HR Mavericks

Eddy’s HR Mavericks Encyclopedia

University Career Services
University career services is an excellent resource for students AND employers looking for great employees! Read this article to learn how university career services can get you a steady flow of valuable talent and the competitive advantage you need.

What Are University Career Services?

University career services is a college resource that offers various kinds of career help for students. They usually have a physical office on a university campus with career coaches, advisors, counselors and resume reviewers. University career services usually have an online presence for remote students and for easy access to help material. University career services is a great place to go as a student even if you’re not currently in the job search. Their purpose is to prepare students for internships and full-time work, and provide them with the resources to get started.

How Are University Career Services Helpful?

University career services can help both job seekers and employers. This list goes over some of these benefits.

Job Seekers

Some of the ways university career services help job seekers include helping students put their best foot forward, connecting them with employers, offering knowledge and career coaching and pointing talent in the right direction.
  • Help students put their best foot forward. Many students don’t know where to start when it comes to writing a resume or preparing for an interview. The coaches in university career services have all the resources and expertise to teach students how to portray their best self as they’re considered for new job opportunities.
  • Connect students with employers. Students can get an “in” with specific companies through their career services’ professional network. These connections help students get their first internships and jobs and get started in their career.
  • Offer knowledge and career coaching. Students can go to career services to learn the details behind specific jobs and careers. Career salary ranges, growth potential, travel requirements and required education are just the start of what the career coaches offer.
  • Point talent in the right direction. Students may know their own strengths and talents, but they may not know what careers align with those skills. Career services can assess a student’s interests and show them what careers may be aligned with what they want to do.

Employers

University career services help employers by attracting university talent, building internship programs, recruiting regularly, creating exclusive job boards, locking in top talent and spreading their brand.
  • Hire university talent. University students come with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills in their subjects. Employers can keep a competitive advantage by utilizing career services to bring in employees with fresh perspectives and new ideas to offer your business.
  • Build an internship program. Working with university career services will make building an internship program much easier for your business. Interacting with tens or hundreds of students interested in summer work every year ensures your internship applicant pool never runs dry.
  • Regularly recruit. University career services often have multiple job fairs each semester. By regularly attending job fairs and speaking with students, you can maintain a steady stream of new employees and interns each year.
  • Exclusive job boards. University career services often have their own job boards that are only accessible to current students. Companies can work with university career services to post their own jobs and connect with the right students. These are exclusive job boards that require career services’ approval. They’re much more niche than big job boards, but can bring in some of the best talent.
  • Lock in top talent. If your company maintains a positive relationship with university career services, you can regularly recruit students and recent grads for internships and full-time jobs. If you have a closer relationship with the university than your competitors, you can have first pick on the top talent the university offers.
  • Spread your brand. University career services allows companies to attend career fairs. In these fairs, you can set up a flashy booth and post recruiters to advertise and sell students on your culture and value proposition. Regularly returning to these events will stamp your brand in the students’ minds.

What Are Commonly Offered University Career Services?

Below are services that university career services usually offer their students. It can be helpful to be aware of these when starting your relationship with career services to hire university students.

Resume Reviews

A student’s first professional resume is a daunting task, but university career services offer experts who know all the tips, tricks and advice needed to write, design and format a proper resume for each specific job industry.

Interview Prep

Career services have coaches that can conduct mock interviews and training to help students learn the structure of an effective interview experience.

Career Coaching

Professional career coaches are available at any university career services for advice and suggestions for student career plans. They can help students explore new career options according to their schooling and teach proper steps to get started.

Career Exploration

Coaches can provide details for specific careers including salary, workload and growth potential. There are also dozens of online personality and job assessments for students to gain insight into how their talents and interests align with specific career paths. Career service is sure to have these resources readily available for students at no cost.

Career Fairs

University career services hold regular career fairs sponsored by the university where companies local and abroad can recruit students and recent grads for internships and full-time jobs.

Networks

Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of career services is the extensive alumni and professional network they maintain at the students’ disposal. This network extends from the university local community to wherever school alumni go. Current university students can access this network through career services to learn more about alumni careers, companies and job opportunities.

How Can Companies Work With University Career Services?

Here are some tips to ensure you utilize university career services for the best returns possible.

Step 1: Introduce Yourself

Find universities you’re interested in recruiting students from; call them up and start your relationship. Tell them about your company and what your intentions are in working with them. They’ll be happy to listen and take you into their network.

Step 2: Learn What They Offer

Make sure university services know what kind of talent you’re looking for. Explain your industry and the competencies you seek in new hires. Then ask how you can best utilize their resources to find these new hires. They’ll share what career fairs, networking events and workshops you could attend and what colleges and programs you could spend your time with.

Step 3: Attend Applicable Career Fairs

Mark applicable university career fairs in your calendar and make sure you’re prepared for them. Look up the dimensions of your booth and bring banners, table cloths, signs, swag and written resources for students who want to learn more about your company. Recruiters, HR reps or job incumbents for the role you’re recruiting for are great company representatives to attend the event. Any employee who graduated from the university is also a great pick. Be ready to collect resumes and contact info, and consider being ready to schedule interviews!

Step 4: Maintain a Positive Relationship

Help the career center help you. It’s in their best interest to get their students into great jobs with great companies and it’s in your best interest to hire their top talent. Maintain a positive relationship with the university by communicating often, utilizing their resources, offering to help them in their events and thanking them for their efforts. If you have a better relationship with them than your competitors, they’ll help you get first pick of their students!
Topics
Brandon Fluckiger

Brandon Fluckiger

Brandon is currently a People & Capabilities Advisor at Thiess where he helps implement HR strategies in Salt Lake City and Colorado. He recently graduated with his MHR and MBA at Utah State University, where he also received his bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies with minors in HR, business management, and technical sales management. He has filled professional roles as an HR business partner, an HR generalist, and a senior recruiter; and has exceptional experience in people analytics, compensation, and talent development. Brandon is a strong advocate for HR strategy and helping business leaders understand the true power of maximizing employee potential.
View author page
Frequently asked questions
Other Related Terms
AI Recruiting
Ambassador Program
Benchmark Jobs
Billboard Recruiting
Campus Recruitment
Candidate Correspondence
Candidate Disposition
Candidate Engagement
Candidate Feedback Survey
Candidate Net Promoter Score
Candidate Nurturing
Careers Page
Co-Employment
Co-Op Program
Cold Calling in Recruitment
Contingency Recruiting
Employee Advocacy
Employee Poaching
Employee Referral Program (ERP)
Employee Social Media Takeover
Employer Information Session
External Recruiting
Facebook Recruiting
Ghosting
Glassdoor Recruiting
Hidden Job Market
Hiring Statistics
Hiring with ZipRecruiter
Inbound Recruiting
Indeed Recruiting
Instagram Recruiting
Internal Job Posting
Internal Recruitment
Internal Transfer Policy
Internship Program
Job Ads
Job Fair
Labor Market
Lateral Hire
LinkedIn Recruiting
Mobile Recruiting
Online Job Application
Outplacement Firm
Pay-Per-Applicant
Post & Pray
Promoting Talent
Purple Squirrel
Recruiting
Recruiting Funnel
Recruiting Operations
Recruitment Agency
Recruitment Fees
Recruitment Marketing
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
Recruitment SEO
Referral Bonus
Reneging
Resume Parsing
Retained Search
Reverse Recruiting
Social Media Recruiting
Sourcing
Sponsored Job Posting
Staffing
State Employment Agency
Strategic Recruitment
TV Recruiting
Talent Acquisition
Talent.com Recruiting
Text Recruiting
TikTok Recruiting
Twitter Recruiting
Video Job Description
Virtual Job Fair
Workplace Tour
Eddy's HR Newsletter
Sign up for our email newsletter for helpful HR advice and ideas.
Payroll
Simple and accurate payroll.
Pay your U.S.-based employees on time, every time, with Eddy.