TalentEgg Trends

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Category: On-campus (page 1 of 12)

Exclusive Insights Live from our 2021 #TEAwards Surveys

At our 2021 TalentEgg Awards and Conference, over 80 recruiters and industry professionals attended to join us in celebrating the best in student and new grad recruitment. Throughout the conference, we conducted some surveys to uncover some exclusive insights for the future of recruitment and the workplace in a post-pandemic world.

Virtual Recruitment is Here to Stay

One of the questions we asked recruiters and industry professionals was “Will your organization continue to incorporate virtual campus events as part of their overall campus recruitment strategy?” Out of 35 respondents, 77% answered “yes,” while 23% answered, “I’m not sure yet.” Thus, it is clear that an overwhelming majority of participants are going to continue incorporating virtual initiatives to engage and provide students with opportunities, while the minority are, at the very least, open to the idea.

exclusive insights

Employees Want to Return to a Hybrid Workplace

Regarding the future of the workplace, an overwhelming 79% of respondents answered “hybrid (a combo of remote & in-person) when we asked them “What type of workplace would you like your employer to adopt?” Meanwhile, the remaining 21% of respondents answered “completely remote/virtual.” Regarding the post-pandemic workplace, results are indicating that the future of the workplace is going to change. For the most part, say goodbye to long commutes and face-to-face interactions in the office. The pandemic has allowed companies to adapt and overcome obstacles to remote work, and as a result, hybrid workplaces are the newest trend that is here to stay.

Soft Skills are Critical for Career Development

As highlighted in our Guide to Recruitment 2021, soft skills are crucial to students’ and new grads’ development and career success. But, what kind of soft skills, in particular, are recruiters and industry professionals looking for in the workplace? We asked our awards and conference attendees to tell us, “What soft skill do you think is the most important for young professionals to develop?” The most common answers were communication, curiosity, adaptability, leadership and resilience. Other responses included time management, flexibility, empathy and critical thinking.

Top Ways to Connect Virtually with Students

Whether you’re a career educator or a campus recruiter looking for the most effective ways to engage with or hire students and grads or you’re a jobseeker wanting to network with employers, we’ve got you covered. We asked attendees, “what has been the most effective VIRTUAL way you engaged with students this past year?” and the answers varied across all respondents. For instance, 26% of respondents stated: “coffee chats” as their top pick, while 22% of respondents stated, “social media” and “networking sessions,” both tied as the second most popular answer. Something worth noting is that none of the options were left unanswered. Although coffee chats, networking sessions, and social media were the most popular answers, there is still value in investing time and effort into other initiatives such as information sessions and case competitions.

Effective Virtual Student Engagement

The Demand for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Recruitment and Employee Engagement

Finally, attendees acknowledged the heightened need for employers to commit to and embrace DEI initiatives into their recruitment and employee engagement strategies. When we asked attendees “What do you see as the most transformative changes in recruitment and employer engagement around diversity, equity and inclusion in the future?” Among the answers were “top-down approach to attracting, finding and hiring diverse talent,” “partnering with EDI students clubs,” “open-mindedness,” and “providing scholarships and support to the community.” As a recruiter or HR professional, take the time to sit down with your company leaders and carefully discuss meaningful and impactful ways to embed diversity and inclusion initiatives into the workplace effectively.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

For more trends on recruitment, the trends in demand from students and new grads, and a glimpse of the future of the post-pandemic workplace, check out our Guide to Recruitment 2021 package, brought to you by our team at TalentEgg.

How Employers Can Support Students in Their School-to-Work Transition. An Interview with Jesse Sahota, Career Development and Relationship Manager

Career educators and coaches play a vital part in the success of developing future talent. This support doesn’t end once students finish their degrees – career educators continue to assist students in their school-to-work transition, and this benefits not only students but also employers. Though, it’s important for employers to be involved in career planning as well. From employer branding, showcasing workplace culture, holding events, managing campus ambassadors to connecting with students before they even start their first day can have a great impact.  We explored this topic with Jesse Sahota, Career Development Relationship Manager in the Engineering Co-op and Career Services office at McMaster University, who also won Career Educator of the Year at the 2019 TalentEgg Awards. Read on to learn how Jesse supports his students, fosters relationships with employers and his advice on ways employers can connect with students to assist in their school-to-work transition.

Starting His Career with Purpose

When Jesse first envisioned his career, he believed he was going to work in the advertising industry one day, “designing commercials for Audi or working for Kellogg’s redesigning their Fruit Loops cereal boxes,” he says. During his final year at university, he landed a job in a wealth management firm as a recruiter, which eventually led him to his passion for helping others find their careers. And what a long and meaningful career it has been for Jesse so far! With over 15 years of experience in Career Coaching and Education, Jesse’s current role is comprised of three pillars that facilitate student success. He works to pursue new business development leads while maintaining existing partnerships in the engineering and business communities. The second pillar is coaching students using personalized strategies. “Pain points differ depending on where the student is at in their recruitment life cycle,” Jesse says. Whether students come with generic resumes and cover letters, or are looking to get more involved on campus, Jesse helps them on their career journey. Finally, the third pillar to Jesse’s role is collaborating with employers who are looking to create a stronger brand on campus.

“Our department’s “Employer of the Week” series brings employers to campus where I assist in orchestrating events, such as employers in the lobby, resume roasts, bus trips, Instagram takeovers and lunch and learn workshops.”

Supporting Students on their Career Journey

Jesse’s department supports students through a variety of workshops and individual appointments to prep them before the start of their co-op work term. “In Engineering Co-op and Career Services at McMaster University, the transition from the classroom to the shop floor or boardroom is exceptionally smooth,” he comments.

“Having been in this industry and in my current role for so long, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of our employer partners on-site. These meetings give me the opportunity to provide a unique perspective and “inside scoop” when coaching students on what to expect at their new job.”

One of the most memorable career highlights was taking five students to Silicon Valley in San Francisco for their Big Ideas Contest. Students were given the opportunity to learn from top innovators and develop their professional skills. Five students, management staff and the Dean of Engineering visited Tesla, Apple, Google, Facebook, Corning and several start-ups during their trip. This is a great example of how Career Educators are creating experiences for their students to showcase their innovative engineering solutions, build invaluable networking opportunities and learn about the possibilities. While Jesse and his team created this opportunity for students to learn, he ended up taking away a lot for himself too.

“It was an eye-opening experience for me as it provided the opportunity to connect with McMaster Engineering alumni and further solidified my understanding that our graduates are changing the world.”

What Can Employers Do for Students?

While career educators help to set students up for success in launching their careers, Jesse shares some ways in which employers can make students feel welcome and valued before they even start working. Jesse comments that not only will this showcase the organizations’ culture, but it will also prepare students for the road ahead. Reaching out to students after they’ve accepted their offer, even if it’s well in advance of their start date, can have a positive impact.

“A welcome email with details regarding what to expect on their first day is a great way to get the student excited about their new adventure by winning their heart and mind. Many organizations are taking onboarding seriously by allocating a personal mentor to each new hire – a strategy that I find highly effective.”

Another way Jesse suggests employers get involved in students’ transition is during the offer stage.

“When employers present an offer to a student, I would suggest that they invite the student to their site, provide them with a tour of their facility, introduce the student to a mentor, connect them with the current student(s) that are working there, and take them out for lunch or coffee. This approach is an excellent way to strengthen the student’s commitment to the employer’s brand. It’s a win-win strategy.”

Build Your Brand Recognition – Get on Campus!

Providing the opportunity for students to connect with employers in-person is always a great strategy when it comes to recruiting the right talent and finding the best candidates to fill your talent pipeline.

“Employers are encouraged to come to campus and meet our students, run workshops, attend hackathons, partner with student groups and, ultimately, connect with career offices on campus. Getting in front of students and answering their questions in-person establishes a connection, builds stronger brand recognition, and these students can then become brand ambassadors for employers by telling their friends what they’ve learned.”

Whether you’re an employer looking to connect with and hire students or you’re a fellow Career Educator, you can learn from Jesse’s unique approach. “My career is something that I truly enjoy and I love knowing that I have had a hand in helping someone else find their dream job or career.”

Get in Touch

jsahota@mcmaster.ca

905-525-9140 ext 24432

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-sahota/

How Your Recruitment Efforts Can Be Everywhere, All At Once (Yes, It’s Possible)

When dealing with digital natives, it’s only natural they would have a preference for online content. However, in the case of recruitment, post-secondary students highly value face-to-face interaction with potential employers as well, although increasingly in unconventional ways!

In our survey, we found that more students have attended Career Development events, such as workshops, information sessions and keynote speaker presentations compared to Career Recruitment events like career fairs. That being said, the survey results still support the importance of connecting with students on-campus, regardless of the nature of the experience. 60% of students attended 1-5 career development events versus 54% of students who attended 1-5 career recruitment events. This means with the high costs of travel and accommodation for your recruitment team, your time on campus should be wisely spent! With TalentEgg’s hard-to-miss, large format murals, your company can still maintain a brand presence on campus even after your recruiters leave and reinforce your EVP to more students in high-traffic areas.

Students who do attend recruiting events on campus still prefer Career Fairs as their number one choice, followed closely by networking events and information sessions. Make your time on campus meaningful by ensuring your booth stands out from the crowd. With TalentEgg’s in-house design team, we can create custom retractable banners and other event materials for your team to bring with you on campus.

“I think the on campus interview strategy is definitely very good. Sourcing talent from the spot is great and definitely helps relieve some of the anxiety around interviews (That I’ve definitely had) I like this idea.” – Mallory Thompson, Western University, 2019

Now, how about connecting with students on campus without physically being there? You can combine the best of both strategies with TalentEgg’s geo-targeted mobile marketing campaigns. Depending on your recruitment needs, we are able to geo-fence specific campuses, schools, and even academic departments and deliver to them engaging and compelling employer branding ads. Whether you’re looking for the best engineering students at McMaster University or the brightest communication students at Carleton University, we are able to reach your ideal candidate. With more than twice the industry standard in CTR (click through rate) we can measure how much the targeted candidates engage with your job opportunities and employer brand. We can even retarget them across devices after they leave the geo-targeted location for up to 90 days, to remind them on their mobile phone, their laptop and their tablet about your jobs and EVP. Using keyword search capabilities we can drill down to those who have demonstrated their interest in your industry or company as they search the web. It’s a perfect way to reach busy Gen Y and Z job seekers wherever they are and to reinforce your employer brand to the right candidates for your opportunities.

“I love the idea of strategically hiring at campus fairs. Truthfully, I hate going to a campus fair to be handed a sheet of paper telling me to apply online” – Sarah Pointer, Mount Royal University, 2020

Make the best use of your strategies on and off campus to reach your future talent pool. By utilizing all or a combination of the tactics above, you’ll be sure to communicate to students exactly the way they want to be reached! Strengthen your presence and stand out as an employer of choice with TalentEgg’s cutting edge digital marketing tools and on-campus services!

Why BMO Financial is Investing in Students and Early Talent Through Authentic Student Experiences That Leave a Lasting Impression 

Professional skills and soft skills are vital for new talent to have when entering the workforce. But what does that truly look like for students who are making their first school-to-work transition? Are they set up for success before getting their first full-time job, or do they still have more learning to do?

As Lisa Kramer, Director of Enterprise Campus Recruitment & Early Talent Programs at BMO Financial says, “In the years that I’ve been in the campus recruiting space I would say there is still a gap between what students are learning in their academic programs and the skills and capabilities necessary to work in a corporate environment. That’s why I think it’s important for us as employers to provide those types of experiences and learning opportunities to students when they’re coming in”. This is one of the reasons why BMO launched their new BMO Student Experience this past year. It focuses on investing in the future workforce, recognizing and providing opportunities for development to increase hiring conversions and foster a culture of authenticity, growth and development.

We had the chance to speak with Lisa to learn more about the BMO Student Experience and how BMO is positioning themselves as an employer of choice on campus and beyond.

A Return on Student Investment

Lisa started with BMO a year ago to transform the recruitment strategy for students and early talent and highlight what it’s actually like to work for BMO. “We’re trying to drive higher conversion rates – “recruit once, hire twice” type of mentality, so when we get students in the door, we show them how awesome it is to work here in hopes that they return for subsequent work terms or join us upon graduation”, Lisa says. Historically, BMO has had good programs and hired many students, but their team identified the need to offer more than just work experience and training. This is where the idea of the BMO Student Experience was developed. 

From TalentEgg’s most recent survey, 71% of post-secondary students and grads said that the most important thing they’re looking for in a career is gaining job experience, building their future career paths and development. So it’s important for organizations to showcase how they can offer these requirements to students as well as provide real, authentic examples. This is something that BMO has done very well through their presence not only on campus but online as well. 

“One of the big things for us was utilizing social media and making sure we could connect with students in a more authentic and engaging way. Moving away from the reliance of the “corporate speak” on the web page and start to tell stories about what it’s really like to work here”, Lisa comments. The BMO campus team has focused on telling real stories about students who work at BMO, as well as letting students and their recruitment team takeover the BMO Campus Recruitment Instagram account and host Instagram Live sessions where students across North America have access to their team. 

New Campus Influencer Program

One of the key components of the new strategy was introducing BMO’s Campus Influencer Program. While many organizations have an ambassador program, the BMO team wanted to do something different, something that would resonate with students and how they’re currently engaging with content, branding and goods. Enter: Influencers — the biggest wave of marketing to take over the laptop and cellphone screens of Gen Z and Millenials. “We’re seeing a lot of students and early talent that are heavily influenced by individuals on YouTube and Instagram, so it’s really a play on that. We took students who worked for us over the course of last summer and who were returning to campus to help us amplify our message”, Lisa says. BMO’s Student Influencers are communicating through their own personal social media accounts and using their own networks to spread the word about BMO. 

The benefits? BMO amplifies their employer brand through students who can authentically share their experiences with the company, point interested candidates to the right connection and provide feedback and invaluable information back to the BMO recruitment team about what students are interested in and how they want to connect with BMO as an employer. 

“It’s been fantastic to have that intel because obviously in a perfect world we’d love to be on campus every day, every campus, every program connecting with students but that’s not possible. So the influencer program has been a really great extension of our campus recruiting team.”

What Students can Expect

To continue investing in student development, a part of BMO’s strategy includes a Student Leadership Summit that will be held for returning students this year. Students will have the opportunity to spend three days at the BMO Institute for Learning with their peers to network, build leadership skills, hear from BMO leadership and more. “By investing in them and their skills, it’s our hope that this is just the start of a very successful career with BMO that will continue in the years to come”. 

Throughout their time with BMO, students are given the opportunity to gain professional skills through networking within the business and connecting with other students outside of work through the BMO Social Squad. They also learn practical nuanced skills such as using Excel or PowerPoint. In addition to what the campus team has created, all students have access to BMO U which is an online learning tool where students can complete thousands of courses for free during their work term. “We hope that by providing that experience they will, in turn, have a great work term and will want to come back and work for us again. This obviously helps drive conversion and it’s really our investment in our future workforce. We need to invest now to help identify the talent that we need in the long term.”

Final Advice for Students and Fellow Employers

Lisa provided some final pieces of advice to both students and fellow employers. For students, it’s so important to make connections. Of course, students should do their research and come out to see BMO when they’re on campus, but they should come prepared and reach out to recruiters. “We had a BMO Hangout at one school where the recruiter met with 10 students and hired 8 of them!”, Lisa highlights. As an example, Lisa suggests instead of saying “Hey, here’s my resume, do you have a job for me?”, students should come with personal and focused outcomes, like “Hey Lisa, I saw BMO on campus at this particular event, I heard [name] speak about XYZ and that’s an area I’m really interested in and was wondering if you could tell me more”. “Making that personal connection is key if you want to stand out”, she says. 

For fellow employers, Lisa comments on the importance of playing a key role in the development of future leaders. 

“Some schools and programs are certainly invested in the development of soft skills and we do certainly see in our campus recruiting efforts that students are better prepared. However, I think it’s important, if we’re truly looking for a diverse workforce, that we’re helping. We [as employers] play a part in this development and shouldn’t just rely on our school partners to prep students. It’s our role to help drive that forward. I do think it needs to be a partnership between employers and educators in terms of getting our early talent and future workforce ready for the roles of the future.”

“Once students have that first job, in order to truly build [their] career, it’s the soft skills and professional development that we really need to help students with. Things like how to write a proper email, how do you present to different levels within the organization, what level of detail do you provide in those communications? Those are all nuances that are important for students who are coming into organizations to learn, and it’s our role as an employer to help that with that.” 

Students entering the workforce value the opportunities to continue learning and developing skills that will help them in their career journey. 88% believe they need additional training to launch their career, according to our most recent Survey. Lisa and the BMO campus team are focused on doing just that. To learn more about BMO’s Reimagined Student Experience, see their student-focused article on TalentEgg here.


Lisa’s a disrupter…currently transforming the Enterprise Campus Recruitment and Early Talent Program at BMO!  Lisa began her career in student recruitment right after university, developing her talents at three universities (Laurier, Waterloo, and Ryerson), before taking her expertise to the corporate world, where she has taken student recruitment practices to a higher level. ATI Technologies, CGI, Siemens, Accenture, and RBC have all benefitted from Lisa’s expertise. Lisa was the inaugural winner of Talent Egg’s Campus Recruiter of the Year Award in 2013.  Lisa is known as an accomplished and flexible leader who leverages strong interpersonal skills and teamwork to achieve business objectives. By defining and implementing a shared vision, she’s driving results and excellence across her team. When she’s not at the office, she can most likely be found in an arena with mobile phone in hand, watching her two daughters and balancing life as a busy working hockey mom!

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