◼ FINANCE Bloomberg Businessweek October 14, 201928
It’sbeenoneofthesafestbetsonWallStreet:
Study businessatWharton,Harvard,orthe
UniversityofChicagoandapplyfora jobininvest-
mentbanking.Playsquash orlacrosse?That
helps.Socantherightfraternityorclub.
Whenrecruitingtalent,theoverwhelmingly
white,male,andelite-educatedcohortwhorun
America’stopfinancialfirmsreflexivelyseekout
youngerversionsofthemselves.Psychologistscall
thistendencythe“like-me”bias.Aspirantswitha
preppypedigreehavetheinsidetrackoncoveted
jobsinmergersandacquisitions,capitalmarkets,
corporatefinance,andrestructuring.Everyone
else,includingwomenandminorities,startsat
a disadvantage.
Butfinanceneedstochangeinthiseraof
diversityandinclusion,andfirmshaveturned
toartificialintelligenceforhiringhelp.A grow-
ingnumber,includingHoulihanLokey,Lazard,
Moelis,andPJTPartnersareusingpredictivealgo-
rithmstosiftthroughapplicationsandfindthose
candidatesmostlikelytobecometopperform-
ers—lookingpastthekindsofsuperficialsignals
thatmightswaya campusrecruiter.Thinkofit as
Match.comforfinance.
They’re allworkingwithSuitedInc.,a Los
Angelesstartupthat’sdevelopeda recruitingtool
expresslyforinvestmentbanks.Asinonlinedating,
eachapplicantfillsouta profile.Thisonecovers
everythingfromcollegeeducationtopersonality
traitsandtakesabout 30 minutes to complete. A
computer program runs those responses through
a model, scoring them against an ideal set of attri-
butes for each firm. “When you talk about it in the
abstract, that’s one thing,” says Steven Murray,
PJT Partners Inc.’s head of human resources. “But
when you turn up with a pile of résumés and our
bankers can see the data, suddenly they’re asking,
‘Oh, how did this person score?’ ”
The way investment banks prospect for hires
hasn’t changed much in decades. They start by
focusing on an exclusive group of schools. There’s
an information session on campus, followed by a
round of “speed dating” in which students try to
meet and impress as many bankers as possible.
The recruiting team then considers résumés andpersonal references in deciding who gets invited
back for interviews. Summer internships—as an
analyst, for junior-year undergrads, or as an asso-
ciate, for first-year MBA hopefuls—are the prize.
Many of those interns go on to become great
dealmakers, but it’s never clear whether the system
really works or is just self-reinforcing. What if the
banks considered candidates from a wider range
of schools? What if unconscious bias didn’t play a
role? Suited’s proposition is that AI can automate
the labor-intensive part of recruiting, making● A startup says it can use algorithms to screen a more diverse pool of Wall Street job seekersHow to Put AI in Team
▼ SpencerPHOTOGRAPH BY SASHA TIVETSKY