers still prefer in-person degrees over online ones, which is in contrast to their global peers. What’s behind this difference in opinion?
GMAC’s 2025 Corporate Recruiters Survey shows that most employers across regions value in-person and online degrees equally—with the exception of the United States, where nearly half (45%) of surveyed employers indicate that their companies do not find degrees earned through these different modalities comparable. However, as in years past, U.S. employers tend to have more favorable views than employers in other regions with regards to how online programs can develop their students’ tangible skills. For example, 49% of U.S. employers agree in-person degrees develop stronger technical skills than online programs—but that compares to a much higher 73% in Central and South Asia. It is possible that outside the U.S., especially in parts of Europe and Asia, remote and hybrid work cultures that were well established pre-pandemic helped translate a greater acceptance of online education. Remote education also aligns more naturally with the evolving workplace norms in these places. In fact, more than half (56%) of global employers agree or strongly agree that the skills gained through a business degree are more important than before for businesses that are using remote or hybrid working arrangements, with Central and South Asian employers responding agreeably as high as 84% and East and Southeast Asian ones 67%. In summary, the preference gap reflects cultural and structural differences in how education is perceived, how work is done, and how talent is developed.
Gen Z gets a lot of flak for being “unprofessional,” but your findings suggest otherwise. Are employers actually warming up to Gen Z, or is there still a credibility gap to close?
Employers’ views on Gen Z graduates suggest progress but also a lingering credibility gap. According to our survey, a majority of employers (61%) believe that recent GME graduates show the same level of professionalism—defined as reliability, respectfulness, accountability, and professional appearance—as previous cohorts. Encouragingly, industries like energy/utilities and technology, which are not always seen as strict about workplace formality, are especially positive about the professionalism of new graduates. On the other hand, more client-facing sectors such as consulting and health care/pharmaceuticals remain cautious, with about a quarter of recruiters in those fields disagreeing that professionalism is holding steady.
The picture also varies by region and employer type. Fewer than half (46%) of U.S. employers express the same confidence in graduates’ professionalism as they did in earlier years, whereas employers in Asia and the Middle East—where workplace hierarchies are often more formal—are less likely to perceive a decline. At the upper end of the job market, more than one-quarter of employers at Fortune 100 companies strongly agree that Gen Z graduates meet the professionalism standards of prior generations, indicating positively that elite recruiters may see less of a gap.
Given how quickly tech evolves, are micro-credentials catching up to full degrees in employer perception, or is that still more of a “future of work” talking point than an actual hiring reality?
Micro-credentials are gaining traction, notably in the US as well, but they are not yet on par with full degrees in the eyes of most employers: 62% agree that employees with graduate business degrees are more likely to be successful in their organizations than those with only micro-credentials. Employers see these as complementary to a degree or showing evidence of upskilling, but do not value them as standalone indicators of leadership or readiness for high-level roles. Products and services sector employers have the most favorable views of micro-credentials, while employers in the technology and finance/accounting industries are among the least likely to value micro-credentials similarly to full degree programs. This may be related to the more specific technical capabilities required for roles like software engineers, accountants, or investment bankers—skills that cannot be properly taught through a bootcamp or short video courses. For many recruiters, graduate business degrees are still seen as the gold standard for holistic skill development, critical thinking, and leadership preparation.
You note that communication skills, especially verbal and presentation skills, still outrank things like video conferencing. Does that suggest we’re seeing a swing back toward in-person leadership?
Among the 51% of total respondents who indicated communication skills are important for current GME graduates, more than half value prospective employees’ verbal communication skills specifically, which may suggest we are seeing a swing back toward in-person expectations. These types of communication skills are especially important for roles in leadership, consulting, client engagement, and cross-functional collaboration. As the growing “return to office” mandates may require more interpersonal capabilities and less video communication, employers are rebalancing expectations and placing more value on the ability to command a room, read nonverbal cues, and lead with presence. The CRS also suggests it’s not how you communicate (Zoom vs. in-person), it’s how effectively you do so. That’s why traditional verbal and presentation skills are holding their value, regardless of format.
Andrew Walker is the Director of Industry Communications at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Andrew supports GMAC’s commitment to presenting and disseminating actionable and relevant information about graduate management education through authoring reports, white papers, and briefs available on gmac.com and leading presentations, workshops, and panel discussions at industry conferences. Andrew earned a Master of Public Policy and BSFS in International Politics from Georgetown University.
Rob Porter is an editor at Vault.
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