Spring Greetings from Harrisonburg!
It's a beautiful time of year on campus. The flowers are blooming and students are filling up the Quad. If you haven't had a chance to visit JMU during the spring, I highly recommend it. There is a spirit in the air that is uplifting and hopeful as well as energy and excitement around graduation approaching.
This spring semester was full of many successes. We hosted many of you on campus at various events and always love to have employers interacting with our students. The semester has flown by and we are gearing up for the summer planning season and fall recruiting events. One particular highlight was record numbers at our career fairs. We surpassed our pre-Covid numbers! This year we had 6,150 students and 652 employers participating in fairs at JMU.
Hope you'll enjoy our spring newsletter filled with opportunities to engage with JMU students. Since many of you plan your fall activities way in advance, we want to make sure you have all the information you need to be successful.
Starting Wednesday, May 1st, you can begin registering for fall recruiting events in Handshake. This includes our fall career fairs, on-campus interviews, information tables, and information sessions. If you have a specific day for your recruiting events, please register early. Popular dates around career fairs and other important events on campus get taken quickly.
I want to give a special invitation to employers who may be new to recruiting at JMU to attend our Employer and Faculty Conference on Thursday, August 8th, 2024. Employers will get to learn about recruiting at JMU and have a chance to interact with faculty. During the conference, we will be sharing recruiting updates as well as have information sessions on best practices. Registration will open in June. We'd love to have you join us!
Our Employer Services Team is here to help as you plan for the upcoming fall semester. If you have questions about recruiting at JMU or just want to consult about your current strategy, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team.
All the best, Laura
P.S. - Pass It On!
Are there organizations in your network looking to recruit new talent? Share this newsletter with them and let them know they can connect with our Employer Services Team to help navigate their hiring needs, whether they are looking for interns, seasonal or full-time employees.
University Career Fair Changes for Fall 2024
The University Career Fairs are moving to the The Atlantic Union Bank Center (AUBC). This change will allow us to host 30 more employers each day and to better accommodate our growing student attendance. The AUBC is located across from the Festival Student Conference Center, where our career fairs have been held for many years. Parking will be in the same place, The Ballard Deck. We’ve also realigned our career fair fees to account for increased expenses at the new venue and to align with pricing at our peer institutions.
Fall Recruiting Season
Registration for Fall Career Fairs begins on May 1st!
We can't wait to see you at the following events:
- Nurse Recruitment Day: Thurs, September 5th, 2024 in Festival Ballroom; this event is catered toward Nursing majors
- CISE Fair: Tues, September 10th, 2024 in Festival Ballroom; this event is catered toward the following majors: Biotechnology, Computer Science, Engineering, Geography, Information Technology, Integrated Science & Technology, and Intelligence Analysis
- University Career Fair Day 1: Tues, September 24th, 2024 in the AUBC; this event is catered toward ALL MAJORS
- University Career Fair Day 2: Wed, September 25, 2024 in the AUBC; this event is catered toward ALL MAJORS
- HART Fair: Wed, November 6th, 2024 in Festival Ballroom; this fair is catered toward Hospitality and Sport & Recreation Management majors
Don't forget there are other ways to get in touch with JMU students! UCC offers free tabling events for employers to market toward target audiences across campus.
Important Fall Semester Dates:
- August 21st: First day of the fall semester
- October 16-20th: Fall Break
- November 23-December 2: Thanksgiving Break
- December 6: Last day of classes
Internships & Work-Based Learning
Has your organization hired an extern, intern or worked with JMU faculty on a course this year?
Work-based learning, defined as an experience that incorporates hands-on work in an applied context and includes experiences known as externships, internships, clinicals, student teaching, undergraduate research, or fellowships, is an important area of growth for JMU. This year, 4,413 organizations posted 27,850 internships in Handshake. Based on University Career Center information, 63.4% of graduates in the Class of 2022 completed at least one internship. Last year, 297 courses at JMU, some with multiple course sections, engaged with outside partners to provide more than 5,800 students with real world applications of curriculum learning.
If you are interested in learning more about hiring interns in your organization, reach out to Emma Gibbons, Assistant Director for Internships, gibbonek@jmu.edu.
Benefits of DEI in the Workplace
- Reach a more extensive and inclusive talent pool
- Diverse teams are more likely to perform better financially
- DEI fosters a sense of belonging for employees
- Higher employee retention and lower turnover
- Diverse workplaces breed innovation
- Inclusions can improve business decision-making
- Equity and inclusion can tackle workplace burnout
- Creates a competitive business edge
- DEI protects company culture
To read more about the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit InsightGlobal. You can also visit our Recruiting Resource website for tips and tricks to navigate recruiting students in an inclusive manner.
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
REMINDER:
Please be sure to take down any old job postings on Handshake to ensure our students are finding the most recent and available job opportunities!
Share your perception of JMU’s role in economic development and community engagement:
JMU’s Office of Economic and Community Development wants to hear from you! Complete an anonymous survey designed to understand existing strengths and future opportunities for growth related to JMU’s involvement and performance in economic development and community engagement. The survey closes on May 31.
UCC Partner Program
Looking for help with marketing your positions and events on campus? Consider joining the UCC Partner's Program. There are many benefits to this program, including:
- Recognition as University Career Center Partner on digital channels (website, social media, newsletter, etc.)
- High-traffic space at the Fall or Spring career fair
Want to learn more? Contact Laura Hickerson, at hickerly@jmu.edu
Thank you to our current UCC Partners!
Our UCC staff would like to thank you all for your continued support in recruiting our Dukes! We hope you enjoy the blooming season and we look forward to seeing you here at JMU soon. GO DUKES!!!
Connect with the University Career Center on social media @jmucareer!