Today we launched Referrals @ TalentBoard.io specifically to help early career candidates impacted by COVID-19. The idea is simple. How fast can we get candidate profiles directly in front of the recruiters in our community? This is not a time for complexity between anyone and a job opportunity.
Your first internship or job matters. Landing the right one can set you up for years, even a lifetime. That’s why what we do and how we respond during this time is incredibly important. Personally, I graduated college in a recession. It’s scary.
The countdown to graduation takes on a completely different meaning when you know the clock on those student loans is starting. I think that’s why this is so important to me.
From Stanford to Santa Monica College to Lambda School, there are students with anxiety over a date that should be a celebration. It sucks. We’ve got to act.
In the short term, if Referrals @ TalentBoard.ioo is able to help even one person, I’ll consider it a success. Longer term, we will allow the site to evolve organically into a hub of resources that on the market talent can come back to for support and resources. I’m excited to see what that looks like. I imagine it will include internships & job postings, opportunities to develop or uplevel skills and generally helpful content such as stories of resilience from candidates, and highlights of the resources our community and partners can offer.
The reality is that there will be less internships and new-grad full-time starts this summer, but we must not allow that to prevent the next generation of tech talent from developing the crucial skills and experience that will set them up for success. Especially for students of color and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
What can we do to help people continue on their journey even without an internship or a job at the moment?
To start, we are exploring ways to provide community, technical development (this will be incredibly important come the Fall), and mentorship opportunities for emerging tech talent.
Through collaboration amongst a cross-functional group of companies, non-profits, student groups, and universities we are launching a Virtual Meetup Development Series that will cover preparing students for remote internships, helping students navigate what to do if they don’t have an internship, and a number of topics designed to help develop emerging talent.
There is a ton of work to be done and we need your help. If you would like to get involved with any of these initiatives, submit a resource to be shared on TalentBoard.io, or get in touch about and idea, partnership, supporting or simply to learn more about these efforts please fill out this form.
