Recent News

August 3, 2006

Companies go after ‘em young

In the increasing competitive war of fresh talent, some companies are recruiting interns from a pool that’s younger than ever. Companies like Merrill Lynch, Pricewaterhouse Coppers, L’Oreal and others are changing the rules, say two BusinessWeek articles, bypassing MBA programs and hiring most of their new people right out of college.

At Merrill, undergraduate recruiting is up as much as 25 percent annually in the past three years. They expect to hire 300 undergrads this school year alone, identifying the best candidates early (including freshmen) so they can see if they’re a good fit and make offers before rivals do.

Some companies are reaching down even farther. Lockheed has set up an apprenticeship program for high schoolers in Philadelphia, paying students as much as $14 per hour for interning. As a result, 29 former high school interns have launched careers with the company.

Every week, seven professionals from Deloitte & Touche spend two hours at Norman Thomas High School in mid-town Manhattan, helping students set up and run virtual businesses. They’re also identifying those who might be interested in early internships.

“I’ve never seen a tougher market for talent,” says one Deloitte veteran. “And this is a wonderful talent pool.”

#21323, BUSINESSWEEK, 5-8-06, 5-22-06. This information was published by Work and Family News Brief. One of the many benefits of being a member of the Circle of Business; Circle of Business is a community alliance that fosters work/life effectiveness while improving business performance. For more information or to join Circle of Business, please contact Darlene Haas at 614/224.0222 ext. 156.