University Career Services are trying to create new engagement with students and help prepare them for careers after school. One new offering I am seeing offered by career services is organizing corporate tours where they build relationships with relevant companies. Within this offering, a short office tour and information session is organized where students can talk to management and new hires to understand what a career at their company would look like. I recently participated in one of these from a corporate standpoint & have some tips for students as well as for Career Services.
The students arrived looking dashing and all professionally attired to make a good impression. We started the introduction asking who had heard of our company before. I was shocked to see only 1 out of 15 students put up their hand. Would you really come into an interview without even visiting the company website & understanding their offerings, jobs and company vision or culture? Well these students did. Our first impression of the students was not good though they went on to have great questions throughout the tour.
Career Services: don’t assume that your students will do their due diligence in doing research on the companies you are visiting. Ensuring your students are prepared will make a great impression as this reflects on your campus & your services. This will help the company want to further engage your services to hire your students.
Students: Any time you are engaging with a potential employer, have your ducks in a row. Do your research. Visit the company website, seek them out on Facebook & LinkedIn. Understand the basic values of the company and know why you might want to work for them. Remember, just because an interaction isn’t a job interview doesn’t mean it can’t get you a job! First impressions count more than ever now that the job market is picking up and companies have choices in the students they hire.
I applaud career services for connecting student’s to corporate life and building higher engagement between students and their campus services. Hopefully my above tips help make these offerings even stronger for all parties involved.
Bang on Chelsea! I think it's important for students to hear things like this right from the employer's mouth. I can give the exact same advice until I am blue in the face and get no response. A student hears it from an employer that is able to hire them and all of a sudden it makes sense to them. Could not have said it better myself!
ReplyDeleteJonathan - thanks for the blog comment. Feel free to share my article with students to show them employers believe any moment is theirs to SHINE! I know Career services provide the material to students and encourage them to do their due diligence but students need to actually do it and showcase their interest & knowledge of companies during ANY meeting - a company presentation, mock interviews, corporate tours. Any connection can absolutely turn into a turn key moment for students getting a job!
ReplyDeleteThere is a very powerful statement in here for students: "just because an interaction isn’t a job interview doesn’t mean it can’t get you a job!" I highly encourage students to treat every face to face opportunity with any employer as a chance to shine! Think of it this way: so many applicants are tired of feeling like their resume is at the bottom of the pile; when you have the chance to visit an employer's office, you're bringing your resume to life and you better believe it's a way to get that resume to the top of the pile! Good luck students!
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