Summary
SG Cowen company endeavors to select the best candidate from a pull of all potential applicants both internally and externally. Remarkably, the firm has differentiated itself by establishing a strong brand which makes it attract great talents (Pirić, et al., 2018). The company has a lengthy hiring procedure in which the director and a team select the best-suited applicants. The candidates are fetched from core business colleges with consideration to those who send their resumes from non-core schools (Vijayaraghavan & DeLong, 2006). To support their decision the SG Cowen conducts informational interviews followed by an on-campus round, and finally, the Super Saturday.
Effectiveness of the Informational Interviews
At this stage of the recruitment process, the attitude and the level of interest depicted by a candidate is assessed. Research suggests that candidates who are intrinsically motivated to do a job have higher levels of performance (Paredes et al., 2019). The effectiveness of this stage in the recruitment process is that it allows the recruitment team to get the first impression of the candidates. Noteworthy, the candidates may pretend to know that they are being observed but the director can still tell the difference between the candidate that is serious about the work and those who are not.
On-campus Round
The effectiveness of this stage is that it enables the identification of qualified candidates. When selecting potential candidates for a company, it is essential to know whether they have the key competencies in terms of skills and knowledge which will be of benefit to the company. During this stage, the director of the recruitment, Rae allows experienced senior associates with profound knowledge of job specifications to help identify candidates that demonstrate some high level of suitability for the vacancy (Vijayaraghavan & DeLong, 2006). Therefore, the effectiveness of this stage is that it allows the recruitment team to find the best-fit person with the ideal expertise to function as per the SG Cowen demands.
Super Saturday
The focus of this stage is characterized by candidates receiving five interviews each lasting for about thirty minutes. This stage is mainly effective because it assesses the personality of the candidates which is relevant in determining if they are stable and will work for a long time so as to avoid the extra cost of doing constant recruitments (Paredes et al., 2019). Remarkably, people with different personalities are often suited for different types of jobs. For SG Cowen, being in the banking sector it is important to take a considerable amount of time in deciding the best personality given the fact that the industry is among those with a high rate of turnover.
Selection criteria used by the firm in making hiring decisions
Through the leadership of the hiring director, there are different strategies used by SG Cohen to select the most suitable position for associates. Particularly, they use the talent pool to get the best set of candidates. There are three practical criteria used by the company to get in contact with potential candidates. First, the recruits may come from analysts, defined as people who have worked in the company for at least three years such that despite having not attended any business school, they have garnered some expertise (Vijayaraghavan & DeLong, 2006). Second, the firm also identifies potential candidates from the Summer interns whom they have trained. Third, is the novel external candidates identified from the core business schools but with consideration to other students who send in their resumes.
It is vital for the company to select candidates with the necessary technical skills. People should know how to develop different kinds of financial models including debt valuation, and capital raising transactions to develop proper recommendations to the companies. It is commendable that the company went to core business schools for recruitment because the students are likely to have gained insights into the technical skills relevant for operations in the banking sector.
Additionally, the strategy of the company to both internally and externally recruit candidates is desirable. Reliability comes from the fact that the analysts understand the company and its processes due to working for more than three years while those candidates from the business schools have fresh minds. Loyalty is one of the most important qualities when it comes to banking. Thus, the numerous steps that the company takes before hiring employees make it valid because it allows recruiters to make many contacts with candidates at different times before they are absorbed.
However, the company does not have a specific evaluation form to assess the level of candidates. Using aptitude and personality tests is also recommended when selecting the right candidate (Balcerak & WoĹşniak, 2021). Moreover, interviews would have been done where candidates are allowed to mingle with others to assess their social skills. Besides, seeking recommendation letters from people who have closely interacted with the candidates such as the lecturers enables the company to know more about who they are hiring. Moreover, information can be collected by recruiting candidates as interns for a specific time span of up to three months before deciding whether they are suited for permanent employment.
References
Balcerak, A., & WoĹşniak, J. (2021). Reactions to some ICT-based personnel selection tools. Economics & Sociology, 14(1), 214-231. Web.
Paredes, B., Samuel, D. O., Santos, D., Gandarillas, B., & Briñol, P. (2019). The evaluation of candidates in a personnel selection: Preference for experience over potential in unfavorable contexts. Anales De PsicologĂa, 35(3), 514-520. Web.
Pirić, V., Masmontet, P., & Martinović, M. (2018). The relationship between employer branding and social networks: Analysis from the perspective of young graduates. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 12(2), 30-48. Web.
Vijayaraghavan, T., & DeLong, V. (2006). SG Cowen: New Recruits. Harvard Business Review.