Job Search and CMS

This will be a short essay, as there is really only one thing to realize: job searching at Insead depends on what you want to do.  Many or most of you won't know what you want to do, but this will at least prepare you for what's ahead in each case.

If you are searching for a job in consulting, you've come to the right place.  Insead has great access to all the best consultancies, and they all participate in OCR (on-campus recruitment), so you have no more to do than signup for interview slots and prepare for the meetings.

For banking, the situation is similar.  Lucky has never interviewed for banking jobs and can't give a good evaluation of the selection.  For the most part, there is significant participation by banks in OCR, though note that because of Insead's calendar, they can occur at strange times; for example, interviews for summer internships took place in mid-January, just a few weeks after the new promotion arrived on campus.  If you want to participate in these interviews, do your homework way before your arrival, and know the important dates in advance.  Contact CMS for this information.

Industry, or the "all other" category.  The catch-all category, lowly Industry, so casually belittled as the bottom of the job-search totem pole… but yet the savior of the school's placement statistics when (as in this year, 2003) consulting and banking are not strongly recruiting.  Insead's industry recruitment is generally regarded as incompetent and in need of resources.  A new CMS director (Claire Lecoq) was just hired, and it's too soon to say whether she will be effective or not.  Thus, if you are planning to go into industry (ie. you are searching for something other than banking and consulting), be prepared: you will need to conduct your own job search, and it will take time and effort, much more than you can imagine.  If you heed this advice, and start early, your efforts will be rewarded.

To summarize: if you are looking for jobs in finance or consulting, you can use OCR and supplement it with other efforts.  If you wish to pursue positions in industry, get ready to put in significant time and effort identifying companies, locating alumni, and networking.  Whichever route you choose, Insead's admirably broad and deep alumni network will be a tremendous asset - so use it early and often.

Full disclosure: Lucky wanted a position in industry, and started networking in P3.  He found alumni to be incredibly friendly, courteous, knowledgeable, and eager to help.  While he did not have an offer upon graduation, he hopes to close on a position in the near future.