The "great" Trojan Alumni Network

[Columbia_Student]

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Well, I think it is time to remind people that (unfortunately) I am well past my teens, 20-something years past undergrad, have been at more than one interview on both sides of the table, and have hired my fair share of people. I can unequivocally say that at the places I have worked, a personal connection has not gotten anyone hired at or around my level further than a phone screen. I also work with pretty much every company that is “somebody” in my industry, and in my experience they adhere to the same principles. This is in the technology field (semiconductors), perhaps finance/talent/etc industries are vastly different, though I doubt it, unless your daddy’s name has many zero’s attached to it.

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<p>I have been working longer than I care to admit and also been on both sides of the table. I have to say it’s not always the companies that do the most grilling is the best place to work either. For example, Intel, is a complete sweatshop and the interview takes a whole day.</p>