2002 NACE Excellence Awards
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
College Winner
“Meaningful Careers in a Changing
World”
University of Chicago Harris School.
“In the wake of September 11, many students wanted to know what they could do to help their country,” says Phyllis Brust, director of career services at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.
To answer that question, Brust and her colleagues planned and presented a unique conference that integrated current events with vocational ideas.
“Meaningful Careers in a Changing World” featured presentations by and panel discussions among representatives of the United Nations, World Bank, and State Department; providers of direct services to immigrants and refugees; advocates of human and civil rights; members of non-governmental organizations; and public health officials.
The conference offered a wealth of information on finding career fulfillment in a global context, according to Brust, who staged the event with Christin Glodek, then senior program development officer of the university’s Committee on International Relations, and Michael Jogerst, director of career services for the School of Social Service Administration.
All told, more than 240 undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, faculty, and administrators attended the conference and proved to be a receptive and appreciative audience.
Employer Winner
"Multimedia Campus Presentation”
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S. LLC
When recruiters from Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGE&Y) head off to campus career fairs, they carry with them a single CD that combines the simplicity of PowerPoint with the pizzazz of video to help students learn about consulting careers with the company.
“The challenge in developing a campus presentation is striking a balance between appealing to students, and providing presenters with the flexibility to customize content for different audiences and settings,” says Marie G. Rachwalski, CGE&Y’s director of marketing and branding strategies.
To achieve that balance, Rachwalski enlisted the help of John Flato, the firm’s former national director of university relations; Wendy Whitcomb, director of staffing; and consultants from the Bernard Hodes Group. Featured throughout the presentation are images of the company’s signature spade, which seems to appear everywhere, shrinking to become the pupils of a young woman’s eyes or sitting solidly amid the towers of Stonehenge.
“We leveraged images from the firm’s global employment brand tool kit,” says Rachwalski, explaining that the kit, which she also helped develop, includes a combination of stock and custom photographs.
The result?
“Reaction to the presentation from recruiters and students has been overwhelmingly positive,” Rachwalski says.
INFORMATION RESOURCES
College Winner
“Skills for Success! Skills Employers
Look for & How to Develop Them Now”
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
In a mere eight pages, Skills for Success! offers students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign plenty of solid information about what employers want and expect from new college hires.
Students get the message quickly. When they open the booklet, they immediately see the sentence, “Simply having a degree is not enough to get a job in the current, fast-paced economy,” in large, bold, upper-case letters.
In the booklet, co-authors Margaret
Schrock, assistant director in the university’s career
center, and Julian Parrott, an assistant dean in the College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences, explain that a survey by The Collegiate
Employment Research Institute of Michigan State University identified
key skills employers look for in new graduates—communication,
computer/technical, leadership, teamwork, and interpersonal skills.
“Skills are simply skills without context,” the authors
write. “It is the person who can successfully weave these five
skills together with their experiences, academics, and personality
that recruiters are seeking.”
To that end, the authors devote a page to each skill area and recommend classes and activities students can participate in to improve in that area. A final page offers students a list of places to explore opportunities, including the campus career center.
“There are hundreds of ways to build your skills while on
campus,” Schrock and Parrott write. “Here are some places
where you can begin to explore specific opportunities. Let us know
of additional opportunities you discover!”
Employer Winner
“Think You Know Sears…Think Again”
Sears, Roebuck & Co.
As a 120-year-old chain, Sears, Roebuck & Co. has a rich history and a remarkable track record. But those virtues often were lost on job-seeking college grads who grew up on The Gap. In the minds of many, Sears was a store where their grandparents liked to shop, not an employer offering unlimited career potential.
To recast Sears’ image as a thoroughly modern and innovative retailer, its college relations and recruitment team launched “Think You Know Sears…Think Again,” an elaborate and effective campaign aimed at selling new graduates on careers with the company.
Based on research and focus groups of current and former retail trainees, the college relations team revamped its core recruitment brochure, adding detailed descriptions of its career opportunities and profiles of its trainees; improved access to and upgraded the content of its web site, including details on its campus recruitment schedules and continuous learning opportunities; and created a lively, informative video—emphasizing its commitment to work/life balance, diversity, and community involvement—for use at recruiting events.
“As a result of the campaign, our target audience is taking notice of what we have to offer,” says Kristine Tiefenthaler, director of college relations and recruitment. “They recognize the potential in a future with us precisely because of our longevity and stability.”
