Vacation Fairs 2009

Published 06 August 2009 by Andrea

We're in the midst of vacation fairs yet again. You see, this is my 11th year of them, and I've seen a few changes.

Interestingly, vac fairs to me, represent the graduate student up and coming. You can tell what kind of student you will be dealing with by attending and participating with vacation students and each year is vastly different.

For example, 3 years ago, I was attending vacation fairs and to be honest, I was rather unimpressed. I found the attitude of students was disheartening and downright rude. No thought towards employers outside their particular zone or outcome. No interest in finding out more. No discussion with anyone about employers that didn't pay BIG or brand BIG.

The following year, employers complained that it was the most difficult recruitment season they had seen in a very long time. With highly demanding students and the inability to meet the more superficial demands, acceptance rates for applications were low and recruiter morals were even lower.

2 years ago, I noticed a change. Now in saying that, I am on campus from orientation weeks and could see the differences then. They started to show interest in different things like corporate social responsibility, and environmentally sustainable organisations and then even more lately sustainable companies due to the GFC.

Their demands have changed and in doing so, so have employers. Throughout the world, the hot topic of recruitment is GREEN recruitment. This could mean everything from a fully online only system for recruitment practices to endorsing the companies green efforts in their campaigns. Students are hungry for it.

Funny though, that students show a very small percent of volunteer involvement and environmental sustainability.

The vac fairs are a brilliant indication of what your organisation can expect from your graduates the following year and even better yet - how to prepare for it.