Inviting a corporate speaker?
What approach is effective in inviting a corporate speaker to the school? How do you pry them away from their busy schedules?
Anthony,
Great question. Having recently come from the corporate world, I have found that many are willing and even excited for these opportunities. Most see the value for the students, the community and potentially for their own companies. Now obviously there are some who are not interested, but I believe the majority are.
A practical key is letting them know well in advance so they can get it on the calendar early.
Ryan
We strongly believe in getting the local companies involved in career schools. Employers and potential employers can provide lots of advice, review programs, hold mock interviews, talk about the real world of work, generate publicity, send employees to train at your school, and more. We believe in the importance of community outreach for a school to be successful. Thanks, Susan
Good question. It starts with an effective community outreach program. If you have ongoing relationships with the employers in your community they will be suggesting presentations they can provide for your school! You won't have to ask. Susan
We have national recruiters that we coordinate with that do a short presentation on day one of our courses. We always begin the semester with introductions so each student can summarize their experience, backgrounds and goals for the course and the recruiters are then able to try and place them in situations that will be the best match for the soon to be graduate.
Hi Ed, This is such a great idea. Looks like you are giving students employment skills homework on day one so they can think about what they need throughout their training. And you are making recruiters accessible and human to them. So this has to impact on retention. Students probably feel more focused and less clueless1 What else do you do during the training. Sounds like you don't wait for the end of the term to work on job placement skills. How does this show up in your placement stats. Thanks, Susan
We are able to see that it truly lights a fire for the student in need of a job opportunity, the flip side is that it also places more pressure on some students as in the technical space the reality is many of our students are stronger with hands on excercises than testing environments. Many of our graduates to be forge relationships with the recruiters and it has served as a wealth of information not only for the student but for our staff to better inform and direct the path of our students.
This is great Ed. The goal is to use all possible resources to keep the job search on the minds of students as they are completing class work. Then they can see the relationship between what they are learning and how they will use the skills on the job. Thanks, Susan
We recently offered to have them come out during there lunch hours to meet and assist students. It was only three of them, so we asked what would they like for lunch. It created a casual atmosphere for the students to ask them questions. They said they were impressed by the students and would like to come back out to meet with future students.
Antonia,
This is great. You made the small number of attendees work. It gave you a chance to engage more with the speakers and show off your institution. Ideally you will keep in touch with the speakers. They can tell you about job openings, how effective your training is, and what new training needs will be wanted. We think it is all about relationships. Relationships can fill your school with qualified students and provide them with lots of job openings. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
