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A growing number of college students are graduating with one or possibly two internships under their belt. As the employment market becomes increasingly competitive, particularly in this economic environment, students are going to great lengths to gain meaningful experience before they graduate. Aside from the experience, internships provide students the ability to foster all-important relationships and mentoring opportunities which can pay off later in their careers. These and other benefits are so important that many students are paying for the opportunity to gain experience.

This article in the Washington Post provides an overview of the growing number of firms charging students thousands of dollars for an internship opportunity (the cost might also cover housing, meals, career advice, etc.). Ironically, some of these internships are unpaid. You can probably imagine the debate over such pursuits. Many on the career center side suggest this undermines a student’s capacity to develop strong career search skills – the very kind they’ll need later in their careers. Not to mention, career centers already offer these services to students, paid usually through student service fees.  

I’ve been following this trend for a while now. Browsing through a few students’ Facebook pages recently, I found they were very satisfied with the services, especially at a time when organizations are cutting back on their internship opportunities. Others comment that these firms are undermining equal opportunity, especially for students that can’t afford to pay for these services. Are we creating a new class of leaders  – or elites?

 You be the judge.

I’ve never been a big fan of college rankings. When I directed a couple of college recruiting departments years ago, it seemed I was always pressured by senior management to recruit at a “top-ten school” for no reason other than it was on a business magazine list. I’m not knocking these great schools, simply making the point that rankings shouldn’t be the foundation for a sound college recruiting strategy.  This article in USA Today articulates my point. Money line:

Rankings are not evil. Students and families need information. Four years of undergraduate education is not a trivial commitment. But the rankings game is on the verge of parodying itself. Worse, it threatens to drive strategic decisions on campuses in ways that have little to do with what should be important.

Update

The Chronicle of Higher Education comes out with a similar article on rankings -  along with a detailed graphic. The article’s money line is here and well said:

Much of the emphasis is on “input measures” such as student selectivity, faculty-student ratio, and retention of freshmen. Except for graduation rates, almost no “outcome measures,” such as whether a student comes out prepared to succeed in the work force, are used.

In talking with some organizations about Hispanic recruitment, I’m not surprised by their common response: that is, their current recruitment strategies also encompass reaching Hispanic talent on campus. Participation in Hispanic-related campus activities is a start but certainly doesn’t formulate an effective Hispanic recruitment strategy. Including Hispanic recruitment strategies as an appendage to a wider strategy is not effective.

Such a strategy is broad but not very deep.

It’s not just about modifying recruitment literature either. Reaching Hispanic talent is about making a long-term incremental investment. It’s about moving resources from general to focused strategies. It’s about understanding culture, values, beliefs, lifestyles, and experiences. Organizations that make this adjustment are really able to ‘communicate and reach’ the growing Hispanic talent base.

Indeed, reaching Hispanic talent is more than just about getting your feet wet  – it’s about diving in.

We’re right in the middle of Summer and interns have hopefully made themselves at home. All the resources put into developing an internship program are meant to find and retain full-time hires. The year-long efforts put into reviewing resumes, visiting key colleges, conducting interviews, and coordinating internship-related activities have led to this point in the recruitment process. Both students and employers are now turning their attention to the next important phase of this process – evaluation. Students are starting to discern the organization’s culture, evaluate career opportunities, understand department functions, and determine a possible fit. Employers are starting to identify top performers, assessing intern skills, and obtaining feedback from intern supervisors. Employers are also employing an old sales industry adage – Always Be Closing or ABC. From a recruitment context, this might be changed to mean ‘ABR’ or Always Be Retaining.

From a Hispanic perspective, ABR means concentrating on retention factors that are particularly important to Hispanic interns. As you enter this phase of your internship program, assure the following elements are present to increase the likelihood that Hispanic interns are converted to full-time hires.

Mentoring: By far, the most important factor in helping retain future Hispanic employees is to provide an effective mentoring and support program. If at all possible, match Hispanic interns with Hispanic professionals to make the most of this strategy.

Collaboration: Hispanics are extremely loyal once they are part of an organization or team. Assure that your Hispanic interns are indeed part of a team and not working alone. Make adjustments if your intern is working alone and find a way to add collaborative opportunities to their work assignment.

Career Watchers: Appoint “career watchers,” preferably senior-level leaders, who monitor and track Hispanic intern progress (projects, development, etc.). Encourage these individuals to check in with interns routinely.

Significance: Hispanics genuinely embrace the opportunity to “test” their abilities and skills. Assure projects assigned to Hispanic interns are substantial in nature and not simply ‘busy work.’  

Showcase Diversity: Offer Hispanic interns the opportunity to attend workshops, seminars, or round tables that allow them to see your organization’s commitment to diversity. Showcase genuine Hispanic leaders and allow them to facilitate these sessions.

Networking: Provide peer networking opportunities that focus on developing skills, confidence, and professional contact opportunities. Hispanic interns want the chance to build informal communities with other employees.

I met a smart and confident entrepreneur at a recent networking event. I asked about her business, and she went on to tell me about her four companies. She’s a web designer. She also offers web hosting. She offers printing services. And she also owns a PR company. All the while I was thinking – this person is a “jack of all trades but a master of none.”  Later on the way home, I passed a large retail store. You know the kind. It’s the type of store that offers numerous product lines. It buys in volume “and passes the savings on to you!”   

What message are these organizations communicating? Would any of these organizations be trusted to provide quality products or services? What’s their long-term viability?  Their business models (and value) are based solely on price. Customer loyalty is assured only as long as their prices are indeed the lowest. More importantly, in trying to be ALL things to all customers, they convey a sense of conformity, rigidity, and mediocrity. What would happen if you were to ask for a special order, expert advice, or a straightforward recommendation? I think you get my meaning.

Compare these types of stores to a boutique. A boutique usually specializes in selling quality products or services. They’re often passionate. They’re experts. And they love to share information about their product. They live or die by reputation, referrals, and solutions. A boutique constantly monitors its business environment making sure its core expertise is always sharp and well-tuned.  In short, their power is based in specialization.

Employers with successful recruitment strategies are also savvy marketers, “boutique like.” Employers that are creative and that consistently market their uniqueness usually attract a lot better candidates (by the way, job seekers can use the same approach!). The talent market today is competitive and, at the moment, very crowded with jobseekers. With so much talent available, it’s easy for an employer to utilize the “value” recruiting approach. It’s the “If I Advertise – They Will Come” recruitment strategy.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of organizations still use this approach, don’t they? But in doing so, they become unfocused – the large retailer that tries to be everything to everyone. And rather than attracting the right candidates, they attract mediocre candidates that don’t meet their needs.

Watching some of the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan today was a bit frustrating. It seems as though the confirmation process has deteriorated to both an unproductive and politicized activity by which we select our highest judges. The outlandish focus on the outcomes of high profile cases produces an unpleasant and ineffective process. It seems the process would be better served by focusing on the nominee’s qualifications – legal aptitude, experience and knowledge. Much like the confirmation hearing, employee selection is about hiring the right candidate for the job. While the interview process has been both criticized and praised, it remains the most important part of recruiting. However, much like we’ve seen over the history of Supreme Court confirmation hearings, the problem of selection is often associated with ineffective interviewers as well as a poor interview process. So – when was the last time you reviewed your interview framework and techniques? How about now?

Finding talent is not confined to the borders of the United States. Meeting talent needs is now a global issue experienced by many organizations, particularly those on the international business stage. Finding talent has become such an issue that according to a Business Council Survey, CEOs view it as a major global competitive issue. According to a recent McKinsey and Company report, U.S. corporations competing in globally competitive markets are responsible for nearly three-quarters of U.S. real GDP growth since 2000. However, a ManPower survey shows that 31 percent of employers worldwide are having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable talent available in their markets. Not understanding this ignores the reality of today’s economic environment. The ManPower report makes one recommendation which is insightful:

 It is imperative, therefore, that employers recalibrate their mindsets to consider candidates who may not have all of the specific skills a job requires. This is especially true for systemic shortages of in-demand roles: Employers cannot address these shortages one hire at a time. They must refine job descriptions and candidate evaluations to identify people with “teachable fit” based on adjacent skills rather than traditional fit.

Employers of any size must come to the conclusion that competing in a global environment necessitates identifying and attracting talent from a variety of cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Doing so provides employers the dynamic workforce needed to understand a dynamic business world.

A blog post over at recruiting blogs asks if you can have “Social Media & Recruit a Diverse Workforce?” A great topic and question (the post is great as well). I’ve linked to several studies that show the increasing number of Latinos getting online (via the internet and mobile technology). For employers interested in reaching a diverse workforce, social media should be an obvious resource – but not the only one.

When we enter this world, each of us begins our education. Aside from our parents, everyone we encounter shares (and imposes) conventions, values, beliefs, and perspectives of the “new world” we’ve entered, and how it really works.  As the youngest member in a family of nine, I can assure you — it’s true! This fact highlights one of the biggest challenges we face throughout our lives: how do we determine who we really are when we’re constantly shaped by various viewpoints? For many, this dilemma often continues through their school years and beyond – into the workplace. It continues until one is conditioned to “color within the lines” even if it conflicts with our desire to be who we really are – to be authentic.

The power of authenticity cannot be underestimated. Being true to oneself has many rewards: ease, clarity, focus, and confidence. Possessing these qualities in a job interview, for example, can be very advantageous. However, being unauthentic can be disastrous. Take the two video examples below – Carly Fiorina and Gordon Brown. How did their unintended faux pas impact their authenticity? When people see you  for who you really are, and it doesn’t match the person you say you are, you’re bound to disappointment yourself and others. This is true in friendships, marriages, and especially careers. So next time you step into the interview room – remember to always be yourself, be authentic, and dare to color outside the lines.

A steady stream of tweets from the NACE 2010 Conference in Orlando kept me busy all day! Once again #NACE10 attendees shared valuable information — 140 characters at a time! Thanks again to all the tweepers keeping us “non-attendees” informed about the conference — much appreciated! Here are my takeaways as well as some tweets I captured from Day 3! You can check out Lessons from NACE 2010 Part 1 here. Enjoy!

Employer branding/recruiting processes. A big focus during day three was the importance of communication during and after the on-campus recruitment process. Keeping students informed during and after the recruitment process was seen as essential. Open lines of communication with career centers before and after the recruitment process was also encouraged. Some notable tweets: Read more…