Master's Program in Finance

Recruiting At The Robert Day School Of Economics And Finance

Whether you want to give a presentation to students, search resumes, post an open position or just learn more about the Master’s Program in Finance students, the External Relations team of Michelle Chamberlain and Marisa Walter can assist you. Michelle and Marisa work alongside organizations to learn about their desired skill sets, firm culture, and other criteria to assist in matching the best candidates for each organization. At RDS, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to recruiting, as Michelle and Marisa will individually work with your organization to design a customized recruiting strategy tailored to your placement needs.

Reasons to Recruit Robert Day School Students

High-Caliber, Well-Rounded Students: Our admission process is highly selective and our graduate students are an extraordinary group of high achievers. Additionally, because CMC offers a liberal arts education, which provides exposure to different academic disciplines, the graduate students are taught to think critically, solve problems, and communicate intelligently and persuasively. For the Master’s Program in Finance Class of 2013, the median GMAT score was a 720 and the median grade point average was a 3.6.

Natural Leaders: Building on Claremont McKenna College’s historical focus on leadership, the Program is comprised of students who already possess a strong leadership proclivity and is geared toward imbuing them with a much more complex and sophisticated understanding of finance and economics. Additionally, proven leadership experience is a vital part of the Master’s Program in Finance admission criteria.

Applied Professional Skills: Consistent with CMC’s focus on practical application, most graduate students participate in a summer internship before the Program even begins! Additionally, the graduate students have opportunities to apply their finance skills through co-curricular workshops in financial modeling and valuation, communicating quantitative information, and business writing. Furthermore, case-based teaching methods and applied courses, such as Portfolio Management, where students use the skills they have learned in the Program as they take on the role of asset managers charged with running a fund, allow students additional hands-on opportunities. In conjunction with other professional development activities, these experiences ensure that our graduate students understand that leadership, communication, and teamwork are the keys to success and they are able to transform financial theory into business opportunities.

Recruiting Options at RDS

Posting an Employment Opportunity: If you have an opportunity that you would like to publicize with the graduate students, please contact the External Relations team. Michelle and Marisa will work with you to produce a customized pool of qualified of applicants. Please keep in mind that the following information is requested for any employment posting: (i) the position title and job description; (ii) the posting’s start and end dates; (iii) a list of necessary application documents; and (iv) a preferred method of resume and cover letter delivery.

Interviewing On-Campus: On-campus interviews give recruiters the chance to interview the graduate students at CMC. You have the option of pre-screening and selecting individual graduate students for interviews, or having an open schedule where the graduate students can sign up on a first-come, first-served basis. With the use of CMConnect, our electronic job database, we are able to make your position search hassle-free with on-line resume review and interview scheduling. Once you arrive on-campus, a Career Services representative will escort you to your individual interview room and assist you with any other needs that you may have during your visit.

Resume Collect: If you are unable to interview the graduate students at CMC, you can choose the “Resume Collect” option in CMConnect. This option will allow the position to be advertised to all students, although only the graduate students who satisfy employer provided criteria will be allowed to submit their application materials on-line. You can then access and review submitted resumes and schedule interviews at your organization.

Information Sessions: Hosting an information session and/or reception on-campus can be a highly effective element in your overall recruiting strategy. Through this venue, you can promote your company’s opportunities, provide general information in advance of individual interviews, and meet and evaluate the graduate students in an informal setting prior to one-on-one interviews. We can arrange campus meeting facilities and provide audio-visual equipment. In addition, our catering services are available upon request (charges apply).

Interviewing Off-Campus: Off-campus interviews give the graduate students the ability to observe the relevant working environment. After you have pre-screened resumes/candidates, we can assist you in coordinating in-person interviews at your organization.

Recruiting Policies at RDS

When recruiting at The Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, we kindly request that you adhere to the following policies and procedures:

• To avoid any misunderstandings when making an employment offer, it is preferable to notify a student in writing of the major components of the job offer including salary, location, benefits, vacation, and starting date.
• Recruiters should not pursue students who have already accepted job offers from another organization. This behavior can damage our relationships with students and other recruiters.
• Exploding offers and bonuses put enormous pressure on our students to make a decision before they have completed the interviewing process. Most students are not ready to make a final decision before completing additional interviews. Additionally, pressure to immediately accept an offer makes it difficult for us to enforce our policy against students rescinding their acceptance of an offer.
• Employers are expected to be familiar with and to honor the Principle of Recruiting and Employment published by the National Association of College and Employers. Consistent with these guidelines, we ask that students be given at least two weeks to make an informed and responsible decision. Providing students with insufficient time to decide on an offer can be detrimental to both parties.
• If you would like to make full-time offers at the end of the summer to interns returning for senior year, we request that you allow the student ample time to accept/decline the offer. This will ensure that the student has the time necessary to make an informed and thoughtful decision.
• Students should not be asked to cancel a first round interview to attend a second round interview. Employers should make every effort to accommodate candidates’ class and interview schedules.
• Anti-Discrimination – In accordance with Claremont McKenna College policy, we do not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, marital status, veteran status, or handicap, in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs or activities. Therefore, we will only make our facilities available to recruiting organizations whose practices are consistent with this policy.

RDS Recruiting Timeline

August – December 2013

Approximately half of our class secures their post-graduation career plans during this time, which is why many companies offer information sessions and participate in the recruiting process during the fall semester. The majority of offers for permanent positions are made in September and October and are resolved prior to the Thanksgiving Recess. Please see the list of important dates below.

• August 12 – Master’s Program in Finance courses commence
• August 25-28 – San Francisco Networking Trip
• September 8-13 – New York Networking Trip
• Industry Nights for Recruiters (all from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.)
  • September 11 – Financial Services & Accounting Firm Night
  • September 19 – Consulting Firm Night
• October 19 – 22 – Fall Break/Los Angeles Networking Trip (tentative)
• November 21 – 24 Thanksgiving holiday
• December 9 – 20 – Final exam period
• December 20 – Winter Recess begins

December 20123 – April 2014

Most company presentations and interviews for summer internships for the incoming Class of 2015 are held during this period. Most internship offers are made by Spring Break and are resolved by late March. Additionally, many students in the current Class of 2014 secure their post-graduation fulltime employment offer during this time. Please see the list of important dates below.

• December 9 – 20 – Final exam week
• December 21 – January 20 – Winter Recess
• January 6 – 10 – Winter Recess Networking Trip #1 (tentative)
• January 13 – 17 – Winter Recess Networking Trip #2 (tentative)
• January 21 – Spring classes commence
• March 17 – 21 – Spring Break
• May 5 – 16 – Final exam period
• May 17 – Commencement

May 2014 – July 2014

Due to the nature of admissions for the Master’s Program in Finance, a few graduate students accept our offer to attend the Program in late spring/early summer and begin looking for summer internships at this time.