University Recruiting as a process for students can sometimes feel like playing a game of musical chairs, especially for students from underrepresented backgrounds. There’s a certain number of entry level jobs and internships and you do all you can to be in position to get a chair before the music stops. This year, before the music stopped, COVID-19 came along and took away half the chairs. It has left talented students around the country grasping to figure out what they’re going to do.
A few weeks ago, I shared that through URx Referrals we would do our part to connect students directly with recruiters in our community. So far we’ve connected over 1500 students with recruiters in our community, leading to a number of “replacements” and connections to companies like HBO, Roblox, and others. We will continue to do so. Unfortunately for every positive thank you email I received, it felt like it was followed by 3 emails from students still looking. It made me realize that much like our society’s response to this pandemic we must take action to solve immediate challenges and also make sure we are prepared for a post pandemic world. For students that means emerging this Fall a stronger candidate than they are today. With that thinking in mind, I’m excited to share two additional programs we will be launching to support students during this time;
InternHacks
InternHacks is a six-week fully virtual program that combines the best of a tech internship and a hackathon. The program is supporting over 200 students in tech this summer and needs mentors so they can support more!
URx Talent Development Program
URx Talent Development Program A series of workshops hosted by recruiters & featuring hiring managers from some of the top companies in the world.
Why these two programs?
Both programs enable students to hone their technical skills, gain mentorship, & get exposure to recruiters & hiring managers at top tech companies. We’ve designed both of these programs to help the students who participate be stronger candidates come Fall Recruiting season and beyond.
Our goal is that students from underrepresented backgrounds in tech and those impacted by COVID-19, will be in position to succeed once the game of musical chairs starts again this Fall (hopefully with a lot more chairs than we have now). I feel incredibly grateful to have amazing people leading each program. Supriya Sanjay as Director of InternHacks, Jennifer-Christine Madamba & Kathleen Merto running point on the Talent Development Program.
If you would like to get involved in InternHacks, reach out to us here. If you’d like to host a workshop for URx Talent Development Program, please fill out this form.
