Market Overview:
A lot of college students recruiting for internships and jobs lack the motivation to prepare for technical exams, interviews, and casing. Our group believes that the competitive and secretive nature of the recruiting process makes students resort to preparing alone rather with partners. This is an issue we see across the board from universities of various ranks and geographic locations, and so we chose to create a platform that would unify resources and create accountability for this process.
Interview Questions:
- What do you do in your free time?
- What does socializing look like for you?
- What difficulties do you face with the recruiting cycle?
- What is your work style? Independent or collaborative?
- How do you normally prepare for recruitment/internship applications?
- Who do you engage with other people during recruitment? Do you talk about where/how you are applying?
- Would you pay for an application tracking service? If so, how much would you pay?
- What platforms are you currently using? Are there any that you are paying for? If so, how much?
Interviewee 1: Freshman at Berkeley studying Economics and Computer Science; recruiting for software engineering and product management
- The general takeaway from my interview with this student is that he struggles to find the motivation to LeetCode or practice casing. He prefers socializing in groups smaller than 10 people following by dinner and drinks. When it comes to preparing for recruitment, the student does not apply without a referral. After hours of LinkedIn searching and unproductive studying, he and his friends decided to make a list of “cool internships.” This was his first step into being transparent about his recruiting while also benefiting as he did so. The interviewee uses a variety of platforms ranging from social media, productivity, and music. He pays $5/month for Spotify, $10/month for iCloud, and $6/month for Amazon prize. That’s around $21/month for subscription-based applications without tax.
- “When it comes to subject that is like a pure memory test, I choose to study independently. But, if it’s a subject like CS or Math that needs to be more visual, I like studying in groups.”
Interviewee 2: Sophomore at Stanford studying Economics; recruiting for quant and private equity
- This interview was a lot different from the previous student in the sense that there was a lot more transparency between him and the people in his life. When recruiting, he talks to people in his pre-professional business fraternity and asks his parents for advice. As for the actual process, he asks mentors and role models to look over his resumes and cover letters. His working style is generally “collaborative but with freedom to do independent work.” The part of the recruiting process that is more technical requires preparation for a few weeks in advance. he takes a look at the company’s values, traits, people, etc.
Total Available Market (TAM)
- Students (undergraduate, graduate, new grads) worldwide applying for internships/entry-level roles
- India, Canada, UK, Singapore, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Thailand
Served Available Market (SAM)
- Undergraduate and Graduate students in the US applying for internships/entry-level jobs (18.99 M total college students *inclusive of majors not looking for SWE, PM, consulting roles*)
Segmented Obtainable Market (SOM)
- Stanford students (undergraduate, graduate, new grads) applying for internships/entry-level roles (16,914 total college students *inclusive of majors not looking for SWE, PM, consulting roles* )
- CS, Symbolic Systems, MS&E, Econ, Math, and Data Science majors
