I applied online one month before, and applied again when I rec'd an email from my business school newsletter saying they are recruiting business majors. Two weeks later, I received an email notifying me that I had a 1st (and final) round of interviews at their DC office. 1 case and 2 behavioral interviews. Over the course of the week, a recruiter called me to say that I got invited to an interview. From that call, I was able to switch from a different service line to another that matched my skills and career goals (so technically this could be considered an employee referral). Interviewers were very friendly and the Interview Day introduced you to what you would be exposed to if you were to work at IBM. We saw demos such as Watson, smart parking app after the interviews were over. The emails were confusing (HR side) it was not that greatly coordinated but eventually I worked around it and looked past that before accepting the offer. Depending on the service line you are applying for, you would have to take a skills/intelligence test. Prepare for the interviews ahead of time and know why you want to work for IBM specifically for the service line you signed up for. Do your research ahead of time and if you get an offer, try to talk to as many employees as possible to get an insider's perspective. They don't recruit at universities as often as other companies since they already have an established name recognition worldwide.