高盛 麦肯锡（高盛中金麦肯锡）

HowGoldmanSachsandMcKinseykeepasteadyflowofIvyLeaguerecruits

HowdidIgethere?Reuters/CarloAllegri

Itdidn’ttakelongforinvestmentbanks—alongwiththeirserviceeconomycorollary,consultingfirms—tocreateanelaboratesystemthatfunnelselitestudentsintointernshipsandjobstheyneverimaginedthemselvesin.

1

WritinginWashingtonMonthly,sociologistAmyBinder,aprofessorattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego,describedarecentstudyinwhichsheandherteaminterviewed60studentsorrecentgraduatesofHarvardandStanfordUniversity.Manyofthesubjectssaidtheywenttoschoolwithnointentionofbecomingbankersorconsultants.Theystartedcollegeknowinglittleabouttheseprofessions,andharboredasensethattheywouldbedullandnotparticularlymeaningful—onlytofindthemselvescompetingforjobsinthesefields.

Howdidthishappen?

Paytoplay

Thestudentsdescribedanenvironmentinwhichrecruitingeffortsbybanksandconsultanciesareomnipresent.It’snotbyaccident,anditdidn’tcomeforfree.AsBindernoted:

Togettothosekids,thenation’stopbanksandconsultingfirmsbeganbycompetingwitheachothertobecome“platinum”membersofthecareerservicesprogramsrunbythemosteliteschools.Winnersofthispay-for-playcompetitiongetthebesttablesatcampuscareerfairs,accesstostudents’emailin-boxes,entréetothemostimpressivebanquetroomsforholdinginformationsessionsandreceptions,bundleddeliveryofapplicants’résumés,andspaceandscheduledtimestoholdone-on-oneinterviews,amongothergoodsandservicesknownas“recruitment.”

Theresultisanhighlyvisible,well-definedprocess.It’spowerfullyappealingtostudentswhohavespenttheprevious18yearsonastructuredpathwaytogettoaneliteschool,onlytofaceuncertaintyaboutwhattodonext.

Theprestigepitch,andfearofmissingout

Therecruitingprocessstartsveryearly—anotherdrawforstudentswhoareeagertolockdowntheirplans—andithappensatafreneticpace,makingmanystudentsworrythattheywillmissout,andpotentiallycompromisetheirprofessionalfutures,iftheydon’tparticipaterightaway.

1

Thatpressure,combinedwiththeemphasisthatrecruitersputon“whatitmeanspersonallyandsociallytoworkforahigh-prestigefirm,”Binderwrites,hasastrongeffect.

Wherethesestudentsgotoschoolisthereasonthefirmswanttheminthefirstplace—pedigreematterstofirmstryingtopersuadeclientstobuyexpensiveservices.Butthefactthatsomanyinthesecareersendupunhappyandlookingforanexitindicatesatleastsomedegreeofmismatch.

Ofcourse,oftentheshorttenuresareplanned.While31%ofHarvardstudentslastyearplannedtogointofinanceorconsulting(anumberdownfrompre-crisisheights,butclimbingagain),only6%saidtheyintendedtostayintheprofession,somethingthatmosttwo-yearanalystprogramsexplicitlyacknowledge.

Meanwhile,thelureofWallStreetandtheconsultingbusinessreducesthefractionofelitestudentsgoingintopublicservice,healthcare,oranynumberofotherindustriesthatareinneedoftalentandnowfindthemselvesseveraldecadesbehindinvestmentbanksandconsultingfirmswhenitcomestocompetingforgraduatesofelitecolleges.Thelureoftechnologycompanieshasbeenstrengtheningoflate—butevenSiliconValleyhasseennothinglikethelong-termrecruitingsuccessofbanksandconsultingfirms.