The case on SG Cowen describes the event of the annual campus recruitment procedure for fresh MBA graduates from the core schools in the company list. The recruitment strategy that was employed by Cowen was to hire on-campus from second-grade schools. The situation that is presented in the case is as follows. The setting is post-interviews of the final interview procedure of campus recruitment. The problem that has been presented in the case is related to four candidates who came for the Super Saturday interview sessions. They were strong candidates in their own area; however, there were some aspects about them, which disallowed them to be an outright yes for the recruiters. However, they still had to choose two candidates to fill their criteria. The question that the bankers were discussing, post-interviews was which two candidates to choose and why? In the following paragraphs, we will point out the strong points and the weak points about the four candidates mentioned in the case and present recommendations regarding the bankers’ dilemma.
The first candidate who was a “maybe” on Rae’s list was Natalya Godleskwa. The strengths of Natalya as seen by the recruiters are now discussed. Good She had an MBA degree from Cornell and a very impressive finance GPA from her undergraduate class. Her knowledge about accounting and finance was strong as she even taught as an assistant at Cornell. She could speak four languages apart from English. She was ambitious, enterprising, and hard working. However, she had a few weaknesses, which troubled the recruiters more. Some felt that she might not be comfortable with others due to her not-so-efficient English. She did not interact with the other candidates indicating that she probably did not fit in with the other associates or bankers.
Recommendation: Natalya should not be considered for the position.
The second candidate was Martin Street. The points, which were at his advantage, are as follows. Martin Street has exceptional leadership quality and experience. He had experience in operations due to his tenure with the military for four years. He had a dynamic personality. He was confident and articulate. The disadvantages that can be observed in Martin Street were even more concerning. He had served four years in the army. This indicated that he was more used to a life commanded by disciplines. While SG Cowen’s environment demanded people who were capable of taking their own demands. Further, whether he was interested to get absorbed in the firm was a doubtful question. Therefore, if he is offered, he may wait to weigh it with the other offers he received.
Recommendation: Martin Street should not be considered for the position.
The third candidate, Ken Goldstein’s is discussed here. Ken was from Berkley, which showed that his academic record must have been good. Previous He worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) for 5 years. He had been promoted quickly and had been ranked among the top 5% of the firm’s performers. He too had a few weaknesses. The bankers felt that as Ken was married and had two kids, it would reduce his commitment towards work. Further, they would make warrants for him while other associates will receive none. Bankers felt he might not like taking orders.
Recommendation: Ken Goldstein should be hired.
The fourth candidate was Andy Sanchez: His strengths were in his entrepreneurship capability and enthusiasm. He had a strong entrepreneurial experience having run his small profitable business. He had strong SAT and GMAT scores. He was enthusiastic and had taken a lot of interest in knowing the company.
However, his weaknesses were his low grades in college. Further, Sanchez did not prioritize his work in college, which dropped his grades.
Recommendation: Andy Sanchez should be hired.
The above choices have been done keeping in mind the sole requirement and culture of the organization. For SG Cowen, cultural fit assumed great importance, as they brought the right candidate for the company.
The CEO was clear about his requirement of people who could be more open and less disciplined. Further, they wanted people who had relevant experience. Natalya is rejected due to her cultural misfit. She may not be happy working in a company where she will not be able to associate with her colleagues. Martin was rejected because he was too disciplined for SG Cowen and that he may take up the offer eventually. Ken was chosen even though his family is posed as a problem due to his extensive experience in the financial sector. It can be argued that as he was married and had responsibilities, he will be more committed as the sole bread earner of the family. Sanchez was selected because of his entrepreneurial skills and enthusiasm, which are crucial to the cultural fit of the company.
The corporate culture of SG Cowen has played an important role in the recommendations provided to the case. Due to the nature of the company’s culture, which advocated an enthusiastic, determined, technically skilled, decision-making, and mature crowd, the choices were made keeping these traits in mind. Further, it has been mentioned in the case that the company is willing to do what it could to hire the right kind of person. So it was ultimately the culture of the organization that should define who could fit in the company and this is what has been demonstrated in the case of SG Cowen.