<p>Why does it matter so much if recruiting is done at your school? Honestly will a few minutes of talking at a booth along with umpteen other kids some recruiter will see seriously improve your chances of being hired? I understand how going to a prestigious school will increase your chances of getting a job, but how does going to a school with more recruitment increase them? What's wrong with applying online?</p>
<p>Companies don't just come for career fairs. Many companies visit elite campuses (and only elite campuses) specifically to interview students for internships and full time jobs. The dates of the interviews are generally announced so that students can forward their resumes to the company. The company then shortlists the students they wish to interview on their visit. Typically, all students who meet the minimum GPA requirement are selected. Finally, the company will come the night before the interviews for an "information" session. All students are welcome to attend. </p>
<p>That sort of recruitment activity only takes place at top universities.</p>
<p>Also don't underestimate how important it is to have a strong base from your school on the street, it makes recruiting much easier. Not saying otherwise is impossible, but its certainly easier.</p>
<p>To add to what Alexandre said:</p>
<p>Beyond the careers fairs (the lowest quality job-seeking tool IMO) students at target schools benefit from informal networking events at corporate offices or in a rented venue. These evenings almost always include free unlimited alcohol and food, and an extremely favourable ratio of current employees to students (generally between 1:2 and 1:4). These events are by invitation only, and only students from the targeted school of the night are able to attend. The employees present for the event are typically alums of your target school. They have a separate evening for each of the handful of schools they consider top priority targets.</p>
<p>At these events, I have had conversations 1 on 1 with BB managing directors, bankers and traders for an hour or more, just hanging out with free wine and cheese. It is only in an informal setting like this that you will get the real opinions of each business area, of the job, and of how recruiting really works. You get to skip all the BS companies feed you at career fairs. Often the people at the careers fairs aren't even bankers or traders; they're just junior HR reps who will bleat out what you already read on the company's website. </p>
<p>This has just detailed one of many, many advantages students at targets have, that students at non-targets never even find out about.</p>
<p>In sum, being at a target school provides such a massive advantage for landing top jobs it's ridiculous and perhaps a bit unfair. The funny thing is, people at non-targets have no idea how much they are missing, and actually enter the recruiting season thinking that everyone is on a level playing field and nobody has a huge head-start or unfair advantage. Nothing could be further from the truth.</p>
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but how does going to a school with more recruitment increase them?
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<p>Is this a rhetorical question? If 40 employers come to School<em>A to perform on-campus interviews with 75 candidates, and only 15 employers come to School</em>B to perform on-campus interviews with 75 candidates, which candidates have an advantage?</p>
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What's wrong with applying online?
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<p>Overall, online job hunting isn't worth a crap. People certainly find jobs online, but you are put at a major disadvantage if you are trying to get jobs through online resume submissions while other candidates are interacting face to face with recruiters and hiring managers.</p>
<p>why does everyone assume every person and their mother desires a high profile finance job?</p>