S.G. Cowen is an investment banking firm focused on healthcare and technology with over $430 billion in assets. It has a medium size and less bureaucracy than larger banks, allowing it to move faster. Hiring is central to the firm's success as compensation costs make up 50% of revenue. The hiring process involves informational interviews, on-campus interviews conducted by associates and senior bankers, and "Super Saturday" with multiple interviews to identify the best talent from top business schools with a 66% yield. Interviews are assessed to be an imperfect process for evaluating candidates. The firm looks for cultural fit in addition to grades, skills, and other criteria.

1. Staffing at S G Cowen

2. Investment Banking Industry HR is central Compensation costs 50% of revenue Difficult to get talent, esp. before the dotcom bust

3. S G Cowen Assets of over $ 430bn Focus on healthcare and technology Medium sized Less bureaucracy Move much faster

4. S G Cowen (contd.) More freedom and responsibility “the type of person who does well here doesn’t want to be told what to do.” Hands on high touch Create jobs for people Recruiting included on performance review Rejection of an offer as a blow to co.

5. Hiring Process New class of associates Core business schools Next 15 schools in the top 25: loyal Top of the class Defect after dotcom bust? HR as symbols Resist any kind of ‘science’

6. Criteria for Hiring Demonstrated a pattern of success Fast learners “fit” Lack of information Signals that can ‘differentiate’ Institutions as certifications Clients also look for this: non MBAs?

7. Informational Interview Team captains Banking professionals Alumni First level screens Realistic job previews? Standard presentation by HR? Involvement of the bankers

8. On Campus Interview Sr./ associates conduct Identification of talent Assessing skills Liable for the quality of candidates brought Easier to handle by HR Associates are associates Breadth & long term view Future peers and rivals

9. On Campus Interview (contd.) Rae as institutional memory Knowledge mgmt.? Yield: 12.5% Detailed notes during interviews Culture fit

10. Super Saturday Top bankers Multiple interviews/ interviewers Confident of ‘whipping through the list’ Yield: 66% Pseudo social setting with a formal interview process Very finality

11. Interviewing Each had their own methodology “ Psychologists and sociologists have studied the reliability and validity of job interviews in great depth, and their conclusions are somewhat devastating . Job interviews are neither reliable nor valid in general .” (Baron & Kreps, Strategic human resources, 1999)

12. Interviewing (contd. 1) Recommendation of literature More structure Hiring is a ‘romantic’ process Date vs. dry logic of arranged marriage “ A good HR practitioner has to be a proficient detective who asks the kind of questions that get candidates to open up and reveal their good and bad workplace characteristics.”

13. Interviewing (contd. 2) “Red flags” Culture fit Variance is good Share real life experience Some structure Relative evaluation Take notes

14. Aids for Hiring Grades Grades and job performance are loosely correlated How honest are references? Psychological tests Interpreting the results Cause-effect relationships at work

15. Culture through Hiring Get people to behave like a firm Engaging the entire firm “ right stuff” Is a firm in which everyone fits truly a desirable thing? “ Ideal type” Personal values vs. organisational values Cowen stands vs. aspires

16. Candidates Godlewska “ Culture fit”?: English, social skills Go getter, technical skills Street Leadership: army Wharton grades not disclosed Lack of interest

17. Candidates (contd.) Goldstein Consistently good performer Family “Too mature” Sanchez Entrepreneur, self starter Grades, other interests Ran a test coaching service himself

18. Barriers to Change Frank discussion on what the job demands Looking different to third parties Institutional pressures

19. References Posthuma et al. 2002 Beyond employment interview validity. Personnel psychology , 55, 1-81. Campion 1997 A review of structure in the selection interview. Personnel psychology , 690.