Recruiting the Wrong People

31.03.07

Filed Under: Hiring

A few weeks back WSJ ran an article (paid wall) on the recruiting practices of several companies that still has me shaking my head.  Here is the gist of the article:

Companies are reaching out to parents to woo a generation of college students raised by ever-more-involved parents. Merrill Lynch & Co. invited interns’ parents to visit company offices. Ernst & Young LLP is packaging company information for parents. Vanguard Group Inc. sends letters to recruits’ parents and has advertised on the parents sections of college Web sites. Deloitte & Touche and other big recruiters are weighing similar moves.

And it gets worse

Vanguard in recent years has noticed many calls from parents inquiring about how their children can apply, or trying to negotiate the terms of a child’s offer. Karen Fox, Vanguard’s manager of college relations and recruiting, says she initially wasn’t sure what to make of it. Ultimately, she says, “we started to say, ‘Well, how can we embrace it?’” 

Wow — there are so many issues with this.  Lets break it down and look at each of the players…

Parents: 

Companies: 

Candidates:

I will think twice before buying a Vanguard or Merrill Lynch mutual fund.

 

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