What Students Really Want: Real Experience, Real Relationships

Career Level: Intermediate career services and university relations and recruiting professionals
Competency: Working with individuals and groups
Fee: $69 (member); $89 (nonmember);

Summary
How do students want to engage with employers? Whether you work for a college supporting students' career development or a company wanting to hire the best early-career talent, this question is vital. Who better to answer it than students themselves! During this panel discussion, you’ll hear directly from the students on: What’s getting through the noise? What are their goals in the recruiting process? What makes them show up to recruiting events? And even what they think of your swag.

Both early-career talent and recruiters are experiencing the challenges of a volatile labor market. A constant finding in our annual student sentiment survey is the student's need and preference for a real, paid work experience with an organization to explore career opportunities, demonstrate skills, and build authentic relationships with employers to secure the right job after graduation.

In this session, we’ll review the latest results and hear directly from students around topics like:
- How do students prefer to engage with recruiters?
- What value and perceptions do students have on popular recruiting activities?
- What do they want most to help them prepare for their careers?
- What uncertainties are students facing when it comes to securing a job?
Data highlights from this year’s survey include:
- 95% of respondents rated “real, paid work experience with an organization” as the most valuable way to engage them.
- 69% of respondents wish recruiters had begun to engage them earlier.
- The top need for students is more experience to build their resume.
The student panelists will share their top challenges with common recruiting activities, what they like and don’t like about campus recruiting, and what they need from career services and employers to feel prepared to enter the workforce.

Following this program, you will be able to:
- Prioritize student goals in the recruiting process;
- Identify insights into recruiting processes/tools that are most valuable to students; and
- Uncover ways to more effectively engage students in career exploration throughout their entire academic journey.
Presenters

Jeffrey Moss, Founder and CEO, Parker Dewey
Jeffrey Moss is the founder and CEO of Parker Dewey LLC, a company focused on addressing the challenges associated with college-to-career transitions through Micro-Internships. Prior to founding Parker Dewey, he spent most of his career as a venture investor focusing on the education and technology sectors. In addition, he was chief of enterprise growth at Educational Testing Service (ETS), where his efforts focused on the use of assessment to drive equity in education and employment. Moss currently serves on the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Alumni Board, the Purdue University College of Liberal Arts Dean's Advisory Council, and the President’s Advisory Council of Governors State University.

Keion Adams, Class of 2023, Florida State University

Nyauni Crowelle, Class of 2026, Valencia College