What Are the Key Decision Points/elements of the Recruitment Process at Sg Cowen?
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What are the key decision points/elements of the recruitment process at SG Cowen?
SG Cowens aim is to find loyal and committed candidates with a strong cultural fit. SG Cowen has 3 selection methods: Top candidates from Top 25 universities instead of limiting their research to the top 10 (students from less prestigious schools are equally trained meeting Cowens requirements), Noncore schools (students from noncore universities have a chance to be recruited) and finally, Former associates and interns (SG Cowen wants to recruit talented associates and interns who have previously gained work experience with them). The first selection round is the “On-campus round” where the team captains at core university conduct informal interviews and rough assessments to choose the candidates for the next round “Super Saturday” where the decision is carried out collectively by Cowens bankers. They have some specifications and preferences when selecting a candidate: “We get people to act and behave like a firm”, “We want to ferret people who love technology, who love emerging growth”, “We want self-starter” (person who doesnt want to be told what to do) and “Makes a big difference if they have been an entrepreneur”. Also they pay attention to the human element, especially the creativity and energy, which should be why the company chooses them in the first place.
What is your evaluation of the process used by the firm, what are strong points and what are weak points? State your argument.
On Campus Round, where they choose the candidates for Super Saturday, there is a potential bias in the selection process due to the personal preferences and due to the time constraints from the bankers side. Team captains get remunerated by year-end bonuses and are held liable for the quality of the candidates, but there is a high potential for the bias due to the different ways of pre-evaluation. Senior employees are less demanding concerning the candidates skills, junior associates are much stricter.
In the super Saturday, it is positive that candidates do not depend on one-vote decision and also that companys CEO is present to provide support to holding inspiring speeches to attract potential employees. One of the weak points in this phase selection is that the decision makers can lead to a wrong decision since they want to get the procedure over with as quick as possible as the event is organized in their free time. Furthermore, it is difficult for bankers to make a decision based on whether the candidates would be suitable only for working among their team or whether they would be suitable as co-managers. Achieving consensus is also a difficult step.
Which two candidates would you select if you were a member of the recruitment committee? Explain