MBA Recruiter Interview: Deborah Hankin, SYPartners, New York Office

Many of those things have become de rigueur for companies. We’ve now had to think more about the intangibles we can offer. We offer Golden Time. Let’s say it’s really important for you to tuck in your four-year-old child. You may put on your calendar Golden Time from six to eight. What that means is, ‘Please, don’t bother me during my Golden Time. I’m not checking my email. I’m totally engaged in something else.’ Also, we have an unlimited vacation policy in which people can take up to three weeks’ holiday at a time without upper management approval. We think that giving people time to rejuvenate and go explore will help them to work better.

One great thing that we have is communal lunch. On Fridays, we sit down and break bread together. We chat and actually take time for one another. It may sound a little hokey, but people are so busy. That point of reconnection weekly, where we establish relationships with our coworkers and hear about what they are up to, provides for higher employee engagement.

What wins me over after a great interview is a really thoughtful emailed thank you note.And, during the interview, coming across as genuine and admitting when you don’t know something with grace. I always take notice when a resume is clean, superbly written and error-free. Typos are unforgivable and sadly common these days. People can be so sloppy in their communication. I would say 90% of the resumes I get – which are incredible resumes, by the way – have typos. This is your opening salvo to the company. This is your best foot forward. If you can’t get that initial communication right, it gives us doubt about what other things you’ll be able to do. My advice: read the stuff you’re going to submit and have someone else read it, too.  

Part of our training is to build awareness not just of those who are visibly diverse, but also to appreciate diversity in what you can’t see. Everyone here takes interview skills training and learns how to ask questions that are thought-provoking and also, as much as possible, unbiased. In the training we encourage people to recognize their unconscious biases. Extensive interview skills training not only helps us pick better candidates, but it also helps us to be on the lookout for how we can have more diversity here.

We are also going to different schools and programs from ones we’ve targeted in the past to enrich our employee population. Aa another example, with our software developers, we have looked into small online networks that can introduce us to people that we might not have found on our own.

It’s not enough to just talk about diversity in talent acquisition. We are also concerned about how we ensure you feel like you belong once you’re here.

Learning to be a collaborative person, listening to other people’s ideas and then building on them, is incredibly important. We need highly collaborative people on our team. Many people will tell you they love working with other people, but that may only be true if they can tell everyone what to do.

We also look for business students with the ability to story tell, generate original ideas, see patterns and envision a future that doesn’t yet exist. One additional skill that is underestimated is negotiation in all kinds of forms, from negotiation of a job offer to negotiating a deadline.

Overall, MBA students should take a “fine dining” approach to their career search (instead of a diner approach). Ensure that your expertly prepared dishes (cover letter, resume, etc.) are served perfectly through your application, interview and thank you notes.