spotlightowieur

 

The Career Circus, Presented by Spotlight Michigan

Time & Place:

4th Floor Spartan Stadium

Friday, April 29, 2011

1:00-4:00pm

BUSINESS REGISTRATION

Please follow the link below. Registration is quick and easy!

https://msu-csm.symplicity.com/events/SMCC2011

  • Register ASAP as space is limited.
  • Registration is FREE of charge, but is limited to two (2) representatives per business.
  • In order to qualify for the event, businesses must have more than 10 employees but no more than 150 employees.

Concept:

With second stage (10-99 employees) businesses comprising only ten percent of Michigan employers, but representing over thirty-five percent of jobs within the state, a venue must be created to connect talented and energetic students and graduates with these sustainable job opportunities. Currently, university sponsored career fairs only target large established businesses and are contributing toward student unawareness of the opportunities within these second stage businesses. Therefore, Spotlight Michigan aims to offer a new venue, creating an event to cater specifically to second stage businesses, highlighting these opportunities and increasing student awareness of these overlooked career opportunities.

Opportunities within second stage businesses can often be as rewarding, if not more so than positions within large established organizations. Positions within these organizations offer broader responsibilities which lead to a more developed experience and skills. Many second stage businesses are often fast growing and offer significant opportunities for upward employment movement, more so than large established organizations.

The Career Circus is designed to provide an alternative to the standard career fair, offering an informal opportunity for college students and second-stage, high growth companies to interact together in order to match highly qualified and talented students with exciting new career opportunities. The Career Circus will create an informal and relaxed atmosphere that will offer multiple opportunities for students and businesses to create meaningful connections.

Unique Features:

  • High-Top Tables: The elimination of business booths, replaced by informal high-top tables, allows for more interaction between students and businesses, eliminating the barriers between the two and promoting a more relaxed atmosphere where students can better express their skills and attributes.
  • Pitch Stage: Students and businesses are given sixty seconds to make a pitch to the crowd on who they are and what separates them or their business from the others. This allows both students and businesses to make more contacts, increasing the odds for successful matches.
  • Industry “Rings”: Mimicking the different rings of a circus, industry “Rings” or areas, will allow for students to locate their desired industry while maintaining an informal and comfortable atmosphere.
  • Live Twitter: An electronic display board will allow students to post shorts tweets on who they are and what employment opportunities they are seeking.
  • Live Video Feed: Pitches from the pitch stage will be broadcast throughout the venue allowing every business the opportunity to “meet” every student in attendance; something that is impossible at your generic career fair. DVDs of the pitches will then be provided for businesses to review in case they missed any of them.
  • Soft Zones: Secondary to matching talented students with second-stage organizations, the purpose of the Career Circus is to offer a relaxed and informal venue to find a job. Providing areas with couches and chairs for businesses and students to meet allows for students to feel more relaxed (and most important, less nervous) so that they can express their real personality and skills.
  • Pre-Event Training: Both students and businesses will be provided resources prior to the event in order to prepare for the event and acquire the skills necessary to make the best connections during the event.

Benefits to Businesses:

  • Second stage businesses will not have to compete with the professional recruitment departments of large corporations and will have the sole attention of the students.
  • Unlike other university career fairs, The Career Circus is FREE of charge to all businesses. This allows businesses who otherwise would not have been able to have a presence on the university campus to gain access to talented college graduates.
  • A recent trend in talent recruitment has been to network with potential employees prior to a business having an open position and therefore decreasing the time required to fill the position when it does open. The Career Circus allows businesses this opportunity by allowing for the recruitment of interns, part-time and full-time employees as well as general networking.
  • Due to the informality of the event, businesses that have never had the experience of recruiting college graduates on campus will be able to slowly gain an understanding of the process as well as other channels to interact with college talent.

Students, there is no need to register, simply show up on the day event prepared to network with the companies!

BUSINESS REGISTRATION

Please follow the link below. Registration is quick and easy!

https://msu-csm.symplicity.com/events/SMCC2011

  • Register ASAP as space is limited.
  • Registration is FREE of charge, but is limited to two (2) representatives per business.
  • In order to qualify for the event, businesses must have more than 10 employees but no more than 150 employees.