Choosing a Rutgers student for an internship

[MikeRU1766]

No, it is a guy. And he is less qualified than all the other candidates so I'd have to put effort into him so that he wouldn't make me look bad.

Well from my experience as an intern in the financial industry, I saw that one of the quickest ways to "looked down on" as an intern was to be the kind of intern who did not completely understand directions on the first shot. There was this was intern there who literally every time we were assigned a task.... he had a million questions and 99% of the time they were bad questions and hence our boss began to look at him like he was a dope.

I bring this up because if you bring this kid in... I would just be sure to let him know you are willing to take him under you wing and answer any of his questions. This will make the kid less stressed and probably perform better because he won't be on edge like a lot of interns are. Also, he will not have to ask questions to the "boss" and make himself look bad if he is truly not able to keep up. He would be able to ask you and keep his "image" up.

And hey... you never know the kid might surprise you and be able to handle the internship extremely well. I graduated was from Rutgers and on paper I only had a 3.6 GPA from Rutgers in Finance at the time while other kids had 4.0's from similar schools and a couple kids were Ivy league, but I easily held my own with the rest of the group and was BY FAR the best at understanding how to communicate and present our work with management in way that was clear and efficient. Maybe this intern will have a skill like that where he will shine at and make you look very good.

 

[RCTrooper]

UPDATE: I offered the Rutgers kid the internship. Paying it forward!

 

[imbazza]

RCTrooper so you can sleep easier, a phrase used by all Ivy's is called "Grade Inflation" First heard it back in the late 60s by my brother's best friend who went to Princeton, basically you get into Princeton they expect you can do the work so everyone get good grade so they do not make that hard (especially when the parents looked at the price tag). Later I went to Harvard and the students were protesting "Grade Inflation" because no matter how hard they worked everyone was getting A or B and there was no real separation. So understand Rutgers has been and always be a state school meat grinder. So your "B" Rutgers student is as good of not better then your Ivy 'A"

 

[RU4Real]

RCTrooper so you can sleep easier, a phrase used by all Ivy's is called "Grade Inflation" First heard it back in the late 60s by my brother's best friend who went to Princeton, basically you get into Princeton they expect you can do the work so everyone get good grade so they do not make that hard (especially when the parents looked at the price tag). Later I went to Harvard and the students were protesting "Grade Inflation" because no matter how hard they worked everyone was getting A or B and there was no real separation. So understand Rutgers has been and always be a state school meat grinder. So your "B" Rutgers student is as good of not better then your Ivy 'A"

There is irony afoot.

 

[RU848789]

I'm in charge of recruiting for interns from the Rutgers chem eng'g department for my company (mostly manfucturing divsion jobs, which includes a fair amount of positions in late R&D). I interview about a dozen and pick the top 2-3 for internships, as do reps from about 15 other universities (several Ivies, several B1G schools, MIT, Delaware, UVA, and a few others).

I only ever bring in the top candidates, since these are people that we often convert to full time (internships are basically an "extended interview" for both parties). And I only recommend the RU kids for departments where I think they'd be a good fit. Call me conservative. but I can't imagine bringing someone in who I thought wasn't qualified vs. others or sending someone to an area that would likely be a bad fit - that would be a pretty bad reflection on me.

It's my experience, though, that the top RU students are competitive with the top students from any school. For example, RU grads have done pretty well in our area: for a department of about 125, we have a senior staff of ~10 people and 4 of us are RU grads, including our dept. head (my boss).

 

[jtung230]

Good job RCTrooper and congrats to the kid. Let's hope he can take advantage of the opportunity. Please do update us on his progress.

 

[famousbill19]

I am in the position to hire recent pharmacy school graduates for fellowships at a Big Pharma company. Most of the time the Rutgers PharmD's have risen to the top. In the instance where it was even between two candidates, I hired the Rutgers grad just for that reason. Worked out extremely well.

 

[NotInRHouse]

This would not even be a question on any other P5 board. Support your alma mater.

 

[PSU_Nut]

So I work for a large alternative investment firm and we're hiring summer interns. We have a ton of resumes to pick from. Kids from Columbia, UPenn, Princeton, Cornell with previous summer internship and great academic achievement. I have one Rutgers kid who just doesn't bring anywhere as much to the table and would need much more hand-holding from me during this summer; not even close. He probably doesn't deserve it but I think I'll pick him over the other much more qualified kids; primarily because RU kids rarely get this kind of a break.

Has anyone else done the same in the past?

If he doesn't deserve it why give it to him? What ever happened to let the best qualified candidate win? Perhaps the reason why he hasn't done summer internships is because he was lazy? Would you pick a inferior candidate just because they are the same race as you? How about if they have the same eye color? Vacation at the same beach as you? Like the same food as you? Those all make as much sense as picking an inferior person based on going to the same school as you. I could see using the school as a tie breaker for equally qualified candidates. In fact you insult the guy and your alma mater by basically saying it not good enough to earn it on his own.

 

[Scarlet Knut]

We are offering two Rutgers students jobs. One summer intern and one fulltime from the RU Veterans Program.

 

[MidwestKnights]

Yes I have. Happens every day with the other schools you mentioned, why not with RU? Summer Internship....your little way of making a difference and demonstrate Rutgers Pride.

Yup. Kid may have not had the same networks or access. If he's got something intangible (besides the RU) connection, go for it. It's easy to screen off IVY, Michigan, UVA, Notre Dame, etc. but folks from other schools like RU may bring the same attributes, those attributes just need to be uncovered. And maybe a little hand holding is what is needed.

When I used to hire in professional services, I used to screen widely.

 

[Bleed_Scarlet]

So I couldn't get a sniff out of the Rutgers MBA program at an IB because of the "we don't recruit there" attitude. A RU grad took a chance on me and got me in.. I outworked and outperformed everybody else who came in with me and got quickly promoted multiple times..

When it came time for me to hire, I did the same thing - took a chance on a RU kid who wouldn't have gotten one otherwise - and I never regretted the decision. Kid was a ball of fire.

I have hired many times since then, sometimes well, sometimes less well, but I'll take an RU kid who worked his way through school over an Ivy Leaguer every time.. My hit rate has been much much better with them- less sense of entitlement

For those of us who got a break from a RU grad, pay it forward - especially with an intern.

As for qualified, we haven't defined it - in IB terms, it may very well mean the school and school only. It would be foolish to take a less qualified RU grad but there is nothing wrong with a "all things being equal".

Not really sure how an internship would change my thinking here - I'm usually just given interns, don't get to pick..

 

[RU1991]

25 years ago someone gave me a similar internship opportunity in the financial industry, and I knew I was surrounded with a talent pool of interns who had much more to offer than me on paper. However, with a wrestling background, it became very evident that nobody could out-work me. That work ethic, some good values past along from my parents, and some influential people believing in me at Rutgers... gave me the confidence to overcome my ADD challenges, and helped me grow my business into a thriving private wealth advisory practice. I thank the individual, like you, who gave me that opportunity. I am also very grateful for that experience serving as a launching pad to sponsor an RU athletic scholarship and providing a platform for me to lead and mentor those who are willing to: work hard, show up on time, do what they say they're going to do, and say please & thank you. If the kid has those attributes, and he's a Scarlet Knight... Fire up his engines and make it happen!

 

[MikeRU1766]

UPDATE: I offered the Rutgers kid the internship. Paying it forward!

Congrats to you and this intern! Good choice!

 

[newell138]

No, it is a guy. And he is less qualified than all the other candidates so I'd have to put effort into him so that he wouldn't make me look bad.

Less qualified doesn't necessarily mean less valuable. You never know what someone can do until you give them a shot. I think you know what you have to do here. I was given a shot by a Villanova alum for my current employer and I have been there 18 years now. There were other people who were more qualified but I got the job and like to think I made them proud. Does it matter that the Villanova alum was my brother?? No!

 

[klemman]

I think that if you want to give someone a break, be it a fellow alum, family friend, ex-jock, someone from the same home town, etc... Give them a break by guaranteeing an equal opportunity to interview and. win the job.

From that point on, the best candidate wins. If you are giving a person the job because of some kind of nepotism, then it doesn't say much about the job or you who was given responsibility of finding someone for that job.

 

[jtung230]

If he doesn't deserve it why give it to him? What ever happened to let the best qualified candidate win? Perhaps the reason why he hasn't done summer internships is because he was lazy? Would you pick a inferior candidate just because they are the same race as you? How about if they have the same eye color? Vacation at the same beach as you? Like the same food as you? Those all make as much sense as picking an inferior person based on going to the same school as you. I could see using the school as a tie breaker for equally qualified candidates. In fact you insult the guy and your alma mater by basically saying it not good enough to earn it on his own.

You have no idea how the real world works. Plenty of kids get hired for the reasons you mentioned above. Okay, maybe not because of eye color.

 

[klemman]

There's two points here. One, as the a over poster mentions, it happens in the real world. That is true. The other question is whether such an action is the right or best thing to do? If it was a no brainer than the OP never would have been made and this thread wouldn't be as long as it is.


Now regarding the kid who was "given" the position, I have no trouble with him taking it. You need to take advantage of every opportunity given to you. I just hope he earns it after the fact.

 

[RU-ROCS]

So I work for a large alternative investment firm and we're hiring summer interns. We have a ton of resumes to pick from. Kids from Columbia, UPenn, Princeton, Cornell with previous summer internship and great academic achievement. I have one Rutgers kid who just doesn't bring anywhere as much to the table and would need much more hand-holding from me during this summer; not even close. He probably doesn't deserve it but I think I'll pick him over the other much more qualified kids; primarily because RU kids rarely get this kind of a break.

Has anyone else done the same in the past?

You should pick a better Rutgers kid. The RU business school has some excellent candidates who can more than hold their own with students from the schools you mention.

 

[JQRU91]

You have no idea how the real world works. Plenty of kids get hired for the reasons you mentioned above. Okay, maybe not because of eye color.

Sometimes in the real world it's called affirmative action. I'm not a big fan of that, either.

 

[jtung230]

Sometimes in the real world it's called affirmative action. I'm not a big fan of that, either.

yes, and more often it's so and so's son or daughter. That's life in the big city. If there are better Rutgers kids that didn't apply then shame on them.

 

[RU848789]

This would not even be a question on any other P5 board. Support your alma mater.

Seriously? From the guy who preaches about equality, tolerance and fairness? You would knowingly hire a significantly less qualified intern from RU than from some other school? That's the kind of decision-making that gets people fired or at least marginalized in the real world.

 

[jtung230]

It really depends on the definition of less qualified. Are we talking about GPA or just which school they went to? If they both have the same GPA and the only difference is the school I don't think it will be an issue. I don't think experience applies here because it's an internship. If the Rutgers kid has a GPA of 3.5 or higher, it shouldn't be an issue. If his GPA is 3.0 and you have ivy kids at 3.5, then it's problem.

 

[NotInRHouse]

Seriously? From the guy who preaches about equality, tolerance and fairness? You would knowingly hire a significantly less qualified intern from RU than from some other school? That's the kind of decision-making that gets people fired or at least marginalized in the real world.

Let's be honest, hiring for jobs is not fair- it's about who you know. Every other alum out there from every school- including high schools- engages in this.

Hiring for jobs involves intangibles. RU grads often times had to work a lot harder to get where they got than those with silver spoons. That's worth a lot in my book. RU grads will also have had the experience of dealing with every kind of person versus the blue blood whose experience in dealing with non country club members is limited to talking to the maid.

When I was in law school, a professor asked the class how many students had parents who were lawyers. Over a third raised their hands. Now here I am, neither of my parents even graduated from college, and in the worst economy since the great depression, who was calling a judge or partner to talk on my behalf, no matter my qualifications?

That was my real world. My previous job, I was hired by a RU alum, but I also had a ton of great qualifications. But who is to say, it's not as black and white as you make it out there. In the legal world where it's supposed to be about that, it often isn't.

 

[MidwestKnights]

Let's be honest, hiring for jobs is not fair- it's about who you know. Every other alum out there from every school- including high schools- engages in this.

Hiring for jobs involves intangibles. RU grads often times had to work a lot harder to get where they got than those with silver spoons. That's worth a lot in my book. RU grads will also have had the experience of dealing with every kind of person versus the blue blood whose experience in dealing with non country club members is limited to talking to the maid.

When I was in law school, a professor asked the class how many students had parents who were lawyers. Over a third raised their hands. Now here I am, neither of my parents even graduated from college, and in the worst economy since the great depression, who was calling a judge or partner to talk on my behalf, no matter my qualifications?

That was my real world. My previous job, I was hired by a RU alum, but I also had a ton of great qualifications. But who is to say, it's not as black and white as you make it out there. In the legal world where it's supposed to be about that, it often isn't.

Exactly!

You want to make Rutgers Great? Do two things:

1.) Donate, every year, without fail, no matter how small the donation .
2.) Build an alumni network that rivals Michigan's.

It's all about the alumni connections and alumni giving current students a hand wherever they can.