Category: Recruiting

Suggestions to help your recruiting efforts.

Fall Career Fair Detailed Calendar

The weeks leading up to the Fall Career Fair are full of activity on the Michigan Tech campus.

In order to help the companies that recruit our students, Career Services has organized a web page to contain the information.  Please visit: http://www.mtu.edu/career/employers/campus-events/ before your visit to campus to help maximize your recruiting efforts.

You will find detailed brochures and complete registration information for the events that require advanced notification for participation.

Taking the plunge!

Too often, it is easy to make the safe choice. In many cases, this is easier and less work. All change requires additional work and some degree of risk.

Why would we change from our existing system for posting job opportunities and put our faith in a startup company?  Isn’t this a highly critical system designed to help our students find jobs?

Absolutely!

We have been stuck in a classic “chicken or the egg” paradigm with both companies and students frustrated with each other for not being more active participants in the process. This has lead to continuing decline in system utilization as the spiral continued.

After years of listening to our students and employers tell us that our system was difficult to use and impossible to access from mobile devices, we decided to switch to a system designed from the “ground up” for today’s student. With intelligent prompts, suggestions for occasional users, and heavy integration with the social media that students use today, Handshake is much simpler to use.

That is only part of the issue. To make the system fulfill its potential, our launch events in the fall are designed to get students actively participating in the new system and actively thinking about their careers.

When our students return to campus in the Fall, they will have a chance to search for jobs, interact with employers, and chart their career path — all from the palm of their hand!  We are excited to provide our students with the latest in job search technology by converting to Handshake.

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Learn From Your Interns

Providing meaningful projects to your Interns and Co-ops is important.  Students can learn a lot about their professional development, your company, and their career development based on the workplace challenges your provide them.

Have you ever taken the time to consider the things you can learn from your interns?

Interns are an excellent source of information about themselves and their peers.  Once the orientation is over and they are starting to settle into the routine of your office – take some time out of your busy schedule to ask them some questions:

  • What kinds of recruiting activities have you seen other companies do that have impressed you?
  • What is the most off-putting thing you have seen a recruiter do?
  • How much did you know about our industry before you started working here?
  • Do you have any friends that you could recommend that I meet?
  • What did you think of your orientation?  Did it prepare you for the challenges of working here?
  • Is there too much hands-on?  Too much desk work?
  • Do you have a good understanding of our office culture?

By acknowledging this student as an expert about their life experiences, you will gain  business intelligence for yourself, but also gain the confidence, trust, and respect of a young student by simply listening.

 

The Value of Summer Jobs for Youth

The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the labor participation rate, defined as those seeking employment or employed, is 17 percentage points below its peak in 1989. According to a J.P. Morgan Chase study, only 46% of teenagers that apply for a job this summer will actually become employed. A survey of official in 14 major cities estimates that tens of thousands of youths from economically disadvantaged families will not be able to find employment this summer in their urban centers. So what is the value of a summer job to teenagers in the short and long term?

My first summer job was at Arby’s restaurant in my hometown of Midland. My parents let me know it was time to begin earning money for college and spending on my social experiences. Up to that time I had done odd jobs here and there, but was never obligated to show up for work for scheduled shifts for a longer period of time. My friends made me aware of the job at Arby’s and I applied using them as a reference. After a 20 minute interview I was awarded the job, a uniform, a paper hat, and my first schedule including training sessions. I tuned up my bike for the 12 block ride to work 4 to 6 days a week. So what was the value of that job to me?

Working at Arby’s paid me minimum wage which was around $3.45 per hour. It didn’t make me rich. But that jobs value was more than the wage. It taught me time management. I learned how to step out of my comfort zone and learn new skills. It taught me that with consistent and creative effort comes more responsibility, respect, and increased compensation. I found that doing more than what was expected increased my value in the eyes of my employer, while seeing those around me that did less than expected were rewarded with termination of employment.

At Arby’s each employee was part of a team whose mission was great customer service. My manager, Dave, didn’t play favorites but reward those that exceeded his expectations. The rewards may have been in the form of a free meal but often was just a moment of conversation and praise for specific actions we took that he appreciated. These conversations always concluded with statements of how it benefited others on the team and the customer.

So why are summer jobs so important to teenagers? Teenagers are in what experts call formative years. They are looking for purpose and direction that allow them to establish and endorse core values which will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Numerous studies have shown the value of employment. Success as an employee is like a self-confidence drug, once you get a taste of it you yearn for more. Lessons learned by a teenager during a summer job can help establish a strong work ethic, develop an understanding of how to contribute in a team environment, help prioritize tasks and much more. And the hidden take-away from a summer job? The never-ending yearning of each student to pursue a job where they can be successful in attaining the self-confidence drug is where the true value lies.

2014 Fall Career Fair

Michigan Tech Career Services cordially invites you to participate in our 2014 Fall Career Fair, September 30, 2014.

If you’re recruiting students for internship, co-op, and full-time positions in the fields of Engineering, IT, and Science and Technology, we encourage you to attend the Michigan Tech Fall Career Fair on September 30, 2014. Michigan Tech also educates some of the nation’s highest achievers in Business, Forestry/Ecology, Technical Writing, Arts and Sciences, and Clinical Lab Science.

Register today at www.mtu.edu/career

New Event – 2014 Spring Cyber Career Fair

Wednesday, February 26, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM, Memorial Union Building (MUB) Ballroom A2

The Cyber Career Fair allows you to meet with companies that weren’t able to come to the Career Fair.  After an electronic resume exchange and a “virtual handshake,” you will speak to company representatives the same way you do at the Career Fair, using teleconferencing technology.

Dress professionally and bring your most up-to-date-resume and 60-second Info-mercial to meet with company representatives offering internship, co-op and full-time employment opportunities.  Companies participating are:

Submit your resume in advance by visiting: http://mtucybercareerfair.appspot.com/

Corporate Information Sessions – Reimagined!

Information Sessions are held on campus to help students learn more about companies and their employment opportunities.   These meetings are a great opportunity for our students to learn about recruiting companies and speak with representatives about internships, co-ops, and full-time positions.  However, with so many occurring the night before the career fairs, students are limited in the number they can attend, and companies are also limited in the number of students they can meet.

After listening to feedback from students and employers, Career Services has reimagined the usual informational session into a one stop, informal, open house event where 13 companies are gathered all in one place and all on one night.  The new “Employer Information Expo” is being held on Sunday, February 16, 2014 in Fisher Hall.  Students will be able to visit as many information sessions as they’d like from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. and then enjoy open networking from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.  This new event will connect more students with more companies and their representatives for a robust evening of recruiting.

For more information visit: http://www.mtu.edu/career/