Engaging Employers: Frameworks and Creating Tiered Models for Enhancing Career Services by Holly Fosher

After two years in my first career services position, managing employer relationships began to feel like balancing an overflowing cup—any new request threatened to spill. Let’s rewind to how I got here. When I started, there was no employer engagement model, so I simply said "yes" to every request. Once my cup started to overflow, I knew I had to rethink the approach. The key question: How do we create systems that engage employers and lead to meaningful employment outcomes, while thoughtfully managing partnerships to ensure the right opportunities exist for both students and employers?

 

Identify Needs & Gaps

I began by mapping requests from students and employers to understand their needs and alignment. What gaps existed between what we provided and what they sought? I met with department Chairs and Professors of Practice to learn about program needs and their key industry connections. One professor mentioned a student interviewing with beer bottles in the background of a video call. I realized our "Interview Prep" was offered only through 1:1 or drop-in sessions, limiting its reach. Proactive students knew how to seek help, but others were left behind.

While identifying gaps, I also benchmarked what similar institutions were offering. Within our college, the School of Business required mock interviews, involving employers—a solution to (hopefully) fewer beer bottles in interviews!

 

Designed a Tiered Model

In addition to benchmarking peer programs, we designed a tiered employer partnership model to offer more tailored services. This allowed us to provide robust support to employers based on their needs.

Tier Details:

• Introductory Tier: Two Career Fairs, Four On-Campus Tabling/Interview Sessions, Social Media & Email Promotion, and Discount on Professional Development Certifications.

• Mid-Level Tier: Introductory benefits plus Student Organization Connections, Three Career Fairs, Six Tabling/Interview Sessions, Recruiting Day, Event Invitations, and Newsletters.

• Highest-Impact Tier: Mid-Level benefits plus Guest Lecturing, Prime Career-Fair Booths, Logo on the Website, and Company Banner in high-visibility locations.

To promote equitable participation, we offered discounts to non-profits, small businesses, government agencies, and women-, LGBTQ+-, and POC-owned businesses. We also ensured that large-scale events like Networking Night, Employer Resume Reviews, and the Women & Non-Binary Students in STEM Conference were open to all employers, even those outside the tier system. However, tiered participants received early invitations, speaker highlights, and prime recruitment opportunities.

Initially, after rolling out the pilot, we realized our pricing was too high. We adjusted the Introductory Tier pricing to match historical costs for two career fairs, ensuring alignment with employer expectations while adding benefits. Research shows career fairs are still effective, with 51.3% of students attending in the past year, and 45% getting interviews afterward (Gray, 2024). Due to this fact, we wanted to ensure career fairs were part of all tiers.

Streamlining, Adapting & Examining Outcomes

Once the tiers were in place, we developed systems to streamline recurring requests. For example, instead of managing "Employer Tabling" via email requests, we created a "Tabling Inquiry" form on our website. I collaborated with faculty to identify optimal times for students based on major, ensuring availability. We also standardized the date and time to build brand recognition for employer tabling sessions.

As the article Execution is the Secret Sauce That Drives Successful University Recruiting Results notes, execution is key to successful strategies. Even the best strategies fall flat without proper implementation, and we focused on moving students beyond transactional interactions toward real relationship-building (Scott, 2024). To achieve this, we introduced short, three-question surveys for students and employers after every event, refining our services based on their feedback. For example, initial feedback from our Employer Resume Review Night indicated it was too transactional. We responded by encouraging employers to bring business cards and for students to leave resumes, fostering ongoing connections. This adjustment led to students securing internships.

Practical Tips for Developing Your Own Model

• Meet with key stakeholders: Engage faculty leaders, professors of practice, student organizations, and currently engaged employers through focus groups.

• Benchmark: Connect with peers through professional organizations, LinkedIn, or university websites to learn about their models. No need to reinvent the wheel!

• Create tiers: Design tiers that make sense for your program. I’m in a new position, and since we are not revenue-generating, we are using new tiers such as “top employers, developing employers, newly engaged employers, mass engagement, and prospects”.

• Pilot your program: Be adaptable and adjust for more equitable participation.

• Gather feedback and assess impact: Use feedback to refine and improve the model continuously.

Have you developed a similar model? How are you navigating employer relations? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

About the Author

Hello everyone! My name is Holly Fosher (she/her), and I am currently an Employer Outreach & Engagement Manager at the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I have six years of experience in various higher-education settings, including three years as a Career Readiness Coordinator at the University of Vermont. In that role, I managed career development for both students and employers within their College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences in a decentralized model, while heavily collaborating with their central career center.

Originally from New Hampshire, I completed both my undergraduate and graduate studies in Recreation Administration with a focus in Event Management at the University of New Hampshire. I am always happy to connect further on LinkedIn!

References:

Gray, K. (2024, October 7). More Than Half of Students Attended a Career In the Past 12 Months. National Association for Colleges and Employers. https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/student-attitudes/more-than-half-of-students-attended-a-career-fair-in-the-past-12-months

Scott, M. E. (2024, May 1). Execution is the Secret Sauce That Drives Successful University Recruiting Results. National Association for Colleges and Employers. https://naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/best-practices/execution-is-the-secret-sauce-that-drives-successful-university-recruiting-results