I do not understand the value of being at a target
I'm a recent transfer into a target, and I swear I am trying so hard to literally find out where the value/advantage comes from exactly. (I'm not saying I don't value it, I'm just saying I'm a confused transfer who doesn't completely 'get' how it works).
I'm a sophomore approaching recruiting season. Everyone touts OCR at target schools. Can someone please explain specifically what the advantage is and if it's exaggerated?
I keep getting replies like "targets start ahead" which gives me no indication of how.
I've seen kids from my target with average grades and 1 mediocre internship get great BB internships/jobs. Why is this? Is it because of OCR? How much does OCR increase your chances?
Surely, targets must have more of an advantage than just hosting info sessions right?
Also, when is OCR for schools? My school - from what I've seen - has had a few info sessions. Will this pick up more towards the summer or what? I think this is why I'm confused because I go to a legit target and I don't really see much going on? Am I too early? Too late?
Go talk to your career center...?
OCR is not info sessions, it is “on campus recruiting”, as in; firms come to campus, pick X number of people to interview from your school, and interview them on campus. The use of “target” comes from that, as in these firms “target” your school specifically (so they must believe the ROI of going down there, etc is good, I.e. they believe the candidates are good). If you can’t see the advantage in that, then I’m not sure what to tell you.
As for timing, etc, please go talk to your career center, I wasn’t just trying to be an a** in my response, they will have all the info as to who recruits at your campus and at what time. But if you are looking for summer 2021, that ship is long gone, recruiting will generally start later this semester (that would be a bit early) or beginning of next year (early start of the school year) depending on the firm, etc.
Nono, not an ass at all - I appreciate the information, really. I talked to my career center and I got sort of an unclear and indirect answer. And to clarify, it's not that I don't value it - it's that I really just don't understand how it works considering I'm a recent transfer. I'm sorry that I gave the wrong impression
I think my issue is some people have told me being a target is having an info session on campus where you network with alumni. While others have told me that I am basically guaranteed a first round when I apply through handshake.
My school's OCR is run through handshake. So I understand I can apply through OCR to a firm. Then, I would then get selected for a first-round interview (?). This pool (or OCR) is with a smaller group of students from Cornell and they have select spots. So, really the bulk of the advantage is being able to apply through my school (?)
In your, or anyone's experience, is this a significant advantage? I have a 3.7+ gpa and one no-name IB internship (but I'm also a transfer and not sure how that looks). With that background combined with OCR, should I expect some first rounds? I'm also a sophomore, so thank you for clarifying that I'm not too late to reap the benefits of OCR.
I don’t know how it works at your school, but I’ll try to be helpful.
You are not guaranteed a first round interview. Just look around your school (and other “top” schools) and see how many people are interested in IB, that number is higher than the number of interviews available (and much higher than the number of offers). Then add in the fact that there are some people that get multiple offers so they take spots across all interviews.
That being said, the chance of being interviewed from a target is substantially higher than a non target. Applying through a firms website yields close to 0% chance of an interview, most people at non targets need to network, while there are a reasonable number of interviews at targets. It was so much easier for me to get interviews back when I was in school than even a couple years out of undergrad (trying to network with recruiters, applying on websites, etc)
As to your case, a 3.7 is solid, and you have experience so both in your favor. Unsure how the transfer will look, but I would expect that if you are at a target (hard to tell from your comments on the handshake agreements. EDIT: see what you mean by handshake, misread that, as you can see haven’t been in college for a bit) that you should be able to get first round interviews. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should assume it’s a done deal, and I would still be networking.
The one concern I have is your comments about how OCR at your school works, that doesn’t sound like a “definite target”, but I’ve been away from college for a while.
On Handshake under the Events tab there is another tab called On-Campus Interviews. Those are first round spots exclusively for your school, at my Ivy I've found that to be usually 16 per position. So say Citi IB, 16 slots. Citi Capital Markets, 16 slots, etc. This is the main benefit of a target, the extra networking opportunities/info sessions are another way to help get these limited OCR spots instead of going through the main resume drop.
I also transferred so I can understand how you feel, it's not as overt as people make it out to be, but these Handshake postings are a massive leg up. At my non-target, Handshake was a total joke. Completely worthless. At my target, it's a lifesaver. I can't speak for Cornell, but other Ivies can also have exclusive buy-side apps available also on their Handshake platforms. These resume drops simply don't exist publicly and give the motivated student even more opportunity to get ahead.
It’s simple, firms don’t recruit at all at non targets. You’re on your own. You have to network your way into an interview which is easier said than done when you have very few alumni on the street to go to bat for you.
Without networking, do target kids (with good backgrounds) have a solid chance of getting an interview through OCR? Is networking not really necessary (but ofc beneficial) for a target kid?
You still need to network. Because you are competing with your classmates for a limited amount of first round interviews.
You network, but theres typically plenty of alumni from your school and even a designated alumni that form the recruiting team. Networking is a lot easier you have alum that almost always respond to your emails vs a non-target struggling to find people with something in common to have a better chance at a response.
Just FYI, recruiting has already started. There are first rounds already out. Not sure if you're saying you're going to start recruiting soon, in which case you need to start now, or that recruiting season will start soon, in which case it already has.
I know recruiting has started and I’ve applied to some places (with no response yet).
I’ve seen most places with deadlines in early or mid April and I was waiting to apply later because I still have some things to add to my resume. That’s fine right? It’s not like all deadlines have really passed
Went to a non-target and the only handshake postings for finance included: Northwestern Mutual, Edward Jones, Prudential Financial Advisors, and Farmers Insurance.
Firms hosting info-sessions where you could connect with professionals wasn't even a thing. Having access to the banks directly is the difference between a target and a non-target.
Same bro - except ours was J-Crew, Primerica, and Farmer's Insurance.
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