I graduated from ISU in 2000 with a double major in Finance and Accounting. Back then Illinois State University’s job fairs & tools were instrumental for me to find an entrance level job in finance with Motorola(which ultimately led me to get spun off to the Chinese Mafia, but that’s a difference story). The job fair tools from the outside looking in, don’t seem to have changed in 9 years despite the rise of social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook and personal blogs.
A couple years back, I tried to seek some job candidates from my alma mater and was surprised to find that I had to pony up at least $300 at the time just to be allowed to play.
This is a school in Illinois(think Blagoyovich) , so maybe the apples don’t fall too far from the tree.
ISU was not the only school that I needed to approach and spending $300+ per school just wasn’t in the budget, and the ROI on such an investment at a per school level was even more shaky. Back then the economy was at its peak, since then unemployment has doubled and in some areas of the country is already in the double digits, pushing up towards 15 – 20%.
Apparently ISU missed that trend too. I received a marketing email from them today asking if I might be interested in attending a job fair where I could seek out soon to be college grads for the recession/ double digit unemployment adjusted fee of $350!
Now, I more than many know the benefits of recruiting at ISU. The dollar amount however is not so much the issue (well it is) but its also more of a signal that this school ‘does not get it’ which hints at the potential that its students and future graduates ‘don’t get it’ either.
In their defense, ISU does not hit me up for donations and contributions all the time like the law school I graduated from in 2003, ST Thomas University School of Law, but that’s a law school. ISU has to bring in some money somewhere, but charging access to talk with the people that are seeking the jobs during a recession. Illinois has an unemployment rate higher than the national average. 
The majority of the ‘Registered Organizations’ for this job fair are almost the same exact employers that I met in 2000, which hints at the likelihood that they are just going through the motions, repeating the same recruiting strategy they have executed for at least 9 years, maybe longer.
Its currently a list of about 55 employers. So I have a tip for students at ISU, if you are interested in finding a job with one of these employers, DO go to the job fair, it is what is expected by these employers, but DO also get in contact with them via LinkedIn, Facebook or some other means before the fair.
Show them, you know how to get something done, before they spend their pre-approved but recession adjusted downward recruiting budget, on a job fair that walks them through the motions of something they do every year, even when they don’t understand why they are doing it. Middle managers and some recruiters in a corporation are a lot like lemmings. They just repeat the process that was done the year before. If they send someone that works normally as an accountant, and just hits a recruiting event a couple times a year, then they are even more likely to act like lemmings in accepting this reason for the events. If nothing else, its a day out of the office.
Make their day more useful by contacting them up front. Find them talking about preparing for the event on twitter or Facebook or where ever they congregate, and connect with them.
Oh and by the way, if you are connecting with them, make sure your profile is a bit professional and doesn’t talk about the crazy adventures in partying, bong adventures, or sexual escapades.
… that is unless you are applying for a job in the sex trade, which does have a strong presence in Central Illinois as well, but you probably won’t find them recruiting at a job fair.
To ISU, I love ya and I want to see you succeed. You need to relook at your job placement practices for students. You don’t have to entirely scrub your past practices, but a serious update would sure help. The good news is, most of this technology is FREE to use and your student body is likely already expert in its usage.
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