Finding a Job Before Graduation
Keeping up with changes in campus recruiting
– Joe Halpern
Planning for the future is stressful no matter what stage of life a person is in. For college students who want to enter the workforce upon graduation, planning for the future means going through the campus recruitment/job interview process. Combine this stressful process with studying for classes, thoughts about moving to a new city, and an overall transition to a new period in life, and it is no surprise why many people feel that the campus recruiting process is one of the most demanding and trying periods that they have ever experienced. Therefore, in order to best plan for the future, one of the primary factors that many students consider when determining what they want to study is how well a certain school or major will prepare them for the job market. At the University of Michigan, students need to make their decisions of what college to attend (such as the College of Engineering, LSA, the Ross School of Business, etc.) either as seniors in high school when applying to college or as Freshman just taking their first classes. Because of Michigan’s early timeline and the importance of the decision on their futures, many students make the decision of what school to attend based more on how they perceive a school will prepare them for their future rather than actual observation. But are these perceptions correct?
Prior to diving into the details of how each school at the University of Michigan actually readies its students for campus recruitment, it is important to look at the perceptions that students have and how different schools advertise the career prep that they provide to their students. The Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering are perceived to be the two colleges that best prepare their students for campus recruiting and the job market. On the Ross website, in their ‘Is Business Right for Me?’ section, the first thing that they promote is the careers that BBA students embark on. Rebecca Gu, a senior at the Ross School of Business, said that Ross’ career development was the primary reason why she chose to attend the school. On the College of Engineering’s ‘Careers & Industry’ section of their website, they promote that ‘students connect with prospective employers right on-campus through a variety of events, including two major engineering wide career fairs and thousands of on-campus interviews held each year’. The perceptions that these two schools have as the best career development schools on campus likely come from their promotion of job placement statistics and the active role that they play in helping connect students with recruiters in addition to their majors being associated with specific careers.
Other schools across campus, such as LSA and the School of Education, do not share the same reputations as schools that provide their students with inside access to companies–but these reputations are fluid. In 2016, LSA introduced the LSA Opportunity Hub, which “was created to provide equitable access to transformative opportunities and support for LSA students to pursue their aspirations and career goals,” says Paula Wishart, Assistant Dean of Student Development & Career Initiatives at LSA. Wishart says she believes that many students are aware of the services that the LSA Opportunity Hub provides and that she “predicts that LSA will be viewed very differently in the future based on the commitment we are making to support our students.” So, while LSA may not have the same professional reputation that Ross and the College of Engineering have, it is making a concerted effort to improve its relations with potential employers, and many students are aware (and appreciative) of these efforts. The School of Education, although far more specific in focus as compared to LSA, is respected by its students for how they help with career prep. Jesse Friedman, a recent graduate of the School of Education, said that the school’s “career office (had) helpful and accessible staff.”
Understanding and acknowledging the reputations of each school with regard to recruiting is one thing, but understanding the variation in resources, tools, and networking opportunities that each school provides for its students is truly what defines the professional development that a school provides for its students. In this article, I will analyze the two primary methods through which companies recruit on campus: the old-fashioned methods, such as career fairs, and the newer, online methods.
The Old-Fashioned Methods (i.e. On-Campus Career Fairs and Networking Events)
Career fairs (and employer events) are synonymous with campus recruitment. Anybody who has gone through the campus recruiting process has likely attended one, and they are still a primary way in which the schools across campus at Michigan connect their students with potential employers. However, not all career fairs are created equally. Do different colleges across campus cultivate career fairs with employers who have the intention of hiring students, or are these companies looking to pass along information?
The College of Engineering hosted four career fairs on campus and numerous other employer events on North Campus this year. Kerri Boivin, the director of the Engineering Career Resource Center, says that “the ECRC hosts a large volume of employers on campus throughout the year” and that from these events, “over 4,000 interviews have been hosted on campus through the ECRC since September.” Kyle McLaughlin, a senior studying Computer Science and slated to start working at Amazon in July, says that “the College of Engineering does a great job at maintaining relationships with companies and getting companies to come to campus.” He adds that he has attended “the big engineering fall and winter career fairs” and that “conversations with recruiters have resulted in interviews…and the process for one of my internships was initiated when I spoke to that company at a career fair.” McLaughlin’s experiences highlight how recruiters who attend the Engineering Career Fairs have great relationships with the ECRC and hope to interview—and hopefully hire—students who attend these career fairs.
The major career fairs on central campus at Michigan (the Engineering career fairs take place on North Campus) are hosted by the University Career Center, which is funded by Student Life and not directly affiliated with any specific college on campus. The University Career Center hosts the general Fall and Winter Job & Internship Fairs, which plays host to companies/organizations from various industries, ranging from the Automotive industry to not-for-profits. The Career Center also hosts numerous individual industry career fairs, such as the Actuarial Career Fair and the Consulting & Finance Career fair. On top of University Career Center events, the LSA Opportunity Hub has introduced four new career fairs to LSA students, including an Internship Forum and a Social Impact Fair. Although students may receive interview invitations from these career fairs, students give more mixed results about the opportunities that can arise because of them. Varchas Raman, a senior studying Political Science who is still going through the recruiting process, said that he has received interviews from the University Career Center fairs. Yishai Ribon, a senior at Ross, was hired by a company that he first networked with at a Career Center Fair. On the other hand, Rebecca Gu said that she “attended the LSA career fair my sophomore year but did not advance further because of it.” I have attended both the general Fall Job & Internship Fair and the Consulting & Finance Career Fair, and I concur with both Raman and Gu’s statements–the results from these events were mixed. I can see how they could create opportunities for students, but they do not have the near-guaranteed success of the Engineering events, because while these events get companies to campus, they are not viewed as a primary source of hiring like they are at the College of Engineering..
The Ross School of Business hosts Networking Events with several companies from various industries, who come to campus for hour-long presentations that can lead to interviews for students. These networking events are held 2-3 times per week all throughout the semester. Ribon says that he has several Ross classmates that have been hired through this process. Each school has their own process, but the School of Education provides an example of what smaller, more focused schools provide for their students. Jesse Friedman says that the school hosts a career fair with hundreds of employers, however there are not too many networking opportunities outside of these events. This is common at smaller colleges within the University due to smaller budgets. That is why the University Career Center “partners with other schools and colleges,” such as the School of Kineseology and the Stamps School of Art & Design to aid them in this process, says Joelle Fundaro Randall, the Assistant Director of the University Career Center office.
The New Way: Connecting with Employers Online
Although career fairs are still a way in which many students can connect with potential employers, online job posting platforms provided by the colleges are the new online way in which campus recruiting takes place. On sites such as Handshake, which is provided by the Career Center and is meant for college students, students can connect with interested companies and apply for jobs–sometimes in under two clicks. Because Handshake is provided by the Career Center, students across all colleges at Michigan can access it. As an LSA student studying Economics, I found Handshake to be the most helpful resource; because of how easy it is to apply to jobs on the site, I was able to apply to over 100 jobs, receive over 10 interview invites, and get two job offers (one in Detroit and one in Chicago).
The College of Engineering and Ross each have their own online job portals that only students at their colleges have access to. Ross’ portal is called iMpact, and it has similar functionality to Handshake in that students can filter through companies and apply easily. IMpact gives detailed information on all companies who recruit through Ross, contact info for key employees at the company, and more valuable information. There are certain companies, specifically in Finance and Consulting, that only list their Michigan job postings on iMpact, but Ribon says that he and many other Ross still utilize Handshake. Similarly, the College of Engineering provides its students (and LSA Computer Science Majors) with its own job posting service: ENGenius. Justin Miller, an Engineering Student who is starting work as a Tech Consultant at Deloitte this summer, says that he found both ENGenius and Handshake helpful in his job search. In addition to these, the Opportunity Hub has also introduced the LSA Opportunity Network, a platform similar to Handshake that connects students with potential employers online. In total, although Ross and the College of Engineering provide their own services which are helpful for their students, Handshake is a platform that a majority of students from all colleges across campus find helpful.
Other Career Development Resources
Career fairs, networking events, and online platforms such as Handshake constitute the primary ways in which career development offices across campus connect students with potential employers. But this facilitation of student-employer connections is not the only mechanism by which career resources centers help students develop professionally; they also provide students numerous other resources, such as mock interviews, resume workshops, and much more.
The Ross School of Business has created a “career-oriented culture,” according to Gu. She says that the Ross Career Development Office “helps students navigate the recruiting season logistically, prepare technically, and even find less traditional opportunities.” She also says that the Ross coursework can help prepare students for recruiting, as she took Interview Question tests in a Business Communications course. The College of Engineering also provides its students with numerous professional development opportunities. As Freshman, Engineering students take ENGR 110, which helps students explore the different majors within the college and what their career paths may look like in that major. Kerri Boivin also points out that students can “schedule an advising appointment on topics such as Intro to the ECRC, General Career Advising, Resume Reviews, Cover Letter Reviews, Interview Prep, Career Fair Prep, Mock Interviews, Job Search Strategies, and Evaluating Job Offers.” The ECRC also hosts virtual mock interviews, where students can “send video answers to the ECRC staff, faculty, or anyone they would like feedback from.”
Although LSA does not integrate career prep into its mandatory coursework, the LSA Opportunity Hub provides numerous resources that LSA students can take advantage of. The Hub offers “both quick drop-in sessions and more focused one-on-one appointments,” according to Wishart. The goal for the Hub is for every student to “leave every interaction with a plan that fits with their goals and identifies next steps.” LSA students and students from all colleges across campus can also utilize the career coaching that the Career Center provides. They provide students of all majors with Cover Letter appointments, mock interviews, interview tips/strategies, and also “Resume and Internship Labs, which are designed to be drop-in, and flexible to meet the student where they are at in their development,” according to Don Beckwith, a career coach at the Career Center. Joelle Fundaro Randall also says that they “do field trips where we take students to different places,” such as to Chicago to teach students about the trading industry. In sum, these one-on-one appointments allow students at all stages of the recruiting process to meet with professionals and receive guidance no matter their year, major, or knowledge of the recruitment process.
While all these resources are made available students, one issue that people within career development offices can come across is that students are not aware of all of the resources that they provide, especially for schools that do not integrate recruiting development into their curriculum. Beckwith says that he thinks most students are not aware of all of the Career Center’s services, even though “we literally email students every other week.” He thinks that one solution to the problem is “integrating these things into the classroom and buy-in around campus.” He also says that they see a spike in activity after breaks, meaning that many students begin the recruiting process “because family and others start asking about what they are going to do,” rather than because their college got them to explore. Even the College of Engineering, which has one of the most well-respected career offices across campus, struggles with getting students aware of all of the services that they provide. “While not all students are aware of the ECRC, most know it exists, but not all utilize the resources available to them,” says Boivin.
Even with all of the recruiting-based services that are provided to students at Michigan, it is still up to each individual student to do the work. The career resource centers are there to help students, not give each and every student a job. Paula Wishart of the LSA Opportunity Hub emphasizes that “students are never on their own in this process,” and from personal experience, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. The best way to excel in this process is to familiarize yourself with it early, and “do as many interviews as possible, because it is really good experience,” says Kyle McLaughlin. Networking is still the most important mechanism through which students can successfully recruit on campus, and there are now more ways than ever to network: career fairs, networking events, online platforms such as Handshake, and even LinkedIn. By taking the initiative and taking advantage of all these networking opportunities, students in any U-M school have a good chance of landing a job before they head to the Big House in their cap and gown.
Feature photo by Joe Halpern