The Financial Crisis and Its Effect On College Recruiting

The crisis on Wall Street is being felt around the world. Its effects are especially hitting home with students at universities across the U.S., where on-campus recruiting by large investment banks has all but ceased for the current year. GMCTTC recently traveled to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, in order to gauge the mood of students.

What we found was disturbing. The previously swank On-Campus Recruiting Office had been reduced to something like a wildlife sanctuary, with Economics majors and finance concentrators skulking around like hungry bandicoots in search of food. "I've been following a three part interview process- fit questions, brainteasers, and ending with a tranquilizer shot to the candidate's femur," said Jon Von Somson, an M.D. at Lazard and one of the few people still recruiting for finance jobs this year. As a sidenote, Mr. Von Somson is a well-known d-bag.


Students requesting a business card from a recruiter.

Stories have been circulating around campus of desperate students being driven into acts of sabotage, in order to secure jobs. As I walked along Locust Walk, I witnessed a student roll up a Financial Times newspaper and use it to shoot a poison dart at his roommate. "I've started packing up my suit and changing into it at the actual interview site. If I'm seen wearing a tie around campus, there's a 70% chance I'll be attacked by a fellow student. It's like being a minority at an LAPD Police Station," says Rodney King, a Junior at Penn.


"Dude, I wish you hadn't told me you have an interview today."