Collegiate Times

No one wants to leave Virginia Tech, but that fateful graduation date catches up to every Hokie sooner or later.

The Collegiate Times recently spoke with Jim Henderson, associate director of Employer Relations at Virginia Tech Career Services, who shared some insight into Tech’s Hokies4Hire. The online program has helped graduates in the past as it is designed to connect Tech students and graduates to possible employers across the world.

COLLEGIATE TIMES:

Can you give a general overview of what Hokies4Hire offers Virginia Tech students?

JIM HENDERSON:

It offers a great deal. It is primarily used for career assistance. Students can go on there and not only look for employment opportunities, but it’s also a place where they can post their resumes. We certainly market it and encourage employers to search the resume database so that if a student is in a job search situation it is very beneficial for them to register, to post their resume, because employers contact them.
(Students) are also able to see all the services that are available to them through Career Services that they might not be familiar with, so even if someone is not in a career search. But maybe they want to just improve their interviewing skills, they want someone to help them with their resume, they just want advice on their career search.
Because, really, many students start too late in the process where they are graduating in May and they’re just now coming into us looking for the type of advice that really they should have gotten much earlier in their career. One of the main pieces of feedback that we get from students after they graduate is, “Gosh I wish I took advantages of these services previously,” and most all of that can be found in Hokies4Hire.

CT:

How does Hokies4Hire match potential employers and students?

HENDERSON:

The students have to register and they put their resume in and an employer can go in and search by keyword or by major or by year. So if an employer is looking for a senior within a certain field of study, they can search and then see what resumes are in there that might fit their criteria. One common way that employers might use it is if they’re coming on campus for an information session or for a job fair. They might reach out to those students to say, “I’m going to be on campus, please come visit us.” So it’s just one way to be more visible to the employer.

CT:

Do you have a base of companies you typically work with?

HENDERSON:

Online we have a list of companies through the Post-Graduation Report, the companies that hire the most Virginia Tech students. Though the career services here we deal with a wide range of employers ... it’s a full gamut of employers that are looking for full time career opportunities to the local employer whose looking for part time help or an internship. One really focused priority that we have currently is to work with the local community because many students are looking for part-time work or an internship or something for experience and not necessarily for a career because they aren’t graduating, but they’re looking for just something where they can make some extra money and get some experience. We’re very actively working with the local community to get them to post those jobs on Hokies4Hire too.

CT:

Who can take advantage of the services Hokies4Hire offers?

HENDERSON:

They are available to everyone. We certainly encourage even first year freshmen who really don’t have a clue as far as career. One of the messages we want to get across is the earlier you start the better, because again it’s not just for career assistance but it’s really for preparation. (Hokies4Hire) is also for students who want to do a mock interview, who want to get their resume done and just get that practice in so that as early as someone gets into it and gets comfortable, the better off they are

CT:

What is the process for someone who wants to get started with Hokies4Hire?

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