Welcome back, Swarthmore, to a brand new year and a brand new semester! We hope that your winter break was fulfilling and that you had some time to rest, relax, and recharge. Over here at Career Services, planning has been in full swing to bring you a semester full of educational and recruiting experiences.
My name is Kelly Dougherty and I am the Assistant Director of Employer Relations. In addition to meeting with students, a large part of my job is engaging with our employer partners helping to bring information, events, and opportunities to you all! One of the new initiatives we are bringing to you this year is our Featured Employers Blog: CASUAL FRIDAYS. Each week, we will bring to you an interview with some new employers, as well as some of who have partnered with us frequently over the years, to bring loads of information about their organizations, the work they do and what kinds of opportunities they have available for students and upcoming grads.
We’re excited about this new opportunity and look forward to bringing you new content every Friday. We hope that these informal sit downs will be a great way to get you some good information that will be available and accessible to you all throughout the semester.
First up, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Hannah Weingartner, an Associate for Talent Acquisition at AlphaSights. AlphaSights has been an active recruiting partner with the Tri-College over the years. They’ve hosted numerous info sessions, attended a number of recruiting events, and hired many Swatties and Tri-Co alums over the year.
Kelly Dougherty: Thanks for being here today, Hannah! We’re happy to have you as our first Casual Fridays guest. Can you tell us a little about AlphaSights for those who don’t know?
Hannah Weingartner: AlphaSights was founded in 2008 and has become a global leader in knowledge on-demand. We connect investors and business leaders with the knowledge they need to succeed. Working from nine cities globally, we have over 1500 employees that provide around the clock coverage to the world’s top investment funds, consultancies, and businesses.
KD: Thank you for sharing that. What can new hires expect from the culture of the office? What is the benefit of working here?
HW: We’re proud to be regularly recognized as an employer of choice; our people’s career success really matters to us. We offer ambitious and driven individuals the opportunity to own commercial results from day one, build a track record of achievement and springboard their career. Our colleagues are provided with hands-on learning opportunities, 90% on the job and 10% through structured training.
As a high-performance, client-first organization, our culture is defined by our focus on client, career, and company success. People come here to individually grow, and collectively achieve something bigger than themselves.
KD: Sounds like there is a lot of care for the individual at AlphaSights. What types of positions are you currently recruiting for?
HW: Our associate role is open to current undergraduate seniors (Class of 2025) or alumni with 0-2 years of professional experience. Our internship program is open to undergraduate juniors (Class of 2025).
KD: Great. Do you recruit all year round, or do you have a specific recruiting time frame?
HW: AlphaSights hires on a rolling basis and interviews throughout the year. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible as spaces within each start class are limited!
KD: Can you talk to me a little bit about how career development and professional development is supported at AlphaSights?
HW: At AlphaSights, we value equal opportunity for all employees through our employee promise:
Employee promise pillar one: Own commercial results from day 1 – Client service is at the very core of what we do. As an Associate, you’ll get more expert, project, and client-facing responsibility than other entry level roles.
Employee promise pillar two: Build a track record of achievement – You’ll follow an accelerated career trajectory and receive leadership responsibilities earlier than elsewhere. Working in our Client Service team, you’ll learn how to interact confidently with top-tier clients and senior executives. You’ll achieve measurable success for your clients and yourself, allowing you to build a track record of achievement.
Employee promise pillar three: Springboard your career – You’ll take a crash course in commercial and client service skills to jumpstart your career. Intense on-the-job training will help you develop highly transferable commercial and managerial skills and prepare to take on direct reports after 24-30 months.
KD: What would you say is the best part about working at AlphaSights?
HW: As an Associate or Summer Associate, you’ll get more expert, project, and client-facing responsibility than other entry-level roles. Experiences gained working with senior executives at the world’s top Fortune 500s, funds, and consultancies will help you build a track record of achievement. You’ll gain commercial and client service skills, including effective business communication, project management, and confident negotiation. Working, learning, and growing alongside ambitious peers will set you up for success to help you go further, faster.
As a Client Service Associate, your work is at the heart of what we do: you’ll be the link between our top-tier clients and the expert knowledge they seek. Throughout a fast-paced workday, you will be working on urgent projects from your assigned client users at investment funds, consultancies, and businesses. You will need to understand their exact knowledge needs, and then find, engage, and vet the experts most suited to each client’s situation. To succeed in this role, you need to be motivated by delivering results for your clients and by achieving commercial goals. This is a communications-intense frontline role requiring a client-first mindset and the ability to multi-task across an action-packed workday.
KD: Thank you so much for sharing all this with me, Hannah. If students have any more questions, who is the best person to reach out to?
HW: Students can feel free to reach out to me! (hannah.weingartner@alphasights.com)
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us!
