Sharing Support and Insights: Hosting Webinars for Employers and Students

Posted by Kat Czornij

Now that we’re well into April I think we are all starting to get into the swing of things - we’ve figured out our favourite zoom backgrounds, explored more walking our local streets than we ever thought we would, and accepted that the snacking is inevitable. March however was a month full of uncertainty, and here at GradConnection we’d been getting a lot of questions from both employers and students. Employers wanted to know what everyone else was doing with their programs, and the students wanted some reassurance and clarity about how things might be different with their applications. We thought it best to get everyone together in the one place (virtually of course) for support, to share insights, and to just give everyone a little bit more peace of mind.

This took shape in two webinars hosted by the GradConnection team- the first ‘Talk To Employers’ was held on the 8th April and invited students to a panel of Graduate Recruitment representatives from Coles, DXC and PwC, while the second ‘Sharing Support & Solutions’ on 9th April brought together professionals to engage in discussions lead by representatives from MYOB, PwC and Coles. Here’s a little snapshot of how they went.

GradConnection BlogGradConnection Blog

Student Webinar: Talk To Employers

Watch the recording here (password: Graduate@123)

Panel: Tracy Nicholl (Graduate Attraction and Recruitment Manager, Coles), Nira Binderer Almani (Graduate Program Manager, DXC Technology), Anthony Takyi (Campus Recruitment Manager, PwC)
Hosted By: James Wright and Domonique Delgado from GradConnection

In the few days of announcing our webinar we had over 1,500 students register to attend. The webinar maintained a full house for the entire duration, with the student audience engaging in polls and submitting over 100 questions to the panel live. The recorded webinar was made freely available after the event, with an automated email also being sent with the link to all attendees, and has so far recorded more than 400 views.

The feedback we received from students after the webinar was immensely positive, with many reaching out directly to representatives to thank them for the advice they shared. By the end of the session 81% of the students reported feeling better about the current situation after attending! 

Some of the questions answered by the panel included:

  • What are the impacts COVID-19 has had on your organization’s recruitment plans?
  • Will this have an impact on the number of grads and interns being recruited?
  • What will virtual assessments be like and how will internet connectivity be accounted for?
  • Tips for new grads on developing good WFH habits and creating the right environment
  • What to do if you have already applied but haven’t heard back from the company?

Our next student webinar for general information about applications and assessments in 2020 is on May 5th at 4pm (EST) and we have plans for more in the future based on disciplines. If you would like to discuss participating please do let us know. https://bit.ly/3ewGwhR

GradConnection BlogGradConnection Blog

Employer Webinar: Sharing Support & Solutions

Watch the recording here (password: Graduate@123)

Panel: Bianca Knight (Program Consultant, MYOB), David Yates (Campus Leader, PwC), Melanie Taylor (OD Manager – Emerging Talent, Coles)
Hosted By: James Wright and Alex Tyrrell from GradConnection

The employer webinar registered nearly 200 working professionals in the graduate recruitment field- from companies to universities. Again the feedback was extremely positive, with participants particularly sharing their appreciation of the insights provided from the previous day’s student webinar.

Some of the questions answered by the panel included:

  • What new processes and tools are you using for grad recruitment and what was the process you went through to arrive at this solution?
  • How have your timeframes shifted?
  • Thoughts around virtual career expos
  • How are you keeping candidates informed of any changes?
  • What are some new ‘keep warm’ strategies that your companies are initiating?

Our next Employer webinar will be on Thursday 30th April at 12.30pm (EST) which will be firmly focused on the future and how we can incorporate recent learnings. Join us by registering at https://bit.ly/2Kb6GsF

Webinars proved a fantastic way to communicate, share insights and motivate discussion, with the representatives providing some much-needed clarification to both fellow employers and to students in each of the sessions. By sharing how their companies are evolving to meet the situation, what decisions are being made, and what’s working well, we are all able to better navigate through this challenging time.

If you missed the sessions make sure you check out the recordings in the links above, and don’t forget to register for our upcoming webinars!

If your organization would like to be a part of our future webinars you can get in touch with your account manager or contact us here.


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