Career matchmakers: partnering with collegiate career centers offers recruiters access to a rich source of applicants

HR Magazine, Feb, 2005 by Lisa Munniksma

Employers who hope to find a great new hire within the ranks of graduating college students can sometimes be overwhelmed by the sheer number of potential applicants they must screen. But with the right campus connections--such as a link to college career services offices--recruiters can get substantial help in quickly connecting with the best and brightest talent for their companies.

Although career center staff, in keeping with codes of ethics for their profession, cannot recommend specific students, they can direct recruiters to pools of candidates and offer a forum for students and employers to communicate in ways beyond just looking at resumes or job listings.

Career services offices can make special efforts to accommodate employers' specific needs, says Amanda Nell, director of employer relations at the University of Missouri Career Center in Columbia. For example, she explains, if employers "have a new push for hiring diversity candidates, we really help them to create a game plan and a recruitment plan to attract those candidates to their organization."

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In addition, career services departments help students focus their searches and conduct more effective interviews--which means employers are less likely to waste their time with students who have no idea where their interests lie or whose unpolished interviewing skills make it difficult to spot their true potential to become workplace stars.

Professionals in college career services focus "on educating our students about the career process," says Nell. "We really think that we're building lifelong skills to help them be better candidates, to interview well, to build the strongest resumes possible [and to develop] decision-making skills."

As a result, the students that career services professionals deal with have the kinds of skills that employers want--and that employers may not be able to find in students who have not passed through career services offices, Nell says.

Value All Around

Employers say they appreciate that career services programs allow them to home in on focused students and to bypass unsuitable applicants.

Mark Rippel, SPHR, director of HR at the travel-package wholesaler Apple Vacations, based in Newtown Square, Pa., explains: "When I use something like Monster or HotJobs, oftentimes there are many people who just sort of blanket the field with their resumes. Whereas when we have actually gone out to the colleges, if we do indeed get interest from the college, it is somebody who can specifically identify to the position we have available."

Rippel adds that college career services often "identify graduating seniors in a particular field. We have been able to receive a list of those people with campus addresses and will write them a personal letter" inviting them to interview.

This personal approach worked for Jessica Bronzert, who received an MBA from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management in Cleveland. She was recruited as a corporate associate by National City Corp., a major financial services company based in Cleveland, through Case's career services center.

"I think it was probably one of the best resources that I used," Bronzert says. "The opportunities that came through the career services center were very targeted to people in an MBA program [who were] graduating [and] looking for opportunities in Cleveland."

Similarly, a career services program helped Sara Dissen, who graduated from Indiana University's Kelly School of Business with a concentration in computer information systems, find a job with Hewitt Associates, a global HR outsourcing and consulting firm based in Lincolnshire, Ill. Through her alma mater's business placement office (BPO), Dissen participated in career fairs, company presentations, interviews, and a required senior-level class that focused on interviewing, career skills and getting acquainted with the BPO's services.

"The majority of business majors used the BPO to network with companies and get interviews on campus," says Dissen. "The career center helped me network with Hewitt and get my resume to them early on in my career search."

Kathy Loverude, national recruiting consultant for Hewitt, has an equally positive take: "Career centers are an important connection point between your organization and a potential hire."

Getting To Know Each Other

While collegiate career services can help HR in various ways--from career fairs to targeted searches--it's up to HR professionals to establish and maintain the campus ties that can improve their recruiting productivity.

Many of the tips for creating such ties--from career services offices as well as HR professionals--are grounded in the conviction that recruiters must make themselves known at colleges. "Don't remain anonymous," says Mike Ellis, director of career and life education at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa. "Make a phone call, come on campus, take a look around, explore the departments."

Loverude cites the value of broadening your familiarity with the school. "Building a relationship with the career center is certainly a first step with college recruiting," she says. "You should also connect with the professors or department heads of the major or curriculum that is the best match for your available position."