Greetings from Harrisonburg!
It has finally cooled off here and is starting to feel like fall. We have had a busy and productive recruiting season thus far and are looking forward to an active spring semester as well. I have enjoyed seeing many of you here on campus either for career fairs, an information table or session, or on-campus interviews.
If you haven’t been here yet, our on-campus interview season for fall continues through December 1st. It’s not too late to host an information table or information session either. Students have a long winter break coming up and often use that time to get organized and take action on their job or internship searches.
Looking ahead, the spring recruiting season reservations open on November 1st in Handshake. Requests are accepted on a first come, first serve basis, and it is recommended to make your requests early to get a date that will work best for your team.
Students enjoy having employers on campus, whether for a career fair, on-campus interview, a student organization presentation, or an information table. They want to talk to you in person to get to know you and your company. Employers that have a steady presence on campus have much better recruiting outcomes.
Want some help planning your recruiting strategy? We are happy to help. I am so thrilled to introduce you to our new team in Employer Services.
- Kaitlyn English, Graduate Assistant for Employer Services
- Emma Gibbons, Assistant Director for Internships
- Alyssa Hawley, Career Advisor and liaison to the Alumni Association and Graduate School
- Buffi Holland, Recruiting Programs Coordinator
- Sarah Koerner, Coordinator for Employer Outreach and Events
Together they bring a diversity of experience and knowledge and have been such wonderful additions to the overall UCC team. I can’t wait for everyone to meet them.
The Employer Services team greatly values our relationships with you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions about recruiting at JMU. Hope to see you on campus sometime soon.
Take care, Laura Hickerson
Spring 2024 Career Fair Dates
We are actively gearing up for Spring 2024 career fairs! All fairs are live, and registration is open in Handshake. It is recommended to register as soon as possible. Any questions of issues with registration please email our team at handshake@jmu.edu.
- CISE Career and Internship Fair: February 6, 2024, for Biotechnology, Computer Science, Engineering, Geography, Integrated Science and Technology, Intelligence Analysis, and Computer Information Systems Majors
- Hart School Career and Internship Fair: February 7, 2024, for all Hospitality and Sport and Recreation Management Majors
- University Career Fair: February 27 & 28, 2024, for All Majors (organizations are allowed to pick ONLY one day to attend)
- Teacher Recruitment Day: February 29, 2024, for All Education Majors
Spring Recruiting Season Dates
Our spring recruiting season requests are now open in Handshake! Make your requests and registrations on Handshake today. Here is our On-Campus Recruiting Season Timeframe:
- Recruiting Season Starts: Monday, January 29, 2024
- Recruiting Season Ends: Friday, April 26, 2024
View the university's academic calendar to best plan your upcoming recruiting season here at JMU! If your organization is interested in hosting an information session or information table on-campus, please refer to our event requests webpage for details. If you would like to reserve one of our interview rooms in our Interview Center on-campus or if you would like to host virtual interviews, please complete a Handshake interview request.
New DEI Webpage for Employers
Our Employer Services Team has been working on creating a new DEI resource for our employers. Our new DEI Recruiting Resource page is now live on our website and contains a variety of resources to help organizations think through their DEI initiatives when it comes to recruiting. This webpage will continue to be updated with new resources being added continuously as our staff learns about new and helpful resources. We always welcome you all to share any resources you use for recruiting that could be helpful to others. Feel free to share other resources with our staff at handshake@jmu.edu
Our Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, Derek Chen, serves as a liaison for identity-based student populations on campus. Examples of student organizations and office departments include but not limited to: LGBTQ+ Resource Center, Multicultural Center, First-Generation Center, Cultural Greek fraternities/sororities, Women in Tech, and Biology Students of Color.
If you would like to provide direct programming & events to a JMU student organization(s) (virtually or in-person), please reach out to Derek at chen8dx@jmu.edu to discuss ideas and next steps.
Donate to our JMU Career Closet!
Hosted and organized by the University Career Center and The Pantry, the JMU Career Closet is a clothing and accessory resource for all JMU students, with a specific focus on work and interview attire. This is a donation-based resource, and students are welcome to take one complete outfit or up to 5 items from the closet each semester, FREE of charge. Over 600 students visited this past year! We would love to have more donations and we would welcome your donations at any time. We ask that donations be new or gently used; in ready-to-wear condition; with no stains, odors, tears, or missing buttons. All apparel and footwear sizes are needed!
Appropriate items for donations include business suits, dress shirts, blouses, slacks, jackets and/or skirts. Dress shoes, ties, belts, and scarves are also accepted. To setup a drop off or want more details on donation please contact Alyssa Hawley, adamsar@jmu.edu
Fall 2023 Outcomes Data
One of the JMU Career Center's key initiatives is to elevate the prominence of the University Career Fairs by increasing the number of students and employers who participate. The UCC team has implemented several strategies to impact this initiative, including a venue change for Fall 2024.
With our 5 Ways to Be Career Ready campaign, one of the 5 ways to be career ready is for every student, including first year students, to attend each of the University Career Fairs for 30 minutes and talk to 5 organizations. The University Career Fairs provide students an opportunity to practice communicating about their backgrounds and to learn about existing and future opportunities with employers. This year, the total attendance for both days of the University Career fairs was 1,685, an impressive increase of 36% compared to last year.
Employers are, of course, critical to successful career fairs! Students, faculty and staff especially enjoy connecting with JMU alumni, and at this year's 2-day University Career Fair, 37% of representatives at the fair were JMU alumni. Coming in the fall of 2024 is a venue change for the University Career Fair. Next fall, we will be moving to the Atlantic Union Bank Center—there we will be able to host up to 100 employers each day (up from 70 each day).
Thanks to great students, faculty, staff, and you: our employer partners. We are well on our way to making the University Career Fairs the career event of the semester!
JMU has energy around finding and helping develop new Work-Based Learning opportunities for our students. We hope each student has the opportunity to complete a Work-Based Learning Experience while they're a student at JMU. These experiences couldn't happen without many of you, we're grateful for your help increasing their field-related knowledge and skills through your programs, and the supervision by skilled professionals helping them develop into our future graduates.
I am excited for what is to come in this role, Virginia has a spotlight on internships and the opportunities students have to take those on during their undergraduate degree. As we continue through this year, I'm happy to chat with anyone who is interested in establishing an internship, learning more about internship resources, or finding out more about how internships function for JMU students. Check out this great resources from V-TOP for Employers who want to build an internship program.
UCC Partner Program
Is your organization interested in elevating your organization's visibility on campus or building your brand among JMU students? Join our UCC Partner Program to collaborate with our office to help support your recruiting efforts! If you are interested in joining our UCC Partner Program please reach out to Laura Hickerson, hickerly@jmu.edu.
Our UCC staff would like to thank you all for your continued support in recruiting our Dukes! We hope you have restful holiday season and we hope to see you here at JMU soon. GO DUKES!!!
Connect with the University Career Center on social media @jmucareer!