Panel of recruiters answer student questions at Recruiting Confidential event

What are the main qualities recruiters look for in resumes and how do they determine who to select? Do cover letters actually matter? How important is GPA? These questions and more were answered Sept. 5 by a panel of campus recruiters at “Recruiting Confidential: Questions You Always Wanted to Ask,” a panel hosted by the Arts & Sciences Career Development Center.

The panel of recruiters consisted of Richard Burke, Cori Fitzpatrick ‘05, and Tim Lefebvre of American Express, EY and Aetna respectively. They offered advice on a range of recruiting-related questions ranging from career fair advice to LinkedIn etiquette.

Attendees were required to submit at least one question through Handshake to register for the event. These questions were compiled by Career Development staff and asked in a moderated format during the first half of the event. The floor was then opened up for additional questions from the audience, before the night ended with a networking reception and dessert in the Klarman Hall atrium.

When asked about the main factors recruiters look for in resumes, Lefebvre said, “the most important aspect of your resume is your ability to convey what your experience has taught you and what skills you have learned and developed at each opportunity. ”

While the event was most pertinent to those upperclassmen actively beginning the recruiting process in the hopes of securing an internship or full time job, there were plenty of freshmen in attendance looking to gain information.

Burke and Fitzpatrick noted their suprise when seeing how many freshmen were in the audience. “Being here tonight is a great first stab [into the recruiting process] and is a great differentiator from your peers,” Burke said.

Josh Egan ‘22, a student in the College of Arts & Sciences, came out of curiosity. “I came to this event because I’m new to the recruiting process, and coming to Cornell this is the first time I’ve been immersed in the search for internships,” he said. “I thought since it’s an informational setting, it’s open to people without much experience and because of that I got a lot out of it.”

The event served as a crash course in the recruiting process on the eve of the University Career Fair day for employers from all industries.