初创企业招兵买马需要新思路

试试MBA实习生工作拍卖项目

    宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院（The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania）已经与几家风险资本公司合作，开创了一种新方式，能够让MBA学生和公司更容易地实现对接。

    每年，风险资本支持的初创企业都会向沃顿商学院就业服务办公室提出聘用实习生的申请。接下来，学生们会在一场拍卖中竞争实习生的岗位。这就减少了竞争同一个实习生职位的人数，同时确保公司知道哪些应征者对该职位最感兴趣，并看到他们的简历。

    米歇尔•霍平是沃顿商学院MBA就业管理办公室（the Wharton MBA Career Management Office）的项目经理。她说，在第一轮选择结束后，初创企业通常会启动申请流程，它们在以案例为基础的传统面试中增加了很多新元素。

    她说：“公司会让学生们在面试之前事先做好功课，展现自己与该职位的契合程度及其对工作的热忱。初创企业会以此筛选应征者。‘他是否已经下定决心从事这项工作，还是已经四处撒网，抛出了一大堆简历？’”

    初创企业希望应聘者能从一开始就表现突出，不论是采用视频简历还是提出业务发展方案都可以。因为初创企业通常并没有设立人力资源经理，重点考察的应聘者与企业高管见面之前并没有与人力资源经理见面作为缓冲环节。

    霍平表示：“通常如果招聘MBA层次的人才，公司希望寻找的是能够担任咨询师角色的人，能够帮助他们解决问题的人，比如类似‘公司发展如此之快，以至于我们都不知道该如何延续我们的经营了这样的问题’”

避免传统的后MBA职业生涯

    霍平称，沃顿商学院之所以开创了这种实习生职位拍卖项目，是为了满足MBA学生的需求。如今，MBA学生在离开学院时，已经不那么害怕尝试传统就业渠道了，比如投身咨询业、投资银行业、或者就职于大型企业。

    毕业生在初创企业往往需要接触到企业的方方面面，并从一开始就承担重任，因此公司也能够培养出一位适应繁重工作的多面手。

    然而，要找到这样理想人才仍然需要一段时间。小型公司的招聘成本刚刚够用而已，差旅费用预算也很有限。拥有巨额招聘预算的大型公司在每年五月毕业季时已经抢先一步与毕业生接洽，因此小型公司面对的人才库就更小了。对于毕业生们来说，问题在于是选择未来可预期的职业生涯，还是风险更大但也更刺激的冒险。

Enter the job auction

    The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has created partnerships with several venture capital firms to create an easier way for MBA students and companies to pair up.

    Every year, startups with VC backing submit requests for interns to Wharton's career services office. Students then bid on positions in an auction, which reduces the number of people competing for any given internship and ensures that the companies see resumes from the most interested candidates.

    After that first round, startups often begin an application process that adds many twists to the traditional case-based interview, says Michelle Hopping, senior associate director at the Wharton MBA Career Management Office.

    "Companies ask students to do homework in advance of the interview to show fit and passion," she says. "Startups use this to act as a filter. 'Is he committed to this position, or is he dropping a hundred resumes?'"

    From video resumes to business development pitches, job seekers are expected to distinguish themselves from the outset because startups usually do not have HR managers to serve as buffers before top candidates meet the busy executives they will be working for.

    "Often, at the MBA level, they are looking for someone who can serve in a consultant role," Hopping says. "Someone who can help with the problem of 'We're growing so fast, we can't figure out how to continue doing what we do.'"

Eschewing the traditional post-MBA career

    Hopping says that Wharton created the internship auction program in response to student demand. MBA students have been exiting school less afraid to buck the traditional career paths of consulting, investment banking, or working at a large corporation.

    At a startup, a recent graduate often gets to touch every aspect of a business and play a senior role from the start, while the company gets a generalist used to hard work.

    Still, this ideal fit is taking a while to catch on. With just-in-time hiring and limited travel budgets, smaller companies often find a shallower talent pool come graduation in May, after students have been wined and dined by big companies with impressive recruiting budgets. For students, it's a trade-off between a near-sure thing and a much riskier -- though potentially more exciting -- venture.