Sg Cowen Case Analysis

SG Cowen Case Analysis

Jorge F. Rodriguez

Webster University

SG Cowen Case Analysis  

Reflect Upon a Time When You had a Negative Recruiting/Hiring Experience.  What Were

the Signs the Experience Wasn’t Going Well?

     While serving as the Chief of Human Resources in different organizations, the author has had

the opportunity to be part of numerous recruiting teams and evidenced plenty of negative

situations during interviews.  In the author’s perspective the most important things to have a

good experience for both sides (recruiter & candidate) is honesty and be prepared.  The recruiter

must have a set of questions and scorecard before the interview in order to provide each

candidate a fair shot.  One of the negative signs the author experienced while interviewing a new

candidate was when the candidate didn’t understand, had any knowledge about the scope of

responsibilities for the position he/she was applying for or when the candidate listed skills they

never possessed.  Another negative sign that demonstrated the interview wasn’t going well was

when the candidate started to speak negatively about their current boss after being asked the

reason for them looking for a new job.  Further negative signs that candidates brought out during

interviews were when they started to discuss private information with interviewers without being

asked and when started to ask about the simplicity of the job to supervisors and different ways to

receive step increases in the job.  Finally, as hiring official a negative sign can be demonstrated

when an offer is presented to a good prospect and the candidate request additional time to make a

decision prior to acceptance.

What Are the key Decisions Points Used by SG Cowen in Making Hiring Decisions?  

What Is Your Evaluation of the Process Used by the Firm?

     SG Cowen utilized key decision points to accomplish their hiring process.  As described by

Delong & Vijayaraghavan (2006, p. 4), Chip Rae, director of recruiting at SG Cowen, decided

to utilize a new strategy and expand their on-campus hiring program to the leading 25 academic

institutions.  Paying more attention to the next 15 schools in the top 25 was Rae’s new strategy

(Delong & Vijayaraghavan, 2006, p. 4).  SG Cowen used to compete with big firms like JP

 Morgan and Goldman for recruiting new employees, but it was hard to get the best students

from the best schools.  “We used to go to the top 10,” Rae said, “but at some of the top schools

we were getting people in the middle class of the class” (Delong & Vijayaraghavan, 2006, p. 4).

Bigger companies attracted most of the best students due to their extensive recruiting budgets.  

Also, new recruits exhibited more interest for established brand names companies as they

looked for secure jobs.  Another key decision utilized by SG Cowen was conducting

informational interviews.  During the informal interviews the company was able to estimate the

interest level of the candidates for the job and provided the candidates an opportunity to learn

more about the firm. Informal interviews can be utilized for what Sullivan (2008, p. 1) referred

as Employment Branding.  By proactively making it easy for potential applicants to read, hear, or

see the factors that make working at your firm exciting, you can dramatically increase the

number and quality of your applicants over a long period (Sullivan, 2008, p. 1).  Also, by

spending more time upfront in active dialogue and aligning on the design of the role, we enabled

a deeper understanding of what kind of individual would succeed within the operating

environment, they would enter (Page, 2010, p. 5).  SG Cowen also utilized the on-campus round

as a key decision to identify if the candidates possessed the necessary skills to perform the job.  

Interviewers take advantage of the on-campus round to look for cultural fit.  Further, the

company used Super Saturday as their final key decision in their hiring process.  Super Saturday

was the last opportunity for hiring officials to identify if the candidates were cultural fit for the

job.  Potential candidates were also tested for their skills and ability to manage five interviews

in one day.

     Based on the author’s perspective, SG Cowen hiring process was very effective.  The firm’s

process allowed hiring officials to discover candidates with appropriate interpersonal and

academic skills.  Interviewers had the opportunity to seek talented young people while visiting

well-established academic institutions.  Also, as demonstrated by Delong & Vijayaraghavan

(2006, p. 15) in exhibit 2, the firm utilized a comprehensive evaluation form to identify the best

candidates for the positions.  However, the firm could it saved an enormous amount of money if

they have utilized other processes like job fairs to attract good candidates from other business

sectors for their company.  

What Is Your Evaluation of the Criteria Used by the Organization in Making Hiring Decisions?

     The author perceived the hiring criteria utilized by SG Cowen to be an effective one.  First,

offering an informal interview provided the candidates the opportunity to evaluate if the firm’s

mission and vision was what they were looking for in a job to commit.  The fact that SG Cowen

employed formal and informal interviews in their hiring process allowed the firm to evaluate

interpersonal skills in a greater way.  Still, the interview process could be a double edge source

for candidates and interviewers.  The interview is really a verbal test for the candidate. However,