Greetings from the Employer Engagement Team at Boston College!

In our newsletter, you will find content to help in your efforts recruiting BC student talent, information about campus happenings, and upcoming Career Center events. Our team works across industries to help employers get connected to students through career events and programming, including everything from large-scale career fairs to 1-on-1 employer office hours.

We are pleased to announce that the Career Center has a new website! Visit our pages to learn more about the benefits of hiring BC talent , building your organizational brand with students , and learn how to build and customize your campus recruiting roadmap .

We hope you enjoy our newsletter welcome you to contact a member of our team for more information. We look forward to partnering with you on your recruitment needs.

All our best,
The Employer Engagement Team at BC
2020 On-Campus Recruiting Now Open

We are taking reservations for the 2020 spring recruiting season and we welcome your participation. The BC Recruiting Program offers employers the opportunity to schedule on-campus interviews, information sessions, coffee chats, or other recruiting events to engage with Boston College students. It's easy to participate—simply log in to EagleLink to get started!

Important Spring Semester Dates:

Monday, January 13, 2020
Classes Begin

Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Information Sessions and Recruiting Events Begin

January 27–April 24, 2020
On-Campus Interviews
Save the Date

January 29 and January 30, 2020

Bank Week Networking Event for Sophomores
Beginning February 7, 2020

Start-Up and Entrepreneurship Fair
February 20, 2020

Social Services Recruitment Fair
March 27, 2020
Feedback Needed!
Recruiting Diverse Students

We are preparing for a diversity and inclusion issue of the employer newsletter, and would appreciate your participation in our poll below about best practices for diversity recruiting on campus. We plan to share our results in the next newsletter issue for your information and benefit.
What has worked well for your diversity campus recruiting efforts?
Information session for diverse candidates
Outreach to diversity-related student clubs
Diversity coffee chats
Virtual diversity events
Campus Happenings
Meet BC 2023
Future talent you recruit from Boston College will be part of our most diverse and talented class yet. Here is a look at the BC class of 2023 .
New EES Ph.D. Program
The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College is offering a new Ph.D. program that welcomed its first doctoral candidates this fall, a move that will further expand the capacity and expertise of the department.
African & African Diaspora Studies Now a Major
African and African Diaspora Studies is a new major on campus that coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Black Studies Program at Boston College. 
Introducing Career Clusters at Boston College 

The Boston College Career Center aims to better address student career needs and questions with its newly implemented career cluster-based organizational model, and thus provide students with resources—career coaching, job-searching and networking events, information, and employer and alumni connections—that will point them in the direction they seek.
In this model, the Center has defined six career clusters with some common characteristics and facets: Business, Consulting, and Financ e ; Communications, Media, and Arts ; Education, Nonprofit, and Social Servic e ; Healthcare and Nursing ; Government, Law, and Public Policy ; and Science, Technology, and Engineering . Each cluster has a corresponding career coach to work with students.

Another cluster, Exploration, is for students seeking to discern how their values, interests, and skills relate to their different career options and possible post-graduate pursuits.

Career Center staff say the cluster model reflects current practices in the collegiate career-counseling domain, but more importantly, an assessment of the student population it serves.

“Students today want personalized, specific attention instead of a one-size-fits-all approach,” says Director of Career Education and Strategy Rachel Greenberg, who co-coordinated implementation of the cluster model. “The generalist model we used for years served an important purpose, and overall was very effective. The cluster model, however, is not only better attuned to students’ needs, but suits our engagement with alumni and employers: It provides greater clarity to our programming, such as deciding whom to bring to campus for career exploration events, and how to connect students with resources they need.”

The new cluster model is beneficial for our employer partners as well as students. Because our career coaches are now dedicated to an individual cluster, they will be cultivating expertise for specific industries, including familiarity with hiring and employment trends, getting to know different employers and companies, and engaging alumni and employers when appropriate for campus events. By broadening industry expertise and employer relationships within the Career Center, our students will be better informed and aware of employers and opportunities that would be a good fit for them.

Visit our website and EagleLink frequently to learn about career cluster events that would be a good fit for your organization. You can get to know our career cluster coaches here .
Making Connections with Exploring Students 

Students at Boston College and across higher education are beginning to explore careers earlier than they ever have. When a student comes to us unsure of what he or she wants to do, we consider that student to be in the exploration phase. This exciting process is fueled by curiosity, reflection, and imagination. This helps a student invest time into learning more about him or herself before making career decisions. These students often attend large scale events, like career fairs, to learn from employers first hand about the opportunities available to them, and to practice their networking skills. 
 
Earlier exploration of careers can have a positive, lasting impact. Students who take the time to explore careers and network with a variety of employers ultimately experience increased job satisfaction and retention, as compared to their peers who do not. Below are some insights that can help you navigate working with exploring students as shared by Julianne Smith, Associate Director, Career Education. 
Julianne Smith
From your perspective as someone who regularly meets with students exploring careers, what would you like employers to know? 

JS: As cliche as it may sound, it's important to keep in mind that not all who wander are lost. Students who are actively exploring are generally engaged in and committed to finding a good career fit, which serves both themselves and their future employer as they become motivated and high performing employees. One of the greatest strengths of Boston College is the reflective culture. I would encourage employers to not overlook students who may appear to fall outside of their typical candidate profile. Engaging with exploring students may ultimately result in recruiting a more diverse, talented, and thoughtful applicant pool. 

Given that students are exploring careers earlier, how can employers recruiting on campus be of help to them? 

JS: More than anything, Boston College students want to make a positive impact on the world. Talking to students about your organization's mission and different opportunities that exist within it are great ways to make the world of work tangible. It may also be helpful to discuss what skills are utilized and valued at your organization so that they can begin to align those with their own skills and strengths. Further, if you can provide examples of the ways in which past successful candidates have developed specific competencies while in college, this may inspire students to take action to become better prepared or allow students to realize that they are actually equipped with the necessary competencies to be an attractive candidate. 

Can you describe the connection between career exploration and a liberal arts education, and why this would matter to employers?

JS: Because a liberal arts student does not have a clear and obvious path ahead of them, they are forced to go through a more active exploration process than a student on a pre-professional track. Engaging with this process allows them to develop career management skills that will benefit them throughout their lifetime. At Boston College, we are explicit and intentional about student formation. We encourage all students to spend time reflecting on how their skills, values, and interests position them to make an impact on the world. In order to help liberal arts students refine their career interests and develop self-efficacy, we encourage students to begin prototyping early. By speaking with employers and alumni and participating in experiential learning opportunities as early as their freshman or sophomore years, students are better able to bridge the connection between their liberal arts education and the skills employers seek by graduation.
At campus events, exploring students may appear to be unprepared--they may ask broader rather than specific questions, for example. As the recruiter, consider this an opportunity to help establish a pipeline of potential BC candidates. While the curious student who stopped by your table may not be the right candidate for your immediate hiring needs, you can be sure that the student is taking the right steps to ultimately find the right opportunity, and that is someone you’ll want at your organization when the time is right. 
Stay Connected with the Boston College Career Center


Visit our website at bc.edu/employers for information about on-campus recruitment, events, and more

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