Meeting with head of campus recruiting
Hello all,
Essentially I have been lucky enough to get an offer to meet with the head of my school's recruiting for a BB firm in NY this summer. I have no idea what this means/entails/how much I should know going into it. I have not formally started the interview process; this was from networking This is a good opportunity, but I'd love for someone with more experience to tell me how to not screw it up (passionate about IB but not as familiar with the whole process as some). Is this just coffee? Is it a in effect a preliminary interview?
That's an interview. The head of the school's recruiting team is responsible for a lot of the hiring decisions, and if it was expressed as an offer to meet with him as opposed to something you or your family networked, then it is an assessment. Ace it and he can help you slide through to the superday, fuck it up and you're done.
To add onto this by answering the question "how much should I know?"-- the answer is as much as possible. Like it was previously mentioned, this person has a lot of influence and you should treat it like an interview. You will lose nothing by coming across as polished, prepared and competent.
As stated, this will be some sort of assessment, the networking part is done and this will basically determine your next steps, if any. I would make sure you know and can speak to everything on your resume. Also, this is a given, wear a suit. I would read the WSO technical guide. since you are young I wouldn't read the entire thing, just take a look at the IB questions and make sure you know them, they arent that hard, you should know what an investment bank does and why its different from other parts of the bank. Know why you want to work there and have some questions for them that aren't dumb. A good question to ask them is to ask them is a version of a question they asked you, like why they chose the firm or what they like most. Also know if they are in the news and read the WSJ front page stories the day of. You should sound like you know what you want and where they fit into that.
People are taking it way too seriously saying it's an interview... it isn't. You're just meeting with them over coffee. It can influence you getting an interview, but it isn't the "end all be all" and superday or bust like trackback is saying. Don't stress. People here seem to be on edge and make a big thing of everything. Relax. The best you can do is be yourself.
That being said, treat it like a thoughtful discussion, come prepared with questions about the firm. Besides maybe gauging your interest, they aren't going to bombard you with technical questions. It's HR, not a banker! Affirm your interest, be thoughtful, but most important, be yourself and have a genuine conversation. Not everythingnyou talk about has to be about finance. Show them you are still a genuine person.
Dude you're pretty misguided in saying that he shouldn't be prepared. as TechBanking just said below, going in more prepared than necessary isn't a problem, but going in less than adequately prepared could be a serious problem.
Als you say "It's HR, not a banker!" - but he said it was an MD and the head of the school's recruiting team. That is a banker.......and he should be prepared for a banker
Did I say go in blind? No. I said you prep it with thoughtful questions and discussions. Yes, being over prepped is better than under any day of the week and don't argue that, but the guy isn't going to be asking him about lbo models and eurodollars over coffee. Scouring over technicals instead of getting thoughtful questions and making conversation is misguided in this situation. It's prepping the smart way. It's not a sit down formal interview. Showing genuine interest is most important here. If you can show knowledge via conversation and have it flow, that's WAY more valuable. That shows you aren't just memorizing facts, but actually follow and enjoy the markets. Those people will make a next round over a 4.0 gpa any day of the week.
Where does he say MD? I see it nowhere. Campus recruiting is HR. Sorry dude, I just think your assessment is wrong here and your entitled to your opinion like I am mine.
As a former head of campus recruiting for a BB, you are wrong. It will likely be a banker from your school, not hr. Recruiting is taken very seriously and hr makes no decisions on candidates' aptitude (unfortunately they can screw up the process though). I would always drop subtle technical questions into any meeting with a candidate. Why waste my time on them again if they can't live up to the standards required?
When I see head of campus recruiting via linkedin their job history is all recruiting and then of course regular interviews are bankers. They had never stated it up top, but if that's the case and was your personal job, so be it ill take your word for it...
If that was a prior position of yours, what's the rationale of meeting someone one on one vs. The regular info session or night event? What did you look for? Genuinely curious.
The head of campus recruiting in IB recruiting isn't a title that you'd put on Linkedin. It is just the role that one of the bankers on the campus recruiting team takes on. You work with HR to schedule on-campus recruiting, interviews, etc. HR typically plays no role in candidate selection. They just set everything up logistically with the school.
Someone who lists campus recruiting on their Linkedin is from HR, but they aren't really the "head" of campus recruiting who is managing the selection of candidates and the actual interviews.
I talked with kids one on one because I wanted to find the best candidates and prioritize those who were both interested (as demonstrated by their willingness to network) and qualified. You want the kids from your school who make super day to show well so you take some time to engage with them.
I wasn't suggesting that he study technicals and not prepare for behavioral questions. tbh the most important part of almost any interview is the behavioral part because plenty of applicants can memorize DCFs and accounting statement questions. I'm just saying, as TechBanking has been, that the guy he's meeting with is a banker. Having gone through the process recently and heard the lingo, the "head of the school's recruiting team" is a senior level usually alumni banker. HR and "recruiters" are another matter entirely but HR doesn't make any decisions. It's all bankers, and the guy leading the recruiting team has a lot more say than most in those decisions. Therefore, he should be prepared. Wasn't trying to suggest what type of preparation or anything else. You're probably right, unlikely to be hardcore technicals, but it would suck to have not spent the time prepping and get a casual technical tease or something that could lessen his chances of advancing.
Didn't want to get into a pissing match over this, you're being a little confrontational dude
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