innovative ways to engage students and employers: the ... · and employers: the atlantic canadian...
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Innovative Ways to Engage Students and Employers: the Atlantic
Canadian ExperienceChristine Frigault, Mount Saint Vincent University
Patricia Poirier, Memorial University
Brendan Hagerty, Memorial University
What will you learn today?
• How to engage and connect students and employers in innovative ways
• How to provide professional development and networking opportunities at the same time
• How to build a co-curricular recognition program that fits your campus
Memorial University
• Career Development and Experiential Learning, Memorial University offer various events for students and employers that are both engaging and skill building.
• Examples: Dining Etiquette, Career Day, and Toast to Hire Learning.
Dining Etiquette
Overview
• On-campus event hosted by Career Development and Alumni Affairs, Memorial University
• Students and alumni have the opportunity to attend a fine dining experience and learn important skills from our etiquette coach
Dining Etiquette cont.
How Employers Can Get Involved
• Each table is hosted by an employer from the community
• Employers can sponsor a table and invite students and alumni of their choice to join them
• Employers have the opportunity to network with 40-50 individuals from various disciplines
Dining Etiquette cont.
Anticipated Student Learning
• Collaboration
• Effective communication
• Demonstrating professionalism
• Managing career development
• Relating knowledge to daily life
• Connecting knowledge to other knowledge, ideas, and experiences
Career Day
Overview
• A full day of professional development for new graduates
• Individuals present on various topics such as resume writing, job search, the changing workforce, job opportunities, and the advantages of social media
Career Day cont.
Employer Participation
• Employers can present on one of the various topics, or a topic of their choice
• Employers can sponsor lunch or a prize and highlight their organization
• Employers can present job opportunities to new graduates from various disciplines
Career Day cont.
Anticipated Student Learning
• Constructing knowledge
• Managing career development
• Relating knowledge to daily life
• Understanding knowledge from a range of topics
• Reflective thinking
Toast to Hire Learning
Overview
• Off-campus breakfast event hosted by Career Development and Experiential Learning and the Division of Co-operative Education, Memorial University
• Employers are invited to enjoy breakfast while they discuss recruitment issues with a panel of 8-10 students from a variety of disciplines
Toast to Hire Learning cont.
Employer Participation
• All you need to do is be there! This event is held annually around November and employers are invited to come enjoy breakfast free of charge
• Employers can have questions prepared to ask the student panel around recruitment, and what their generation looks for in a career
• This is a very interactive event and beneficial to both students and employers
Toast to Hire Learning cont.
Anticipated Student Learning
• Collaboration
• Communicating effectively
• Critical thinking
• Demonstrating professionalism
• Managing career development
• Pursuing goals
• Reflective thinking
Co-Curricular Record
• Memorial’s CCR is an official document recognizing and verifying students’ out of class learning through campus involvement.
• Memorial’s co-curricular record recognizes student engagement in qualifying campus activities, and is a companion piece to the academic transcript, as well as the resume.
• Learning from the earlier mentioned events can be showcased on the co-curricular record, as well as volunteering, on-campus work experience, and other non-academic programming.
Co-Curricular Record cont.Example:
Mount Saint Vincent University
• The Mount Career Planning Services, in partnership with other campus departments, offers the following:
- Speed Mentoring
- Career Week
- Job Finding Club
Speed Mentoring
• Offered in partnership with Alumnae Relations, University Advancement
• Students move in teams from computer station to computer station to chat with alumnae via skype about their careers
• Students are required to come up with various questions to ask alumnae and are provided training to help them with this
• Students have the opportunity to network with alumnae from around the world
Speed Mentoring
Anticipated Student Learning
• Build career knowledge
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Develop professional relationships
• Gain interviewing skills
• Gain networking skills
Career Week
• Career Planning Services participates in Business & Tourism Dept. Career Weeks
• Offered twice during the academic year (Fall and Spring)
• Career Planning Services provides professional development workshops in conjunction with employer presenters
• Employer panels on field specific topics (Careers in Management, Marketing, Accounting)
Career Week
Anticipated Student Learning
• Gain networking skills
• Build career knowledge
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Develop professional relationships
Job Finding Club
• Offered at the end of the academic year to graduating students
• Covers career decision making, job search skills, networking, resume and cover letter preparation and interview skills
• 2011/12 offering will start in September with bi-weekly meetings to promote job search skills early in the final year of study (pilot with Business & Tourism Dept.)
• Employers will be able to participate as guest speakers or on a panel
Job Finding Club
Anticipated Student Learning
• Self-awareness
• Goal setting
• Build career knowledge
• Interpersonal and team work skills
• Written and oral communication skills
Co-Curricular Recognition Program
• The Mount started a Co-Curricular Recognition Program in September 2010 which recognizes the following on a Co-Curricular Record:
- Volunteer work
- Leadership
- Awards
- Student club/society involvement
- Varsity athletics
- Professional development
Co-Curricular Recognition Program
• The activities and events we have outlined today would be recognized as Professional Development activities on the Co-Curricular Record
• All activities must first be approved and properly validated according to the program guidelines: available at www.msvu.ca/ccrp
• Students are encouraged to use their Co-Curricular Record to demonstrate to employers the activities they have participated in that complement their academics
• Students may choose to add their Co-Curricular Record to a portfolio, or to submit it directly to employers when applying for jobs
Co-Curricular Record
Co-Curricular Recognition Program
• Implementing the program took over a year at the Mount
• Introduced to senior administration as an initiative of the campus Retention Committee
• Program rationale directly tied into the campus strategic plan
• Challenges: Where would the program be housed? How would we store the data and produce the document with limited budget?
Co-Curricular Recognition Program
• Career Planning Services chaired a cross-campus committee with many voices (including Student’s Union)
• In-house system used by the Registrar’s office provided the answer re: how to store/organize the data
• Activities needed to be clearly non-academic in nature to be approved
• A small budget was provided by the university to run the program out of Career Planning Services
• Shared support staff and a student assistant perform majority of administrative duties
• Student career assistants promote the program to students• Committee attended Dean’s meetings with Dept. Chairs to
introduce the program to faculty
Co-Curricular Recognition Program
• As of May 2011, we have close to 10% of undergraduate students participating with plans to increase participation in future years
• The program continues to evolve and administrative processes are still being improved upon
• Cross-campus committee is still in place as the program continues to grow
Discussion
Educators: • What types of activities does your campus offer that bring students and
employers together outside of career fairs? • Do you have new ideas after today’s presentation? What partnerships
might facilitate these ideas? • Does your campus offer a Co-Curricular Record? If so, what career related
events does it recognize? If not, what are the challenges to implementing such a program on your campus? Ideas to overcome these?
Employers:• Have you participated in the types of campus events we have discussed
today? • What is the value to you in participating in these activities?• Do you have new ideas of how you would like to be involved on
campuses?• Do you take Co-Curricular Records into account when reviewing
candidates? If so, how? If not, why not?