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Climbing the Corporate Ladder
Texas Builds a Better Way to Meet Your Employer
November 15, 1997 - The days of interviewing in closets and making business calls on pay phones in the hallway are over for corporate recruiters at the Texas Business School.
With the grand opening of its new 10,290 square foot corporate interviewing center in February, the school fulfills the most desperate wishes of recruiters and students alike.
Ranked among the top 20 business schools in the country by all accounts, Texas has been plagued in recent years by its unaccommodating and aging recruiting facilities. "I don’t think our poor facilities ever kept employers away," says Sharon Lutz, director of the Ford Career Center at the school. "But I do think once they got here, their perceptions of the University in general were clouded because of the lack of proper quarters."
"You don’t want to think that the recruiters’ opinions of a school are based on something as superficial as interviewing rooms," adds Linda Moran, assistant director of career services and project coordinator for the center. "But I’m sure that recruiters have gone away feeling not as positive about the overall experience as they might in another school with attractive facilities and a comfortable working environment."
Paradoxically, while Business Week labeled Texas as having one of the worst placement offices among the top 25 business schools in its last national ranking of MBA programs, the magazine also noted that UT was among the most-added by company recruiters. In light of the terrible conditions, the fact that recruiting schedules here have continued to grow is a great testament to the strength of Texas students.
To be sure, UT’s career services staff is quick to point out that the high caliber of the academic program remains the bottom line. "But recruiters have budgets," says Moran. "And if the budget dictates that they can only recruit at 10 schools, all other things being equal, I’m sure they take into consideration the level of service and the work environment in making their university choices."
The School’s situation had not always been so dire. "Over the past half a dozen or so years, the level of recruiting activity has grown so much as to exceed the school’s capacity," explains Rolf Russart, the leader of college relations for Ford and a member of the Ford Career Center Advisory Board. The luck of the draw determined where, among the far-flung rooms, an interview would take place. "Everyone dreaded being stuck in one of those 5th floor cubicles where you might as well be conducting a group interview," Russart says.
Poorly designed interviewing rooms weren’t the half of it. The building lacked even the most basic amenities for employers. Recruiters couldn’t make a private phone call; they used the same restrooms as the students they were interviewing; they had little or no access to computers, fax or copy machines; and they had to hike to the nearest drinking fountain.
Students were no better off than the company representatives who came to woo them. With no dressing rooms available, they often changed clothes in restrooms; they sat or stood in the open halls awaiting interviews; and once in front of the employer, they endured the dreaded cubicle. "The rooms were hot, close, and uncomfortable; and they contributed to student anxiety," admits career services director Lutz. With no ceilings, noise from the hallway and from adjacent interviews distracted both the employer and the student.
By fall of 1996, things had gotten so bad that the students voted themselves a fee increase to pay for a new facility. Graduate students are anteing up an additional $140 a semester and undergraduates an additional $30, which will cover about half the $1.2 million price tag. Employer contributions, it is hoped, will cover the rest.
"It’s important to note that the State of Texas did not pay a cent for this- what may appear to be a plush setting," says Moran. All parties concur that in spite of its extravagant aura, the interviewing center comprises merely what is necessary. "Our old facilities indicated a double-standard," she continues. "The setting did not say that the school thought highly of its students." Clearly, the school now has an appropriate showcase for its talented students, the equal or better of any top 20 school in the country.
Recruiters who have seen the new space are delighted. "The new facility will definitely improve the interaction between employers and students," says Bob McBay with Dow Chemical, a long-time recruiter of UT business grads. "It will be easier to get a high quality dialog going without all the distractions caused by a substandard environment."
The center also includes space for employers to get away from the students for awhile. A large lounge and work area contains private restrooms and phone booths, a kitchen area, fax and copy machines, computer hookups, a vending area, and free coffee. "The Dow people aren’t full-time recruiters," explains McBay. "We enjoy getting out to see the students, but we also have to stay on top of our other job responsibilities. The new amenities will make it easy for us to conduct our normal business."
Contact: Sharon Lutz, Director of Ford Career Center at 512-471-7748.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
