Questions?

Recently I've been getting some request from students on questions to ask recruiters. First, there are many schools of thought on recruiter interactions and you should ask varying questions based on the type of event and recruiter.


Here are a couple of guidelines:


You want to ask a "real" question. I see a lot of people ask an incredibly technical question to recruiters that even when answered the answers don't add a lot of value.


Example: "Looking through your financial statements I came across a footnote that describes your paper trading strategy to hedge crude inventories. How do you think this strategy helps or hinders your ability to compete with up-and-coming competitors?"


First, it's not likely that the recruiter is going to be the expert on this obscure footnote you've found and even if you do get a great response - will this add value to your cover letter, resume tailoring, or interview strategy. More importantly will the answer to this question help solidify if you want to work for the company?


Here are some general things you should be thinking about when evaluating individual companies

• What are the unique challenges to working in this company/industry


• What do you find to be the most exciting thing about working at company xyz


• Career Path - do they have structured rotations


• Time between job moves


• Flexibility to move cross-functionally within the organization


• Opportunities for international assignments/travel


• Training/Development


• Work-Life Balance


• Culture

The list is basically endless. You want to be specific and do your research before hand. If you can find the answers on the company webpage you shouldn't be asking the recruiters about it. However, as you go to presentations or talk to current employees you should be developing questions. Just remember you don't "have" to ask a question in a corporate presentation and please don't ask a series of repeat questions and monopolize the conversation. Finally, let people talk about themselves, and what they enjoy about the company, or career, and you'll find out a lot of useful information that you might not have gotten, even with your series of all-star questions.

Keep sending or posting your questions, comments, or ideas for topics!

-Josh Mellinger

“Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler & Geaux Blue!”