With Citigroup and Merrill Lynch reporting losses in billions of dollars in losses and Morgan Stanley reporting its first quarterly loss in the company's history, the sub-prime mortgage crisis has hit many of the largest firms on Wall Street.
At Dartmouth, however, students participating in corporate recruiting process seem largely unconcerned.
Monica Wilson, assistant director of employer relations at Career Services, said she thought that the level of competition for corporate recruiting intern positions was as high as it has been during her tenure at the College. She said companies view interns as potential long-term hires, while the current decline in the financial markets is temporary.
Students also said they did not believe the economic downturn would cause firms to hire fewer interns, even though these same firms may be firing permanent employees. They believed firms were more likely to cut management positions, rather than analyst or intern positions.
A current employee of Lehman Brothers, who wished to remain anonymous due to a company policy that prohibits talking to the media, confirmed that a company's financial troubles may affect hiring at the MBA-level, but would probably not have a substantial impact at the level of undergraduate interns.
"It's kind of like a cost-capital structure," the employee said. "When you're a summer intern, you cost a lot less than, say, an associate, so if any firm were to do some sort of cost- cutting, it probably would be in that area first."
Most students said they did not believe firms that had experienced large write-downs would have difficulty attracting applicants because of the highly competitive nature of the process. Several students said they applied to as many firms as possible, and would only consider a company's current financial difficulties if they were to receive multiple offers.
One student, though, mentioned that he knew a few people who were hesitant to apply to Citigroup or Merrill Lynch, which have received significant media attention regarding their recent large losses.
"I think there are some students who have taken a second look at firms that have been in the papers frequently lately," Wilson said. "Those firms still received a substantial number of resumes in our recent drop, so they still had tons of students to select from. More than they need. Far more than they need."
Companies have largely avoided mentioning any current financial troubles directly in pre-interview presentations, students said, but many firms have pointed out ways in which they have not been affected by the volatility in the markets as evidence of their stability.
Firms did ask about students' knowledge of and opinions about the current financial climate, particularly in reference to current market trends regarding credit, students reported.
One student said the sub-prime mortgage crash could actually prove beneficial to students by giving them an interesting topic to discuss during the interview process, but another said she would not mention it to companies who have had substantial public losses.
