Recruitment Season

One year ago, I was trekking to Chicago for my interview at the Fed. In a whirlwind 24 hours, I flew into town, did a Table for One dinner (for the first and last time) at Giordano's, had a series of 6 interviews with 14 economists, and then flew back to Ithaca that night. The whole experience felt like a dream, but with more awkwardness, less nudity, and equivalent amounts of flying.

Recruitment season is once again in full swing, and the Fed is busy interviewing for new Associate Economists who will replace those of us leaving for grad school or other jobs. So far, we've had about 8 or 10 candidates come in for interviews with Micro, Macro, and Payments. My group (Finance) is actually not hiring this year, since we've already asked an intern from last summer to come back for a full-time stint. Essentially, my already limited influence is now down to nil.

The only contact we really have with prospective AEs is during lunch, when they are treated to a meal at the Fed cafeteria and then immersed in a conversation that usually has nothing to do with economics. For instance, lunchtime topics in the recent past have included chupacabras, whether a plane will take off while on a moving conveyor belt, and the difference in behavior between male and female lobsters in a pot.

So, do we lowly AEs have any say on who gets hired? The answer is, not much, but there is still the potential to influence the opinions of hiring economists. One candidate in particular came off as creepy, and after we discussed this in the elevator, a senior economist asked what we thought of the recruit. I never thought I'd be on the other side of the table, and I must admit, it's kind of nice. Moreover, HR is responsible for much of the initial candidate screening, but since they often don't know what to look for, sometimes AEs will help do some screening. That means we read your cover letters, resumes, recommendations, and transcripts..

Good luck to all the job applicants out there, for the Fed and otherwise.