“The UA is an awesome resource for finding new people.”

After Dave Musselmann ’94 graduated from the UA with a marketing degree, he headed toward the booming economy of Phoenix. But a decade later, he still returns to campus when he needs promising new employees for his company, Paramount Financial Services.

“They’re far more ahead of the curve than the average graduate,” he says. At any given time, up to 80 percent of his employees come from the UA.

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Paramount provides financing for businesses to buy equipment, from computer systems to state-of-the-art medical technology. Paramount also helps small companies, such as medical equipment vendors, who depend upon the availability of financing for their customers.

“They have to bridge the gap and make the sale,” Musselmann says. “The customer has to be able to afford their product. Banks don’t lend on small equipment costs, say under $200,000, because it really isn’t worth their time. And most small companies don’t have the ability to get a loan. So we serve this middle market.”

Musselmann looks for employees who are prepared to jump right in, and to find them he relies on assistance from UA Career Services, including Internet job postings, seminars, on-campus interviews, and intensive career counseling.

The program provides a direct link to students who are well prepared to enter the workforce. “It’s an awesome resource for finding new people,” Musselmann says. “Career Services really gets ahead of the students by telling them that a company is coming and giving them information about the company. They give us access to different groups to speak to and rooms to hold informational sessions. Career Services is just so professional and proactive in how they set that up” — professionalism that has become a priceless Wildcat calling card.

http://arizonaalumni.com/article/finance-%E2%80%99cats-finding-home