Over one hundred companies, most with headquarters or offices in the midwest, recruit ITK students for internships and for permanent employment. The Illinois State University Career Center offers many services to employers and students to facilitate the recruitment process.
Many corporate recruiters have asked how they could enhance their recruiting efforts on campus. This actually raises two questions; "How can I increase the number of students who select to interview with my company?" and "How do I increase the likely hood that a student will accept my company's offer?".
The primary answers to the first question are "name recognition" and "corporate image." In general, name recognition is more of an issue for firms that deal only in business to business sales, rather than for those that sale directly to consumers. Corporate image, for information technology students, boils down to a few primary considerations:
So, how do you deal with these concerns? Well, first, consistency is important. If you are not recruiting on campus year after year it is difficult to sustain "local" recognition. Each time you return after an absence, you are starting over. So, pick a number of schools to concentrate on and maintain a relationship even if you are not hiring in a particular year. Your relationship, after all, should encompass more than the actual recruitment of graduates, e.g. internships, speaking to student clubs, scholarships, etc.
With that said, the strategies used generally involve placing company representatives in direct contact with students, creating a situation in which one student enhances the company's image with fellow students or in some other way drawing attention to the company.
The typical strategies involve placing company representatives in contact with students, providing support to students and/or student organizations, hiring student interns, increasing your firm's recognition among faculty, providing support to the department, and other recruitment strategies.
Another important point is to be sure and reach the right students when you recruit on campus. You should use the correct "local" terminology when listing positions. This is particularly tricky at ISU . The name of the department is the School of Information Technology. We have three undergraduate degrees and one master's level degree. The degrees are:
A good strategy then is to specify the field of interest, i.e. Information Systems, Computer Science, or Telecommunications, instead of just "ITK," (unless, of course, you are interested in all three fields).
Firms that are most successful in recruiting at Illinois State University have well thought out recruitment strategies and maintain a continuing presence on campus. Some components to consider in your recruitment plan are listed below.
