1-800-706-MAILcmcmail@swbell.net
sitemap Home - Contact Us
| About Us | Our Services | Postal Rates | Indicia | Helpful Tips | Directions | Contact Us | Download/Upload List | In The News |
| In the News | ||
 Back to MFSA Articles
Universities an "Under Tapped" Resource May 2004 By: Lisa Starr, Director of Marketing, Consolidated Mailing Corporation The numbers are in; it's official. Good help really is hard to find. This is nowhere near a new problem, but a fresh look at an old hiring technique could aid in finding higher quality employees. When hiring for customer service and sales positions, there are inherent personality traits employers are looking for that make filling these positions an exceptionally daunting task. And so the question remains. Where are these people and what is the best way to meet them? Ever try local colleges and universities? Jennifer Jordan, University of Kansas Director of Business School Career Services, said universities are an "under-tapped" resource for employers because many companies do not recruit on-campus at all. Jordan said, overall, companies that do participate are very pleased with their on-campus recruiting efforts. Colleges are an effective recruiting resource for a number of reasons. Patty Noland, Career Development Coordinator at the University of Kansas, said the main plus for on-campus recruiting is efficiency. "It's a great way to see lots of people in a small amount of time," Noland said. Job pools among colleges and universities are huge. According to the Census Bureau, there were more than 10 million full-time students enrolled in a college or university in 2002. Attending a career fair for one day could provide more than enough applicants to find the right person for the job. This makes future hiring easier as well because remaining resumes can be kept for other positions as they become available. It is not simply the quantity of available applicants that make campus recruiting appealing. The quality of available applicants is high as well. By participating in higher education, students are proving they have the drive to succeed, a must for any successful sales person. They have taken the initiative to educate and better themselves and that speaks volumes for their potential success. Many basic performance skills - work ethic, drive, a personable demeanor and organization skills - can hardly be trained. They are qualities built into a person's personality and are much harder to manipulate than say, an employee's bookkeeping skills. These inherent qualities play an especially large role in the areas of customer service and sales. College campuses are filled with these types of people waiting for employers to take notice. It has been said time and time again. Not everyone is cut out to sell. Either a person has it or they do not. These "born sellers" have a natural talent and come from any number of backgrounds. They could be hiding in the English department, a Sociology class or a chemistry lab. Campus recruiting will help find these diamonds in the rough. Noland said recent graduates are also loaded with energy and enthusiasm. "They are very eager to get their career started," Noland said. This coupled with the new ideas and approaches recent graduates can bring to a company make campus recruiting even more attractive. Noland said continued participation is a mark of success. "The best testimony is that they come back year after year." Campus recruiting is also very affordable. There may be small registration fees for career fairs and minimal travel expenses involved, but campus recruiting is still much more inexpensive than classified advertisements. Plus, posting job announcements on college websites is usually free. Keep in mind alumni may also view these sites as a known effective resource. Buz Prosser, President of Consolidated Mailing, prefers going through a university instead of using classified advertisements because it is cheaper and the quality of applicants is higher. With classifieds, Prosser said, he got all kinds of applicants. "It allowed me to be picky," Prosser said. Since he received most of the resumes via e-mail, he could respond to applicants at his own convenience. What's more is the instant nature of the Internet can help fill positions quickly. Prosser said he began receiving applicants the first day he posted the opening. If these benefits are not enough to sway employers to utilize their local colleges, perhaps the philanthropy involved will. Using a certain college to recruit employees is also a good way to give back to the community. Jordan said alumni often post jobs at their alma mater as a way to help better the school without donating money. The main argument against campus recruiting as a viable employment method is experience. Most students preparing for graduation do not have much professional experience. However, it is this tabular Rasa (clean slate) frame of mind that makes students attractive in customer service and sales. Because they are not practiced in specific selling techniques, it is simple to train these novices by your company's standards. Perhaps the best way to train college students is through internships. Internships can be very beneficial to employers. Interns are relatively inexpensive and offer a deeper understanding into the line of work for the intern. Jordan said internships facilitate better retention rates and hiring fits for employers, as many interns become full-time employees after graduation. Internships are a good fit for customer service and sales positions because of the hands on nature of the work. Important factors like learning how to handle clients and perfecting the art of closing a deal are skills that cannot be taught in the classroom. Internships build a stronger understanding of what the work is like and serves as a good trial period for both the employee and the employer to test the compatibility of the relationship. |
||
