The Cohen Career Center at William and Mary had been using Symplicity CSM since 2011; however, the new Assistant Director of Employer Relations Cristen McQuillan, was not familiar with the system when she was hired. She wanted to employ CSM, hosted on Amazon Web Services, to streamline the on-campus interviewing process because CSM’s functionality allows for employers to control their own appointments and gather applications through the platform. She was also seeking to promote career services to students based on their interests and class year. More importantly, she wanted to gain a comprehensive view of all career events and services, which CSM’s reporting feature would provide.
“If you have any kind of on-campus interviewing process, you need to go with Symplicity because it's so much easier to schedule and keep everything in order."
Cristen McQuillan,
Assistant Director of Employer Relations
Situation
Before Cristen McQuillan began working as Assistant Director of Employer Relations at William and Mary’s Cohen Career Center, she had never used a career services management system. W&M had been using Symplicity since 2011, but she wanted to further leverage its capabilities to streamline the on-campus events and recruiting processes. She also wanted to promote upcoming employer events to students and send them targeted communications based on their major, class year, and interests.
Solution
Cristen began using CSM to encourage employers to actively post jobs for William and Mary students. Her office now has more control over fraudulent job postings because these can be flagged through CSM. Employers were also encouraged to use the On-Campus Recruiting module to register for on-campus events, schedule interviews with students, and select students to apply for job postings. Employers also now had the ability to receive applications through the OCR module, as well as select alternative candidates for interviews and job postings. Students began using the platform, majorly through their mobile devices, to sign up for upcoming recruiting events, information sessions and mock interviews. CSM provided students with a list of employers attending career fairs, which they could download and from which they could then select their top 10 picks.
To promote upcoming events and other career offerings, the Cohen Career Office began sending weekly and bi-weekly newsletters through CSM’s batch communication tools. The weekly newsletter was curated and released by a student staff member. It would include upcoming career events, job postings, a tip of the week, and a fun meme to promote career services. Bi-weekly newsletters included industry-related articles and were targeted to students based on the area of interest they self-selected on their academic profile. There is also now a newsletter targeted specifically for underclassmen with details and tips about how they can engage in career development.
Success
CSM has provided the Cohen Career Center a quick and effective way to approve job postings and leverage information posted by employers. The on-campus events and interviewing processes have been simplified for students and employers alike, who can use CSM to streamline formerly convoluted scheduling and room-booking.
Students and faculty members also have greater visibility into the entire scope of career offerings. Cristen and the Cohen team use CSM’s reporting features to learn the total number of events being held per year, as well as how many students are attending advising appointments, career fairs, interviews and info sessions. Last year, the office released its first end-of-the-year career success report, “Cohen by the Numbers,” which provided a snapshot of all their services. The report was shared with various faculty and offices across campus, and it was published online and posted around the career center. Some departments were so pleased with the results they posted the report on their bulletin boards!
“You've given us a quick way to create announcements and communications to students, and it's very helpful when we want to email targeted groups of students."
