Graduates from 2018-2021
I asked some previous students for their recruiting advice. They all went through grueling recruiting rounds and superdays. After a few years of work experience and reflection, here is their advice.
You will see their responses in blue italics. Tons of great advice. Recruiting is work and it matters.
Expect to see a few more blog posts on their career advice. . . for now, let’s talk recruiting and job offers:
1) Get smart and Network
Network hard and prioritize mentorship vs. surface level connections
Reach out to as many people as you can! People are so willing to help share their knowledge or experience with you. Also don’t be afraid to ask questions that you’re most curious about that address some of your hesitations or things that make you nervous pre-application/interview/acceptance – everyone has been there!
Take it more seriously than anything else you do in your final years at school. The amount of time you spend at work and the people you work with is staggering, and hard to believe unless you’re there and doing it. It is crucial you like where you’re at and that when the process is over you have no regrets about the amount of effort you put in. (SK)
Don’t be afraid to reach out to alumni on LinkedIn who work in a company or industry you like. (MH)
Network network network. Alumni are incredibly helpful. Someone from my fraternity (who I had not met and had graduated before my time) helped me with case studies. (ZP)
I think students should definitely treat recruiting as a two way street! Just as companies and recruiters are trying to get to know you, you’re trying to get to know them so make sure you ask thoughtful, tailored questions that actually reflect what it is that you want to know and what matters to you (and definitely treat networking calls as more of a conversation – authenticity and enthusiasm are really valuable traits
2) Stay open-minded
Cast a wide net for recruiting.
Do not be overly picky when choosing which firms to apply for in an industry, cast a wide net in your industry. Get picky with the offers.
Make sure that you talk to as many people as possible in different industries to see what appeals to you the most. Know that the process is a two way street and that YOU have to want to work with the people that you are interviewing with as well. (JL)
It is important to keep an open mind – I realized there are so many jobs that I had never considered solely because I did not know they existed. Talk to as many people as you can. It’s fun to hear what people do and are passionate about.
Looking back, recruiting and job selection was the easiest part of my career. This is a weird tip but I treated every contact with the prospective company like a platonic first date. For those who are terrible daters: be polite, be prepared with questions to learn more, show high interest but let them know you have different options.
Be open to all sorts of opportunities. Your first job most likely won’t be your forever job, so it’s okay to not know or land your “dream job”. Also, please remember to be kind to yourself and celebrate the little wins. (CX)
3) Recruit smart
Prepare 5 scenarios that you can easily adapt to behavioral interview questions. (MH)
You know an interview went well if you barely talked about the job. The more time you spend just talking with the other person and getting them to talk about themselves and their friends and their life, the more they like you as a person and the less time you spend on cases and technicals.
Watch Victor Cheng YouTube videos to review frameworks and Case in Point to practice cases. (MH)
Recruiting- follow up with people! Most alumni want to help/ give back to undergrads. If you had a good conversation with someone, reach out to them again and keep up with them throughout the recruiting process. Having a few valuable connections and people who will vouch for you goes the farthest. Oh! And send thank you emails. Even if people don’t respond, they see them and appreciate them. (MC)
4) Be persistent (and Patient)
Don’t get discouraged if you get a lot of rejections. It only takes one yes. (MH)
Even if you do not receive an offer, it is good to keep in touch because you never know when or how situations can change.
It’s not all doom and gloom a first job is just a first job and recruiting cycles can be really tough on the psyche so it’s important not to be hard on yourself. (SK)
It’s like applying for colleges all over again. Apply to as many as possible. If you don’t immediately land the job you wanted, you will still be able to apply to new roles 1-2 years out. Where you start isn’t where you end up. (TW)
It’ll always seem like everyone around has their entire life together and you’re the only one struggling. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. You’re doing fine. Just trust the process and keep applying and workshopping your resume and skills. All you need is one yes, a million no’s mean nothing. (AP)
5) Know before you go
While companies are interviewing you, you are ALSO interviewing them. Be picky because you’re working 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s a lot of time.
You’ll do better if you like the people you work with. Do your due diligence and figure out if you’d actually like to work at the places you’re interviewing. Don’t take an offer just because it’s your first one. (AM)
In terms of offer selection, when I was a student I thought that the best offer meant the best brand name offer I could get, but I would make sure to look at everything holistically and identify a couple of items that you prioritize the most in your own work and life (compensation, exit opportunities, team culture, vacation, location, etc.) and find a company that you think will best match your own priorities.
On offer selection, talk to as many people as you can about the prospects of the job and exit opportunities but the luxury of choice is not afforded to many so count yourself lucky. Do a lot of soul-searching and lean on advisors in your life to make that decision. In my opinion choosing is easier if you apply for stuff you’re actually passionate about. Also, compensation should be a top factor in your decision making. (SK)
Make a ranking of your top three most important qualities from a job (i.e. WLB, learning, culture, etc.) and rank your offers based off of your criteria. However, don’t worry too much about your initial job as careers are long, and there are always lateral opportunities.
Ideally go for “name-band” companies in the beginning to build your credibility. Much easier to land a new job coming from Goldman Sachs vs. Atlanta Local Bank, LLC, even if the Goldman job isn’t your ideal career path.
6) Trust your gut
Pick the company whose values align to yours. Go with your gut. Most important is to like the people you work with and the type of work. (MH)
The business school culture naturally forces people to focus on job / company prestige. In reality, this pales in comparison with being happy and enjoying the work you do.
Most of the pay at these firms will be relatively similar. Go where you feel you will have a good support team around you, people you think you’ll enjoy spending time with, and where you think you’ll be able to do work that aligns with your interests. (SF)
7) Be human
Be kind to your classmates even if they are recruiting for the same job as you. You both can gain more from working together to case prep or revise resumes than you do by viewing them as your competition. (SE)
Have meaningful conversations when doing informational calls – you are more memorable to a practitioner or recruiter if you are able to talk about something you’re interested in and passionate about than if you just ask “what’s the culture like at your company” (SE)
Be confident but genuine. Pursue a job that will be meaningful for you, not just jobs everyone is applying to. (JPS)
8) Beware of FOMO
Don’t worry about what other people are doing and saying! Prioritize what’s important to you (e.g. work life balance, location, salary etc) and take it from there.
As tempting as it may be, don’t compare yourself to others – especially on LinkedIn. People tend to only post their highlights but not their struggles. Remember that everyone has a different timeline.
Don’t worry if it doesn’t work out for your internship or even your full-time offer. The world is not over, and an even better job is in your future. In other words, do your best, and don’t stress! (JK)
Don’t freak out if you see others getting offers right away and you don’t have anything yet. Something will come! Make sure to reach out to alumni as we have all been in your shoes and can give advice on A LOT.
If you don’t get that MBB/Big 3 offer you want, don’t sweat it too much! You would be surprised how much easier it is to lateral once you’re in the workforce than you think, especially in today’s market.