Gain a Competitive Advantage
Connecting with students outside of traditional career fairs and on-campus recruiting can have a significant impact on your recruitment strategy. It takes time and consistent engagement to build your organization’s brand recognition and develop a strong reputation among students. We invite you to explore the different ways you can interact with the next generation of BC graduates.
Collaborate with Student Organizations
Consider partnering with the Career Center's Campus Club Connections. These pre-professional, diversity, and academic student organizations have all expressed an interest in connecting with employers for career and professional development opportunities. If you do work directly with a student organization to schedule an event, please consult with the Career Center prior to finalizing the date and time to avoid additional charges and scheduling conflicts with other pre-arranged employer events facilitated through our office.
Ways to Engage:
- Offer to speak to their group and/or buy food for a group meeting.
- Co-sponsor an information session.
- Coordinate an experiential learning session.
Participate in Experiential Learning
The Career Center offers a range of programming for Boston College students to experience workplace environments and gain valuable insight about specific industries. Below are a few ways you can support experiential learning as a valued employer, BC parent or friend of BC and build your brand among Boston College students.
Ways to Engage:
- Volunteer to participate in panels, workshops and industry chats to share career development advice while creating additional interest in your organization. You can reach out to the appropriate Employer Engagement team member based on your industry area for additional information.
- Sponsor a BC student for a short-term job shadow or externship experience. This is typically a one-day experience where a student has the opportunity to follow a working professional throughout their daily activities and learn about their career field.
- Host a career trek for students to explore what it means to work for your organization. Students can tour your organization’s workplace, learn about potential opportunities, and network with employees and/or Boston College alumni at the organization.
Register or log in to your Handshake account.
If students have to apply and there is a selection process for the experience, post as a job listing in Handshake. From your Handshake homepage, select Post a Job. When creating the posting, select Externship/Leadership Program. You can select the application deadline and the method by which you’d like to receive applications.
If students are invited on a first-come, first-served basis and are required to RSVP for the experience, post as an event in Handshake. From your Handshake homepage, select “Create an Event”, select “Off-Campus” for the format and pay special attention to the “Event Name” and ‘Description’ fields so they will be attention-grabbing, informative, and include the deadline for which students need to RSVP.
In order to effectively promote your experience to students, it is recommended that you submit your request at least one month prior to your ideal date. Keep in mind holidays, breaks, and other events on the BC calendar. Also, consider promoting through one of the Career Center’s Campus Club Connections.
Note: If your company employs BC alumni, they also have the opportunity to connect with students interested in job shadow opportunities through Eagle Exchange, our online mentoring platform.
Contact us if you have any additional questions.
Engage Your BC Alumni
The Boston College alumni network is strong and engaging your BC alumni is a great way to make an immediate connection with students and the Boston College community as a whole. Encourage your organization's BC Alumni to participate in the events you host to build excitement among students. To connect with academic departments, leverage the relationships your BC alumni and/or senior executives have with faculty for introductions.
Ways to Engage:
- Promote the alumni who work in your organization on social media and tag @bc_career as well as popular Boston College accounts such as @bcalumni and @bostoncollege.
- Encourage alumni to sign-up for our online alumni mentoring platform, Eagle Exchange, and connect with Boston College students.
- Offer support to faculty members for research or department initiatives.