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Career Fairs and Recruitment Presentations:
Students Benchmark Best Practices
Mary Scott
SCOTT RESOURCE GROUP _________________
MPACE Annual Conference – Anaheim December 10, 2015
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Today’s Topics
Consortium Research Study: Project Background Participant Profile Methodology
Recruitment Best Practice Benchmarks: Career Fairs Presentations and Events Communication Channels and Tools
Takeaways
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About SCOTT RESOURCE GROUP…
Fully independent – since 1989 Consulting – Campus Recruitment IronHorse Index™: Acceptor/Decliner survey X/R: New Hires’ Expectations versus Reality™ Proprietary research:
Employer-commissioned projects Annual campus consortium-funded studies:
The Candidate Experience – Websites, Online Applications, Interviews and the Offer Process [Q1/2015]
Impact of the Internship Experience [Q4/2015]
NEXT: Campus Brand Differentiators: Students Benchmark Attraction, Discovery and Engagement Strategies [Q1/2016]
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Project Background
Consortium: ADP; Ernst & Young; Lutron; Macy’s; Shell Oil Sponsors suggested specific areas of inquiry Undergraduate focus; comparative analysis by discipline Campus focus groups; Online survey instrument Conducted October 26 – December 1, 2014 Proprietary period just expired 20 fielding sites selected by consortium members:
10 focus groups and online survey component 10 additional universities – Students opted in to participate
via online survey only
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Survey Sites
Focus Group Universities: Cornell, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Penn State, Purdue, Syracuse,
Texas A&M, and the Universities of California - Berkeley, Michigan and Texas
Online Survey Participation:
Brigham Young, Georgia Regents, Louisiana State, MIT, NYU, Northeastern, Ohio State, and the Universities of Georgia, Illinois and Pennsylvania
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Survey Sample Size Information
Participant population: 274
“Rule of 30”; Typical polling populations
Survey methodology: Heavy qualitative focus
Consistency in findings across cohorts and studies
Findings validated for participating student profile
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Participant Demographics
50%
50%
Male
Female
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53%
7%
33%
7%
CaucasianAfrican AmericanAsianHispanic
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Academic Profile
48%
37%
15%
Seniors Juniors Sophomores
37%
37%
15%11%
Engineering Business CS/IT A&S
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Survey Design
Recruitment Experience Agreement Factors
Force Ranks
Comparative Factors Ratings/Quantitative Data
Text and Focus Group Commentary/Qualitative Date
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Career Fairs
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Before attending a career fair, I determine which employers I will visit.
80 17 3
91 9
95 4 1
88 10 2
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Liberal Arts
IT/CS
Engineering
Business
Agree Neutral Disagree
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For the most part, attending career fairs has been a good use of my time.
49 40 11
80 20
68 20 12
61 30 9
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Liberal Arts
IT/CS
Engineering
Business
Agree Neutral Disagree
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Career Fair Force Rank
Career Fair Expectations 2014 2010
Learn more about companies in which I already have an interest 1 2
Meet with employers’ representatives 2 3
Learn about positions that match my job interests 3 1
Identify contacts to connect with after the career fair 4 4
Connect with employers where I’ve already applied 5 5
Learn about employers’ recruitment processes 6 6
Get information about benefits, work/life balance etc. 7 7
Collect the giveaways employers provide 8 8
Collect materials [brochures, DVDs] for later review 9 9
View interactive media at employers’ booths 10 10
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I tend to visit those employers that have a strong reputation and presence on campus
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
8.22 8.23 8.56 8.18
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I have been so impressed by an employer’s career fair booth that I decided to visit them
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
7.31 7.327.81
6.69
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I have been so impressed by an employer’s representative that I decided to apply
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
8.02 8.44 8.5
7.35
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I value the opportunity to meet with business/technical staff at the career fair
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
8.118.82 9.1
8.09
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I expect that employers will provide a giveaway when I visit their career fair booth
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
6.085.39 5.67 6
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Presentations and Events
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I usually attend the information sessions of employers in which I have an interest.
66 26 8
69 26 5
81 16 3
76 18 6
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Liberal Arts
IT/CS
Engineering
Business
Agree Neutral Disagree
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Proprietary and Copyrighted Document. Scott Resource Group [SRG] © 2015. All rights reserved.
For the most part, attending info sessions has been a good use of my time.
73 27
63 37
73 25 2
66 30 4
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Liberal Arts
IT/CS
Engineering
Business
Agree Neutral Disagree
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Information Session Force Rank
Information Session Expectations 2014 2010
Interact with recent hires and/or former interns 1 2
Learn about their specific positions and locations 2 3
Interact with hiring managers 3 1
Have an opportunity to network informally 4 5
Have an opportunity to ask questions one-on-one 5 4
Hear about employees’ experiences at the company 6 6
Interact with company executives 7 7
View a presentation [e.g. PPT] about the company 8 9
Interact with Human Resources representatives 9 8
Learn about a product or service they developed 10 10
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Preferred Length of Info Session
35%
69%74%
50%57%
30%25%
43%
8%1% 1% 1%0%
10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
< 1 hour 1 - 1.5 hours 1.5 - 2 hours
1995200520102014
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I value meeting with experienced managers and staff at recruitment events
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
8.88 8.78 8.59 8.65
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I value meeting with recent hires at recruitment events
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
8.81 8.77 8.85 8.59
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The format should include a formal presentation about their company
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2
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
7.21 7.19 7.616.88
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Videos and/or other interactive media should be presented
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
7.126.68 6.77 6.39
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Pre-recorded content is an acceptable alternative to a live speaker
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1
2
3
4
5
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8
9
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
4.733.76 3.83
4.58
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I value lunches and dinners with employers to learn about their company
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2
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
8.56 8.76 8.34 8.19
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I have gained useful information attending employers’ virtual recruiting events
0123456789
10
Undergrad ADC MBA
5.396.47
5.92
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I am able to assess an employer’s culture through virtual tools [webinars, online communities]
0123456789
10
Undergrad ADC MBA
5.62
7.08
4.76
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Online chat is just as useful as talking with an employer’s representative face-to-face
0123456789
10
Undergrad ADC MBA
3.66
5.16
2.93
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Communication Channels and Tools
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Value of Recruitment Communication Channels
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Communication Channel 2014 2010
Email from the employer 1 1 Career Services email or e-newsletter 2 3 Career Center website postings 3 2 Announcements on employers’ websites 4 4 Posters on bulletin boards around campus 5 5
Campus newspaper advertisement 6 6 Text messages to my cellphone 7 9 Postings on Facebook 8 7 Employers’ mobile apps 9 N/A Tweets from the employer 10 10
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I have accessed employer pages on social networking sites [e.g. Facebook].
57 21 22
44 15 41
25 15 60
50 23 27
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Liberal Arts
IT/CS
Engineering
Business
Agree Not Sure Disagree
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I have used online networking tools [e.g. LinkedIn] for job search purposes.
62 33 5
59 30 11
56 35 9
78 18 4
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Liberal Arts
IT/CS
Engineering
Business
Agree Not Sure Disagree
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I decided to attend an information session after learning about it on an employer’s website
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
6.31
5.21
6.55 6.32
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I decided to attend an info session after learning about it on social media [e.g. Facebook/Twitter]
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1
2
3
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5
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9
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Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts
4.63
3.33.78
5.63
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Takeaways
Career Fairs: Are not dead Greatest value is in learning more about targeted companies The booth is relatively unimportant – as are giveaways Company representatives have a powerful impact Career fairs are only one component of a broader strategy
Information Sessions:
Content trumps format Small venues and one-on-one interaction with ‘real’ staff Stories are far more impactful that PowerPoints Tell me something I don’t know…
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More Takeaways
Recruitment Communication Channels:
Personal interaction is highly valued as a differentiator
‘Social media’ is personal – LinkedIn is professional
Misuse/abuse of technology has a downside
The needle hasn’t really moved since 2008
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The Tech/Touch Paradox
The more we introduce recruitment technology
into the interface between students and potential employers,
the more students identify the people with whom they interact
as the brand differentiators.
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Contact Information
SCOTT RESOURCE GROUP University Relations and Recruitment
Research | Consulting | Expertise
www.ScottResourceGroup.com
Mary Scott [email protected]
957 Farmington Avenue | West Hartford, CT 06107
860.561.9827
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