Do employers take note of rankings among good schools to choose candidates?
ST
(Baboon, 173
Points)
on 5/24/12 at 7:02am
For example, I am sure Harvard is MBA is ranked higher than say an MBA at NYU, but both schools are no doubt good schools.
Would they really be so anal about such details?
Lets just assume we are referring to the list of top 20 MBAs only.





No. They recruit at schools
No. They recruit at schools they attended.
Well, a couple things. 1) In
Well, a couple things.
1) In any given year they will dedicate more spots to higher ranked schools. HBS will have more open spots than NYU at most firms
2) In your example, the HBS student will likely have a more impressive resume, previous work experience, and leadership activity; not because he went to HBS but because he was good enough to get in. This both increases his shot at getting an open spot and makes it more likely that recruiters use the school ranking/prestige as a proxy for these qualities.
So yeah, in short, the HBS dude has a better shot even though they are both good schools. The Stern guy will still get a job though.
In my experience - both when
In my experience - both when I am hiring and anecdotally among friends - once the candidates are interviewing, everything is even. If both the Stern and HBS guys are good enough to make the initial cut, the school on their resume isn't going to be the deciding factor in who gets the job.
InfraInvestor: In my
In my experience - both when I am hiring and anecdotally among friends - once the candidates are interviewing, everything is even. If both the Stern and HBS guys are good enough to make the initial cut, the school on their resume isn't going to be the deciding factor in who gets the job.
Waitaminute - you mean recruiters won't kiss my feet and fondle my ballsack on account of my Hahvahd-ness?
InfraInvestor: In my
In my experience - both when I am hiring and anecdotally among friends - once the candidates are interviewing, everything is even. If both the Stern and HBS guys are good enough to make the initial cut, the school on their resume isn't going to be the deciding factor in who gets the job.
what determines the initial cut?
At least at my law firm, a
At least at my law firm, a good school is a prerequisite, but once you have an interview no one cares...unless the partner interviewing you went to the same school as you, in which case there might be a slight advantage.
It depends on the starting
It depends on the starting block. If you are talking about straight out of MBA school, no industry experience, then the school with the more campus recruiting representation may get in front of more people in traditional open positions. However -- all things are never equal, and, if you have some experience and contacts, and are persistent in an un-obnoxious way, then, as @InfraInvestor says, once the candidate gets through the door, much, (not everything) is equal.
I don't have numbers on hand right now, and they may not exist, but not all Wall Street jobs are filled through traditional campus recruiting, and some cool firms don't even go through the formal career-management office process.
BTW -- I @nerdspeak, I owe you an answer on the other thread. Coming soon.
Betsy Massar
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Some of the larger firms have
Some of the larger firms have a political game among senior partners. Each school has a recruiting team, and at the end of the season they come into a meeting with a list and a stack of resumes. They then argue for spots for their folks and they are shifted accordingly.
Think of it along the lines of each top school gets 4-5 spots and then those might go up one or down one based on the quality of the candidates they have been able to identify.