Approximately 50 Dartmouth students all dressed in business attire and clutching their resumes sat riveted in their seats as they listened intently to the corporate recruiters visiting campus on the eve of the Jan. 11 resume drop deadline. Students did not make a sound throughout the presentations, save for the nervous laughter following the recruiters' pre-conceived one-liners.
Students who attended the information sessions received advice directly from recruiters, who regaled them with work stories and offered students a glimpse into the corporate world they hope to join. Students also had the opportunity to question recruiters and introduce themselves to representatives of their potential future employers.
"Dartmouth is our number one school," Mike Hommeyer '92, a representative from Morgan Stanley, said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "It makes up one-third of summer and full-time analyst hires."
Dartmouth possesses "bright, hard-working and driven" students who work extremely well with others, Hommeyer said.
Recruiters, like Kate Golden of Deutsche Bank, seek out these "highly qualified" students when making hiring decisions, Golden said. Deutsche Bank places no limit on the number of students it takes from Dartmouth, Golden said, adding that it will offer job placements to however many students exhibit the necessary qualifications.
Deutsche Bank uses information sessions to not only answer student questions, but to increase interest in the bank, she said.
"We do well here," Golden said. "We enjoy the students we get from Dartmouth."
Golden declined to comment on specific attributes she looks for in student recruits.
Several groups have visited the College in recent weeks to recruit potential interns. Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley held two of the information sessions for students this week, while other visiting organizations included the United States Marine Corps, the Peace Corps, Goldman Sachs and Bain and Company, according to a Career Services e-mail sent to students on Monday.
Sarah Cohan '12 said she went to Career Services for help with the recruitment process. Cohan also spoke with members of the Class of 2011 who have previous corporate recruiting experience for help preparing her resume and cover letters.
DartBoard, a Career Services resource that Cohan said was "very straightforward," provides students with a network with which they can contact potential employers, and is one of the resources offered by Career Services.
Navdeep Khera '12 said he sought out friends for advice during the process. Even with help, students generally agreed corporate recruiting is a stressful experience, according to Khera.
"Everyone becomes really tense around this time," Khera said.
Both Cohan and Alexandra Peabody '12 found Dartmouth connections with alumni helpful in the recruiting process.
"Dartmouth alums were really responsive [to any questions that I had]," Peabody said.
The number of Dartmouth alumni working at Morgan Stanley has dramatically increased over the past few years, according to Hommeyer. All Morgan Stanley representatives present at the information session were Dartmouth graduates, according to Hommeyer.
"We want to give back to Dartmouth," Hommeyer said.
While the students who utilized the corporate recruiting sessions were primarily members of the Class of 2012, several seniors without job plans for next year also attended the information sessions and sought advice from the recruiters.
