tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640294796027447349.post7730574442602065637..comments2011-11-16T09:55:14.188-08:00Comments on No Debt MBA: Recruiting seasonNo Debt MBAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00652771193703317326[email protected]Blogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640294796027447349.post-11658867445301071192011-11-14T17:57:57.315-08:002011-11-14T17:57:57.315-08:00I now work as a teacher. No recruiting! Internsh...I now work as a teacher. No recruiting! Internships are great to find out a lot about the
company without committing yourself in a full blown career. Ask a lot of questions, particularly scenarios
which will not receive a canned response. Work them harder than they work you.
krantcentshttp://www.krantcents.com[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640294796027447349.post-75347092893295089422011-11-14T13:14:07.540-08:002011-11-14T13:14:07.540-08:00I work at an agency that, among other things, help...I work at an agency that, among other things, helps out corporate professionals in
recruitment and talent management. I had written a very long reply but that kind of compromised my identity,
you see it's a ridiculously small world and I like to keep working in this industry. Instead of
writing a long and complete email, you're getting the abridged version. Sorry, but I like the job
security.<br /><br />You are correct about the inefficient nature of campus recruitment, but it
is effective as a means to get to know new talent. It is expensive, but more predictable than its
alternatives, and in many ways potentially cheaper than a botched advertising campaign to get CV's
sent in, or worse, a successfully one with all the ancillary costs of managing the onslaught of applications
either via a system or members of staff. Can you imagine the budget these people have to snatch away fresh
talent before the competition gets to them and indoctrinates them with an intense and rigorous
traineeship/induction programme? 200 bucks to meet a Harvard/Oxford/Cambridge grad and see whether they're
the right stuff is a steal. The salaries designed to keep a hold on the best performers are insane, don't
imagine the amounts of money spent to get them to be any less enticing.<br /><br />Yes, you are
correct about figuring that word of mouth, aka referral recruitment, is more efficient. But as you noticed
it is hard to scale that up to the gargantuan scale of an Exxon or a Microsoft. There are designs to make
this process work though such as developing a reward programme but still has its ups and downs. One massive
downside is that you can't controll what your "ambassador" is telling the
prospective employee. Then again, you can't forbid employees to tell other's it's
horrible to work for you anyway so the truth will come out anyway. I've heard it claimed that
referral worked wonders for some, but I think you can imagine that the thought of institutionalizing the
grapevine as a recruitment channel has left many corporate professionals unwilling to pitch this to his
boss. Especially if said superior is often not used to an era where he can no longer control what is being
said about him (online). Reputation-issues can scare off high level management pretty fast if you're
in the wrong kind of company for that kind of thing. <br /><br />This nicely moves us to your
other question: what's a decent way to figure out whether employer X is the right one for you. This
is essentially part of my business, but we're not (yet) in the States so the next best thing is a
combination of:<br />1: research (try glassdoor.com and be amazed at the amount of reviews from
employees)<br />2: knowing yourself (if you have some experience with office life this should give you
a sense of direction as you contrast descriptions on Glassdoor against your own experiences<br />3:
having a healthy amount of distrust for the source of the information. Aside from the random good samaritan
and the bored consultant writing blog comments, most have an agenda. Be it getting back at a previous
employer, trying to undermine the ratings of competitors or getting you to accept the job they're
offering you. Just for the heck of it, assume they're all lying pieces of, well... you know.<br /><br
/>Figuring out who to work for is what keeps many students up at night. It took me years to figure out
what to do and I still have changes of heart. Just make a shortlist and start your research. Or just try
something, it sounds like you're able to do a decent post-mortem on an internship and when it comes
down to it.... it's just an internship.<br /><br />(and yes, the email was longer than
this)<br />(and no, I'm not affiliated to Glassdoor, I just think their concept is good)
Anonymous[email protected]