Smith Career Centre’s New Approach to Recruiting a Hit

Kingston, ON – September 30, 2016— On-campus recruiting (OCR) wrapped up at Smith School of Business last week, connecting hundreds of students from the Commerce, MBA, Master of International Business and Graduate Diploma in Business programs with representatives from 60 global organizations.

This year’s event had a new twist – industry theme nights in a condensed format. After consulting with both students and employers, the Business Career Centre (BCC) team decided to shake up the traditional three-week OCR format by grouping industry-specific organizations on key nights. The new seven-day format gives students and corporate recruiters three touchpoints – an industry networking fair, formal information sessions and one-on-one coffee chats.

“It’s really about giving more organizations more ways to engage with the talented students here at Smith,” said Karen Jackson-Cox, Executive Director of the Business Career Centre at Smith. “Our corporate partners love this new approach – they get more access to more students and it's great exposure for their brands.”

Seventeen new companies joined Smith OCR this year for industry nights in accounting, finance, consumer packaged goods, retail, telecommunications, consulting, technology and start-ups. Three of the largest new organizations to participate were Air Canada, Intact Financial and Canadian Tire. These major Canadian companies were joined by Brookfield, Crowe Soberman, Capco, Idea Couture, Hugessen, TJX, Top Hat, Newcomp Analytics and Trend Micro, among others.

Long-standing returning corporate recruiting partners included the Big Four accounting firms, all the major Canadian banks, top consumer packaged goods companies Kraft, Pepsi and P&G, major retailers Walmart and HBC, telecommunications giants Bell and Telus, as well as key global consulting and technology firms, including IBM.

“Students asked us for more time to network and more meaningful connections with employers – and we delivered,” said Andrea Cuthbert, the BCC's Associate Director of Corporate Relations. “Coffee chats and longer networking sessions enabled students to have deeper conversations with employers about the organization and their potential fit with the company.”

Throughout the year, the BCC connects organizations with Smith students from all academic programs, to help them land positions from entry level to senior executive roles. To learn more about recruiting at Smith, visit the BCC website or contact Andrea Cuthbert.