IBM Careers: A Complete IBM Jobs & Internships Guide 2024

Have you ever thought of working for IBM or making IBM part of your career in any shape or form? You have come to the right place. This article is all about the careers at IBM – the choices, links to apply, and all other pertinent info in one place:

We will provide all the resources that you might need for your journey right here, so you have actionable inputs to follow through with your dream.

During the research process for this interview, I found some impressive and interesting bits of reading about the background and history of IBM as a company itself that was quite a revelation. If interested, I would highly recommend reading the Chronological History of IBM.

IBM Careers – A Complete Guide

IBM is one of the biggest tech giants of our era and it is completely understandable why it is considered by many as a significant milestone in their careers. The options are endless in terms of competencies and technologies. With a global reach, you can always find a role wherever you are in the world.

Therefore, irrespective of your level of experience, where you live, and what areas your expertise lies in, there is very likely a role that will fit your needs.

Let’s get started. The first stop on this journey is the IBM Careers site.

IBM Careers Site

As you might already know, the best place to start looking for jobs if you are set on a certain company is the careers site. Once you are here, you can search for the job of your choice and in the location you are interested in.

Please note that if you are applying for a role that is not in your country, you may need to qualify for additional visa/work authorization requirements in addition to the job qualifications.

Select the position you are interested in and view the job responsibilities, skills needed, preferred qualifications, etc.

While you are here, check out the IBM blog that gives you a glimpse of their work culture and how the life is like at IBM. Culture is just as important as technical areas when it comes to a successful career path and sustained long-term job satisfaction.

Therefore, when using the IBM careers site to find your dream job, take the time to understand the company policies in addition to the position requirements and responsibilities. When you do find an opening that is in line with your goals, the next step is to apply for the job.

On the next page, select a job from the list of open positions or search for the job by skills.

Example: Here is a list of Test Automation jobs

Check all job details on the next page and click on ‘Apply Now’ and provide all details including account creation.

Apply for a Job on the IBM Careers Site

Before beginning your job application process with IBM or any other company, make sure you have your resume ready to go. This means making sure that you write it in a way that is targeted to the job, has no spelling/grammar errors, has current contact info, etc.

For a quick refresher on how to create a good resume, read How to Write QA Software Tester Resume.

If you think you need further help with your resume, consider hiring a professional writing service.

You may need to register and create an account on the IBM career site to submit your resume for the role and track your application process. Alternatively, you can also log in with your LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter if you do not want to create an account on IBM Careers.

In the above image, enter all the information and click Join to register OR No thanks, continue to apply, if you want to apply without registering.

IBM Entry-Level Careers

It is usually the freshers who find it hardest to launch their careers and get their foot in the door with their tech jobs. IBM is a very beginner-friendly company and has several openings in the form of many different programs.

On the IBM career site, you can check the entry-level opportunities section to start your job exploration process. They also have an Apprenticeship program that lets aspiring candidates from non-traditional fields of education and no degrees have a successful introduction into IBM careers.

IBM also has a skill-building platform if you want to augment your core skills as a fresher.

There are so many areas such as cybersecurity, AI, IoT, computing, etc. that you can learn about from this portal. If you are a fresh graduate and looking for an internship opportunity for practical application avenues to your academic skills, check out the IBM careers site.

IBM Interview Process

As you can imagine, there might be 100s if not 1000s of applications for each job posting at IBM. Each team and each hiring manager might have a different interview process they may follow.

Not all roles are filled in the exact same manner. Therefore, if your resume gets shortlisted and when you work with IBM HR on the next hiring steps, ask them clearly what you can expect from the interview process.

For freshers, you can expect an HR screening, followed by a hiring manager phone/zoom screening, followed by a team/panel interview, and the final hiring round. If you are applying for a programming role, prepare to have an in-person or at-home coding/whiteboarding session.

Here are some interview tips that you might find useful:

• Common Interview Mistakes
• Best Questions Testers Should Ask An Interviewer

IBM Careers and Salary Ranges

Compensation is a critical element when it comes to choosing a job. Even if we work in our dream company and dream role, if an employee feels underpaid they are not going to continue working at the lower pay for long. They are almost always going to look for greener pastures.

To avoid this pitfall, do a competitive salary analysis before applying for a job at IBM.

Here are some tips for this process:

1. Be sure about your skills and experience level: Note that if you are a beginner you are not going to get the median salary. If you have 10 years of experience as a programmer but the job is for 15 to 18 years of experience, you will fall within the medium salary range. And so on. When asking for salary info, ask for a range of what the company has set aside for this role.
2. Research the market: Do a simple job search on any job portal to see what a similar job with similar skills and qualifications is listing their salary range as. This step can sometimes be difficult since the salary ranges are not always listed transparently. But keep at it. You will be sure to find a way.
3. Ask for other options in addition to base salary: Sometimes base salary is just a starting number. Ask about PTOs, Stock options, performance-based bonuses, retirement contributions, other benefits, etc. that might be a part of the total compensation.

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Finally, if you are wondering, ‘All that’s good but how much does IBM exactly pay?’ Well, it depends on your role, your location, your experience, etc.

For a quick look at some of the prominent roles, I checked Glassdoor & levels.fyi and here is what I found:

Other Helpful Tips

#1) Follow your dream company on LinkedIn/Twitter or other social media platforms.

#2) Connect with the alumni personally or virtually to learn more and create mentorship opportunities.

#3) Check job sites frequently for any openings. Even though IBM Careers is your main site, keep an eye one:

• LinkedIn Jobs: A lot of recruiters post jobs directly on LinkedIn jobs. Applying is super easy and oftentimes your LinkedIn profile is enough for an application.
• Indeed: Check out this job portal and enter your job search criteria to connect with the jobs of your preference. Other sites that are similar are Dice and Monster.
• Glassdoor: Glassdoor is not just a job search site but a community of working professionals and job seekers who post their reviews, salary info, etc. so that the information is useful to the community at large.
• Other job portals popular in your area

#4) Keep working on your skills. Job search and skill development are not mutually exclusive.

#5) Job openings, salary ranges, and links provided in this article are subject to change. Use this only as a reference to your pursuit.

#6) Keep your spirits high and believe in your talent.

Conclusion

To summarize:

1. Start with the IBM careers site to find a job in the area and location of your preference.
2. Build a resume.
3. If you need to gather additional skills, self-learn or learn on skill-building platforms. IBM skills or others such as Coursera.
4. Apply for the job.
5. Track your application.
6. Once in the interview process, be respectful and courteous, and don’t be shy to showcase your talent and make a winning case.
7. Keep an open mind and consider if the role would be culturally fit for you or not during your meetings with the hiring managers, team, and HR.
8. During the offer stage, negotiate the salary and start date.
9. Leave your current role respectfully without burning bridges.
10. Enjoy your new role and excel!

We hope this article will be helpful to all those IBM aspirants out there and also to other job seekers. Please let us know if we missed including any important information. If you are an IBM alumni, please share your journey and success story with us.