#hirewire

Two weeks ago, I went to a "networking" event organized by SCAD. They virtually connected us to more than 30 employers through a sort of Skype system.  In my opinion, and as I am preparing to look for a job, it was a bitter-sweet experience. Bitter, because I only realized the day before the event that I was not actually going to meet recruiters but just sit and listen to whatever presentation they had about the company. For companies that I had never heard of, it was actually interesting to learn about them but for companies that I had heard of (most of them), it was quite boring to be honest. The information was pretty basic and it felt like doing research at home but not truly connecting with the company (as SCAD had advertised). As I'm looking for a job, I believe that it is better to meet face-to-face with the recruiter. You get a feel of how they are, and they get a feel of how you are. It's a two way conversation. On the contrary, this was like a monologue. People could ask questions at the end but there was only time for a few. I also think the recruiter could have given contact info for more details and a deeper connection with students, even if just by email, it becomes one-on-one and thus more personal. Sweet, because SCAD managed to run all this extra smoothly. I was impressed by the organization. Most of the sessions were in different classrooms of the museum. There was enough seating, no waiting time, no technical difficulties. It all happened seamlessly. All companies (except Google) agreed to record their presentations and they are now still viewable online in case you missed them (through MySCAD I believe). Additionally, SCAD invited a wide range of companies to spark interest in a variety of majors and the event was advertised weeks in advance, several times through different channels (emails, flyers and word-of-mouth from career advisors) so students could not miss the event.