IBM Recruitment Process, Eligibility Criteria, Salary (Updated)

Know all about the IBM recruitment process, test pattern, syllabus, and salary figures in this detailed article. 

Nicknamed as Big Blue, International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational innovation giant headquartered in New York, United States. Since April 2020, Arvind Krishna, an Indian-American business executive has been the Chairman and CEO of IBM. With regard to IBM India, the company offers solutions to all major industry domains such as healthcare, financial services, automotive, telecommunication, and education amongst others. The company does not provide a country-specific headcount but the total number of employees in India is estimated to be over 100,000. 

Roles offered by IBM for freshers

How to apply at IBM? 

To be a part of the IBM recruitment process, candidates are required to apply for IBM jobs through any of the following ways. 

• Apply through the IBM website: Candidates can visit the IBM website and go to the IBM employment page to look for various career opportunities as per one's interests. The details of the application process are provided on the website. 
  
  
• Referrals: IBM has a referral program wherein employees of IBM can refer their friends or family members for a job opportunity at the company. IBM employees can refer their contacts through ibmreferrals.com
  
  
• On-campus drives: IBM conducts on-campus drives as part of its campus recruitment program wherein the company visits several colleges across the country. Hundreds of students are recruited through IBM campus drive every year. 
  
  
• Connect to IBM Talent Network: In case you can't find opportunities that you are interested in, you can stay connected by joining their talent network and keep yourself updated regarding IBM's upcoming events and career opportunities. 

One must also keep a track of the IBM off-campus drive that may happen from time to time. The information may be available on the IBM website, various job portals, LinkedIn, etc. 

IBM recruitment process for freshers

The IBM recruitment process involves five steps namely:

• Applying to the role that interests you
• Screening
• Online assessment
• Final interview round 
• Decision/Offer

The total duration of the IBM recruitment process may vary from case to case as it depends on different factors such as the type of role applied, the number of applications received, etc. Generally, the process from start to end, or as IBM puts it, from the opportunity to offer, may take somewhere between 1 to 2 months. 

Step 1: Filling up the application form

IBM enlists many job opportunities for freshers from time to time on the employment page of their website. Once you find the role as per your interest, you need to complete and submit the online application form. It is a simple application form wherein IBM expects you to be honest and share whatever experience you have, your motivation, or anything else you find worth sharing. 

Step 2: Screening of the application form

Your application form is screened and analyzed by IBM's expert team. 

Step 3: Online assessments

If your IBM application form gets selected, you will have to complete some online assessments depending on the role you applied for. These assessments are designed to measure your technical skills and cognitive abilities that can't be ascertained from interviews. They also allow IBM to understand what value you can bring to the job role.

Test pattern for IBM recruitment

• Cognitive Ability Assessment: A series of interactive games with text, numbers, and shapes that you have to read and manipulate to solve problems. 
  
  
• Coding Assessment: MCQs or a coding interface to solve some coding challenges based on the position you applied for. 
  
  
• Video Assessment: Involves a series of interview questions whose responses are captured by webcam and microphone.
  
  
• English Language Assessment: MCQs to test your English proficiency. 

The following table will provide you with a rough idea of the marking scheme of the IBM assessment rounds:

NOTE: There is no negative marking in the above assessments. 

Step 4: Final Interview Round 

If you successfully pass through the above stages, you will be called for the next one i.e. the following two rounds of interview:

• Technical Interview
• HR Interview

For a good interview experience, apart from brushing up your technical skills and interpersonal skills, one needs to do some research about IBM and your area of interest. These interviews may be conducted in person, over the phone, or through video. The total time of the interview may vary from candidate to candidate. In case you are called in person at IBM's assessment center, you may have to participate in group exercises to get a good insight into your personality.

While the types of questions in the IBM technical interview will assess your subject knowledge, the HR rounds may involve behavioral interview questions. For the technical interview process, one must come prepared for facing technical questions from common computer science topics such as types of schedulers in the context of operating system, networking, data structures, arrays and their types such as 1D and 2D arrays, programming languages commonly used by a software engineer, dynamic programming, etc. 

Step 5: Decision/Offer

Based on the above assessments, the successful candidates are informed and IBM's onboarding process begins. 

Syllabus for IBM selection process

1. Cognitive Ability

• Assess Problem Solving
• Assess Numerical Reasoning
• Assess Verbal Knowledge

2. English Language

• Active/ Passive Voice
• Fill-ups
• Error spotting
• Antonyms
• Preposition and Conjunctions
• Tenses and Articles
• Spelling
• Synonyms

3. Coding

• C, C++, JAVA 
• DBMS, OS, OOPS, Programming, etc.

4. Interview

• No well-defined syllabus. It is a broad assessment of your personality, work ethic, ability to collaborate with people, etc. 

Eligibility criteria for IBM recruitment process

• The candidate must have any of the following degrees: BTech/MCA/MTech/MSc (Computer Science) 
• Candidate must have 60% and above in class 10th and 12th.
• Candidate must have 65% and above in graduation or BTech course.
• The maximum education gap allowed is 1 year. 
• No backlog is allowed at the time of the selection process.
• The candidate must have good coding skills and knowledge of at least one commonly used programming language. 
• Good communication skills and English language proficiency. 

The average salary of an entry-level SDE at IBM 

The average salary may vary depending on the skills of the candidates. 

Documents required to be uploaded by candidates

Candidates are required to upload these documents on IBM's portal before the final round of the IBM placement process:

• Resume
• Government ID proof
• 10th and 12th mark sheets
• UG and PG mark sheets
• Work experience certificates (if any)

FAQs regarding IBM recruitment process

1. How do I apply for any role at IBM?

You can apply for a job role or job opening at IBM by searching for the same on the IBM website. The website allows you to choose your country, skills or area of interest and once you find the job opening as per your requirement, all you have to do is fill up their application form. 

2. Do I need to know any specific programming language to be hired by IBM? 

A range of programming languages, operating systems, and frameworks are used in IBM depending on the tasks. These include C, C++, Java, Perl, Javascript, Bash, Python, Ruby, Go, Swift, PL/X, etc. So as you decide to apply at IBM, you must be thorough with at least one commonly used programming language. If hired, you might want to learn other new languages and frame words as well, as per the demand of your work. 

3. How long does the recruitment process at IBM take? 

It varies from case to case depending on different factors. 

4. Does IBM offer any internship opportunities?

IBM offers a variety of internship programs across disciplines ranging from Human Resources to Software Development. The details of these programs are made available on their website from time to time. 

5. What happens after you get hired at IBM?

When you accept the job offer at IBM, you are invited to a pre-start site where you will find everything you need to prepare for your onboarding. You will also get to connect with your soon-to-be colleagues. Further, you will be invited to a welcome session where you will be learning about the company, its values, and its core business. As you go ahead, you'll be guided by your manager and colleagues during the first weeks of your journey at IBM. 

About IBM

Founded way back in 1911 by Charles Ranlett Flint, IBM currently has activities in more than 170 nations with around 383,000 employees as of the year 2019, making it one of the largest employers in the world. Over the years, IBM has engaged with major research and development corporation and have come up with significant inventions like the floppy disk, the hard disk drive, and the UPC barcode. For their path-breaking research, researchers at IBM have been awarded Nobel Prizes and other honors for their work throughout its history. In 2021, IBM teamed with Microsoft and Google on a project designed to defend companies against cybersecurity issues. The company also unveiled the world’s smallest and most powerful microchip, which is touted to quadruple the battery life of cell phones. 

We hope you now have a clear understanding of the IBM recruitment process! Good luck!