agold wrote:
djhouse81,
Can you please tell us about how recruiting is going at CBS this year? How is investment banking, consulting, investment management, etc. going? Are you seeing a lot of people who wanted investment banking switching over to consulting? Are you seeing the presence of a lot of boutique firms on campus?
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, agold. I've been decompressing during the break and now I am back at it prepping for IB interviews.
Recruiting is going very well this year. I am in the thick of it. I am prepping right now for i-banking interviews, and it is exhausting. Betweem technicals, fit, and why investment banking, there is a lot to cover.
Investment banks have cut down some of their closed lists, but there's no dearth of firms on campus except the ones you'd expect (i.e. Bear, BofA, Wachovia). All of the other big ones are still there, plus several boutiques. Apparently the number of those recruiting for i-banking has been cut in half because of the economy, which is great for those of us still going after IB. I think the difference moved over to consulting because there is a lot of recruits for that space. For consulting, the big firms and boutiques are all there, and they do not seem to be scaling back. It's hard to say, however, when job offers have not been given out yet. I will be able to tell you a lot more after next week. HOPEFULLY WITH SOME GOOD NEWS FOR ME!!!
The area that has been cut back the most is S&T for obvious reasons. If you got a handful of S&T interview invites this year you are a rockstar.
IM recruiters have been on campus en force, but it is very competitive for those jobs regardless of the economy. I think a lot more factors determine your success in that area than others. IB and consulting are more career switcher friendly, and they also play the recruiting game more. IM does not care about the recruiting game as much, and if you have CFA on your resume and great long/short stock pitches you are money. This is not hard and fast, but keep it in mind.
In the end, at Columbia recruiting is strong. We compete with H/W, and it helps to be in NY because you make a trip down to the firm's office to meet with them at a moments notice. The recruiting season adds about 1.5 classes to your schedule, which impinges upon your sleep if you intend on getting good grades at the same time. Just give it your all, never rest on your laurels, and keep in mind that there are thousands of people who would kill to be in your shoes sitting in front of GS or JPM. If you keep that in mind it acts as great fuel to push you through a grueling recruiting season, and in the end it will all be worth it because you'll have a job lined up!