SG Cowen Case Assignment PDF

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Course taught by professor McLaughlin...

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Karen Hung 90036013 MGMT 124 November 6, 2017 SG Cowen Case Natalya Godlewska Pros: 

Undergraduate degree in Eastern European university  share similar ‘culture’ with S.G. Cowen as they were originally from Europe as well.

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MBA student at Cornell  one of the core schools that also provides the highest recruiting yields for S.G Cowen over the years.

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Speaks fluent Russian, Polish, and German and some French  her multicultural aspect gives her advantage in the future as S.G. Cowen geographically expands internationally

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Took the initiative to call for an informational interview post Cornell presentation  shows her interests in the position and her eagerness

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Has impressive finance background; determined, ambitious, and ready to work hard

Cons: 

Seemed stiff and uncomfortable during small talk at the opening of the interview and also at dinner the night before  may be too nervous or have poor social interaction skills

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“less-than-perfect” English  poor English proficiency may influence her work ability

Martin Street Pros: 

substantial leadership experience; dynamic personality, confident and articulate

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Cons: 

Spent four years in the military, just currently taking finance course  lack of business industry experience

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Involves in many other recruiting events from different firms  not focused enough, shows that he may not be serious about applying for jobs

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Potentially be playing firms against one another in terms of wanting additional time to interview and consider offers  commitment concerns, hard to manage

Ken Goldstein Pros: 

Used to be a manager at PWC, managing multiple audit teams  substantial managing experience makes him a strong candidate

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Positive reference feedbacks and positive performance appraisal  reflects his ability to work with others and among teams.

Cons: 

He is a father of two sons which demands a lot of his personal times; his intention to be able to have work/life balance  raise concerns regarding his focus and dedication to the firm; interfere with how senior partners are going to manage other associates if they see him ‘having a life’ while others don’t.

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His managing experiences also raise concerns on whether or not he takes orders well especially when he is used to being in charge.

Andy Sanchez Pros:

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

Started his own business when he was still in school  entrepreneurship gives him practical experiences in the industry; demonstrated previous successes

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Enthusiastic and personable; had talked to a lot of people at SG Cowen and had have the informational interviews; always sends follow-up emails with associates he talked to; good social skills during Super Saturday  shows strong initiative and his focus on the firm

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Ready for new challenges  have realistic goals and understands what he wants.

Cons: 

Low undergraduate G.P.A.  although he said it was because that he had a business to run and two brothers to take care of, low undergraduate G.P.A. indirectly shows that he cannot get his priorities right. While taking care of family is good, running a business during undergraduate and in turn neglect school work does not make much sense.

After considering the pros and cons of each candidates, I have decided to hire Natalya Godlewska and Ken Goldstein for the following reasons. For Natalya, her European background and ability to speak multiple languages give her competitive advantages communicating with other S.G Cowen European offices comparing to other candidates. Coming from one of the core schools, she also has more chances to be on Gregg Schoenberg’s team of associates. While her social interaction skills may still be potential concerns, her attitude and strong initiatives shown toward the company make her a good asset. Lastly, I do not think her “less-than-perfect” English is going to affect her working relationships with other managers. Based on the personalities described in the case, her poor English proficiency will only become her more motivation to work harder in her position in the future. For Ken Goldstein, he has shown extensive experiences

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in the managing field as well. On top of experiences, the feedbacks the interviewers get from his references and his performance appraisal reflect his ability to work well with others and among teams. For a company like S.G Cowen, it is important for them to hire someone who can represent the company properly. That being said, I think with Ken’s industry experiences, he can manage any technical situations regarding the business. Some of the interviewers consider his family and children potential concerns. In this case, it is crucial that the company conducts a follow-up session with him to discuss the expectations they have and find out his willingness to commit to the company. For the most part, Ken is a stronger candidate than the other two remaining.

I did not choose the other two candidates for the following reasons. For Martin Street, his lack of business experience is a major setback. While he shows great leadership skills during the time in military and is currently taking finance classes, the transition from military to business is harder than he expects. It is hard for a successful company like S.G. Cowen to hire someone who does not have experiences to represent them. For Andy Sanchez, his low undergraduate GPA is also a major setback. Although he has high SAT and GMAT scores and some entrepreneurship experience, his performance during undergraduate time raises serious concerns. As an employee, I may wonder if the candidate had his priorities right when he decided to run a business while neglecting school work. Also, being able to perform above average is a basic requirement for such jobs in my opinion.

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