career fairs and recruitment presentations: students ... · career fairs and recruitment...

Career Fairs and Recruitment Presentations:

Students Benchmark Best Practices

Mary Scott

SCOTT RESOURCE GROUP _________________

MPACE Annual Conference – Anaheim December 10, 2015

Proprietary and Copyrighted Document. Scott Resource Group [SRG] © 2015. All rights reserved.

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


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]


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


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


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


Participant Demographics

50%

50%

Male

Female


53%

7%

33%

7%

CaucasianAfrican AmericanAsianHispanic

Academic Profile

48%

37%

15%

Seniors Juniors Sophomores

37%

37%

15%11%

Engineering Business CS/IT A&S


Survey Design

Recruitment Experience Agreement Factors

Force Ranks

Comparative Factors Ratings/Quantitative Data

Text and Focus Group Commentary/Qualitative Date


Career Fairs



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


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



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

I tend to visit those employers that have a strong reputation and presence on campus


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Business Engineering IT/CS Liberal Arts

8.22 8.23 8.56 8.18

I have been so impressed by an employer’s career fair booth that I decided to visit them


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


7.31 7.327.81

6.69

I have been so impressed by an employer’s representative that I decided to apply


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


8.02 8.44 8.5

7.35

I value the opportunity to meet with business/technical staff at the career fair


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


8.118.82 9.1

8.09

I expect that employers will provide a giveaway when I visit their career fair booth


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


6.085.39 5.67 6

Presentations and Events



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



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



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


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

I value meeting with experienced managers and staff at recruitment events


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


8.88 8.78 8.59 8.65

I value meeting with recent hires at recruitment events


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


8.81 8.77 8.85 8.59

The format should include a formal presentation about their company


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


7.21 7.19 7.616.88

Videos and/or other interactive media should be presented


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


7.126.68 6.77 6.39

Pre-recorded content is an acceptable alternative to a live speaker


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


4.733.76 3.83

4.58

I value lunches and dinners with employers to learn about their company


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


8.56 8.76 8.34 8.19

I have gained useful information attending employers’ virtual recruiting events

0123456789

10

Undergrad ADC MBA

5.396.47

5.92


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


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


Value of Recruitment Communication Channels

Proprietary and Copyrighted Document. Scott Resource Group [SRG] © 2015 All rights reserved.

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


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


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

I decided to attend an information session after learning about it on an employer’s website


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


6.31

5.21

6.55 6.32

I decided to attend an info session after learning about it on social media [e.g. Facebook/Twitter]


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


4.63

3.33.78

5.63


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…


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

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.


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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