NACE Excellence Awards
Best Practice or Program—Information Resources for Students—College
Virginia Tech - Career Services Tailgate Party
Four years ago, Virginia Tech career services moved into the Smith Career Center—an entire building constructed expressly for the department. Staff members quickly decided to throw a party to show students what they had to offer.
“
We wanted to share and show off
a bit,” says Amy McPherson, associate
director.
That year’s “around the world” party was a success, as was a themed party held the next year. By the third year, McPherson says, the staff hit upon the idea of a “tailgate party,” incorporating students’ love of football and all things represented by the school’s mascot, a maroon and orange bird called the “Hokie.” The event, held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the first Friday of the Fall 2006 semester, featured free food and games, and door prizes donated by employer sponsors.
Mary Ann Cole, career services marketing manager, says the event served to welcome new and returning students to campus; get students acquainted with the new building; showcase services, resources, and programs; and give students an opportunity to network with the employer sponsors.
“Students got a door prize ticket just for coming,” McPherson says, adding that the more activities, or “stations,” the students completed, the more chances they had to win prizes. “By going to each station, they could earn more tickets. And at each station they would go to, they would learn a little bit more about career services.”
Each of career services’ four teams— career exploration, experiential education, job search/grad school, and employer relations—operated a station, offering a musical theme, game, and information that included:
- “Let’s Get It Started! Your Ticket to Success”: a mock football ticket with information on choosing majors, exploring careers, and making decisions.
- “Get Your Head in the Game! Get Experience”: information on how to get started with the university’s co-op/internship program.
- “We Are the Champions! Aim for Your Goal”: a “Quick Job-Search Guide,” plus representatives of Kaplan Inc. to talk to about preparing for graduate school.
- “Kick Off Your On-Campus Interviews With Hokies4Hire”: a presentation on how to register for and use the university’s “Hokies4Hire” web site to post resumes, search for jobs, participate in on-campus interviewing, and learn how to reach job-search goals.
Cole says 12 employer sponsors donated either money or door prizes and sent representatives to assist with the event. The support enabled the staff to offer pizza, water, and “awesome door prizes” that included two iPods, a portable DVD player, and a TV with DVD. McPherson points out that the sponsoring employers also sent representatives to help with the activities, adding to the event’s benefits.
“Students felt comfortable talking to them,” she says. “Employers struck up conversations and gave out their cards. Some students ran back to their apartments to get resumes.”
Cole says students learned about the event through an “aggressive marketing campaign” that included plugs for it during orientation and residence advisers’ training, and banners, posters, flyers, and yard signs placed throughout campus during the first week of classes.
Cole adds that the staff kept track of student participation by asking students to swipe their student IDs upon entering and at each station. Through this system, they found that more than 1,000 students attended, including 665 firsttime users of career services; more than 800 students viewed the seven-minute “Hokies4Hire” presentation; 43 percent of the participating students visited career services again by the end of the academic year; and freshmen and seniors participated in the highest numbers— 318 and 227, respectively.
Cole says the event’s success prompted career services to hold another “tailgate party” in 2007 and make plans for a third in 2008.
“This event was a huge success because of the creativity and dedication of all career services staff,” Cole says. “Students were very receptive to a fun way of learning more about career services.”
