By Ian Glennon · Originally published August 5, 2018
Welcome back to the data driven recruiting series!
Please refer to the first article in this series for the first five findings and more details on the data sources and methodology behind the analysis. As I mentioned in my first post, the following findings show correlations only and should not be interpreted causally.
Now, time for the insights!
This post will focus on invite-only events – that is, events to which companies invite a select group of people.
Finding #6 – Invite-Only Events Are Highly Indicative of Interview Invite Odds
There’s no sugarcoating this finding. If you have been invited to an invite-only event, you now know that your odds of getting a first-round interview are far higher.
For some companies, the difference is massive. Taking one consulting company (company ten in Chart 6 below), students who were invited to an invite-only event got invited to interview 57 percentage points more than those who weren’t invited. Even more striking is the difference in interview likelihood at company two, where the visible odds of getting an interview go up by more than a factor of six if you’re invited to an invite-only event (8% versus 50%). On average, those with invitations to an invite-only event get invited to interview 34 percentage points more than those who don’t.
Chart 6 – Relationship between Invitation to Invite-Only Event and Interview Invitation Rate.
Note: The numbers beside each bar represent the percentage of applicants in that category that received an interview invitation. Each company had applicants that were invited and not invited to the invite-only event, represented by the “Yes” and “No” columns, respectively.
Source: Stern Student Records and Student Survey
Finding #7 – Not Being Invited Doesn’t Mean No Interview
Harnessing our inner optimist, while an invitation to an invite-only event does show that you are much more likely to get an interview, not getting invited does not mean you’re out of the party. While our above-mentioned “most cliquey” company (company two in Chart 6) gives you just 8% odds of getting invited to an interview if not invited to their private event beforehand, the odds at company six are still 66% without that invite. Furthermore, the overall weighted odds of getting an interview without an invite to the private event across all companies is still 36.5%.
So, while invite-only events are important indicators, it’s equally important to not lose hope if you did not receive an invite!
Finding #8 – By the Time Invite-Only Event Invitations Arrive, the Odds of Receiving an Interview are Mostly Set
This finding might be confusing given finding #6. How can there be such a huge difference in interview offer rates between those who were invited to a private event and those who weren’t, and yet those very invites do not affect your true odds of getting invited for an interview?
In this analysis, the invitation added little predictive information after accounting for the measured factors. This is consistent with an invitation acting as a signal of candidate characteristics; it does not establish that attending an event has no effect.
Summary
Being invited to an invite-only event is a strong signal that you will also be invited to interview with that company. If you have been invited to one, sleep happy knowing that your odds of getting an interview are high.
Equally, don’t get discouraged if you were not invited. Many students in my data sample were invited to interview despite not receiving an invite-only event invitation. Furthermore, not all companies are equal; the signaling strength of the invite-only event invitation varies significantly across companies. Focus instead on that final networking push, and don’t lose sight of the prize until that final decision is really made.
