CA: Can you provide prospective applicants with an overview of the recruitment process at McDonough? How does it unfold?
DA: For both the full-time and evening program we are actually present at all of the major recruiting events that happen for the admissions team. So, for instance, when they are doing a road show in New York, a representative from my team will always be in those info sessions, talking about our process, the way our organization works, what students can expect from us. We try as soon as possible to get in front of those prospective applicants to bring awareness of what we have to offer.
As for admitted students, it starts at the very beginning—as I mentioned—as soon as they have accepted our offer and put their deposit in. We start in June with our Career Ignition Seminar series, which includes the set of deliverables each student is expected to work on over the summer.
In general, we try to do as much ahead of time as we can. It gets students ready for when the companies are coming on campus, which for some industries is the first week in September. For marketing, investment banking…certain industries are very, very front-loaded with activity. The sooner students come to focus on what they want to do and have a story, the better off they are going to be once the fall hits.
Once they arrive on campus, students take our Job Search course. We find that 99.99 percent do it even though it is voluntary. In it, we walk them through creating a networking strategy, understanding what technical interviewing is like, how to do a case interview. A lot have not done that before, and they will need it for marketing, consulting, even finance. So in this way we begin to get them ready for when the employers start coming to campus—and the employers want to come earlier and earlier.
CA: How does your team counsel students regarding the interview? Is there a formal mock interview process? How are interview schedules administered? Is there an established policy regarding how closed and open interviews should be conducted? What facilities are available for interviews?
DA: We have 20 peer advisors in our office who are aligned both functionally and by industry. We also have second-year paid graduate assistants whose primary responsibility is mock interviews. We tell our students that they should expect to do three mock interviews—one in person, one on the phone or Skype and one technical. We are setting that expectation with our students.
These interviews are happening with our peer advisors, but they are happening through the student clubs as well. Many of the big clubs such as consulting and finance also offer mock interview prep.
In addition, our office runs an Interview Bootcamp. This half-day event is the final module of the Job Search course. Our interviews are all closed—we don’t have open schedules here. You apply and you are chosen by the company to interview.
In terms of our facilities, they are simply amazing. We moved into the newly-constructed Rafik B. Hariri Building in 2009. The MBA Career Center is on the second floor, in the heart of the building. We have lots of interview rooms, including a virtual interview room, which companies have taken advantage of in a big way.
CA: What kind of role do alumni play in McDonough’s recruiting process? How integral are they to your office’s success? Is alumni participation a major part of your placement platform?
DA: For sure. That is why there has been such a demand by the students for access to alumni, and not just for informational interviews. In the fall, we have a consulting career day, and each Friday we have alumni come to campus. They come back and they support current students. Part of it is the Georgetown way. You are always willing to help another Hoya. So yes, our alumni play a very important role.
