Dive Brief:
- Companies have partnered up with institutions, such as Michigan State University's College of Engineering, to go beyond standard recruitment practices and offer more hands-on engagement with student bodies, in an effort to more effectively build out the college to career pipeline, reports Ozy.
- General Electric, for example, uses virtual reality technology to showcase its products and puts on hackathons to connect with students more closely, while many companies also use Yello's mobile app to keep track of student event interest and then use that to send them job information.
- Universities are also enhancing their industry partnerships by reforming career services — for instance, MSU College of Engineering's career services team interview peers before they get hired to work the front desk, so students get a feel for what it's like to go through the job process. The school also puts on a resume-free mingling event for employers and students to facilitate networking.
Dive Insight:
As students become more technologically savvy and it becomes easier for them to search through, and therefore siphon off potential career options, companies can no longer engage in simple recruitment fair practices — as students are already way ahead in looking. MSU College of Engineering is an example of institution to industry partnerships that more effectively build students' pathways into companies that need them, by offering them a chance to see what it might actually be like to work in those offices, or what type of employer they may have.
But at the same time companies are coming to campus, it's important for institutions to also enhance their own career education practices, as many students throughout college don't engage in an internship or ever have the experience of sitting down for a job interview. Instilling within students these types of skills is also a key part of partnership with industry, because it allows for recent graduates to have a sense of what it actually means to navigate the world work.