1 Resume Round-Up + 1 Resume Drop Feature = 659 Successes.
Students Got Noticed * Employers Received Resumes * No one left their desks!
Background
Auburn University's Harbert College of Business is revolutionizing the traditional career services paradigm. The school has adopted an innovative approach of inviting its accomplished alums to return as non-tenured faculty.
Known as Program Champions, these department-based professionals foster employer relationships, facilitate internships, and lead professional development initiatives. Their crucial work, fueled by their industry experience and robust networks, opens doors to relevant and meaningful full-time opportunities for students and recent graduates.
Colby H. Lakas, the School of Accountancy Director of Recruiting and Professional Development (and de facto Program Champion), inspires the academic and professional development of approximately 450 on-campus undergraduate accountancy students.
"The spirit of the event is great. We'd outgrown the capacity to host in-person because of doing more pipeline events to attract people to accounting, to present our employers with superior talent."
~~Colby H. Lakas, Director of Recruiting & Professional Development, School of Accountancy Harbert College of Business, Auburn University
Challenges
Watching local and regional accounting firms competing with the hiring resources of the Big Four accounting firms frustrated Colby. Her Harbert students weren’t noticing the exceptional employment opportunities in these companies, and newer accounting majors weren’t getting the attention they deserved. She needed a focused event to get both sides in the same place without distractions and ready to see the potential benefits.
Colby established the Local/Regional Firm Meet and Greet in 2015 to link Harbert accounting majors with local and regional firms. This was the go-to event for sophomores hunting for internships and employers scouting for new hires for the next five years. But everything changed when the world closed.
Faced with a tough decision for the sixth annual Local/Regional Firm Meet and Greet scheduled for April 2020, Colby pushed forward. She knew these recruiting opportunities were crucial, especially in an uncertain time. So, she smartly switched gears, pivoting the in-person event into the first online Resume Round-up (RRU).
The change worked! Students and employers loved the flexibility and personal touch of the RRU, especially at the always overwhelming end of the spring semester. Given this positive feedback, Colby kept the Resume Round-up rolling.
“Career Fair Plus made it incredibly easy to have students “drop” their resumes for viewing at our leisure. With little preparation, all the resumes of students who were interested in our firm appeared in one place; with the ability to make notes on each candidate and easily download the resumes for easy viewing later on, the resume round-up at Auburn couldn’t have been any easier. My favorite feature was the ability for students to add pictures!”
~ Jessica Ammons, Talent Specialist, Smith+Howard Advisory, LLC
Solution
When the debate to stay online or return to in-person got louder, Colby took inventory:
- Her experienced RRU employers were already at ease with an online format.
- Students “live” in digital spaces, so uploading resumes was second nature.
- The drop box delivery mechanism worked, but something else might work better.
- Career Fair Plus (CF+), Auburn University's system-wide recruiting event hosting software, has continuously rolled out new features for the last three years, continually adapting to serve university- and college-based career service and professional development teams.
CF+ introducing Resume Drop, a new feature to facilitate meaningful student-employer connections, solved everything. Colby immediately realized the CF+ Resume Drop feature streamlined their existing processes without upending a familiar process.
The 2023 RRU event ran for a week and attracted 36 employers, all of whom committed to following up with every student who "dropped" them a resume.
"Resume Round-Up was the most streamlined recruiting event I have used during my time at Auburn. It took a total of five minutes to send my résumé to over 30 employers, resulting in 10 internship interviews for Spring 2024."
~Jackson Skelton, Auburn University Harbert College of Business, Class of 2024
Results
The total 659 resume drops equate to an average of 18 resumes per firm, with exact counts ranging from 9 to 37 each. The number of resume drops per day increased towards the end of the event, which likely surprises absolutely no one who’s hosted a campus-based recruiting event.
The students knew they’d hear from every employer in which they expressed interest, recruiters spent zero time setting up, and last-minute issues were non-existent. The only technical issue the entire week was one lost access link.
The CF+ platform allowed recruiters to maintain a personal touch while streamlining their process. Colby described it as "automating to personalize," quickly connecting students to one or all participating recruiters. This was especially beneficial at the end of the busy spring semester when students focused on their summer plans instead of thinking ahead to fall internships.
Discover the analytics and insights hiding in your recruiting events.
“The popularity of the virtual format proved the value of continuing in that direction.
~~Colby H. Lakas, Director of Recruiting & Professional Development, School of Accountancy, Harbert College of Business, Auburn University
The Future
Looking ahead, Colby sees the potential to expand RRU, possibly leaving the drop window open for over a week. The trick, she said, is creating a sense of urgency without extending the event so long that students become complacent.
She also advises highlighting the ease CF+ offers to employers and recruiters. For example, they can download an Excel spreadsheet of submitted resumes and then run a mail merge to produce a distribution list quickly.
Beyond facilitating hiring, the Resume Round-Up generated an impressive pool of sponsors for Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor society for accounting, finance, and information systems students. Over time, these ongoing interactions raised students' and employers' awareness of one another and created a consistent demand for Auburn's accounting graduates.
The Career Fair+ innovative platform features like Resume Drop reshapes traditional recruitment methods, fostering meaningful connections between students and potential employers and ensuring equal opportunities for employers of all sizes.
Get a Head Start on Your CF+ Resume Drop Career Fair
Get a head start on promoting your CF+ Resume Drop event
with Colby’s sample Resume Round-up (RRU) marketing emails!
Email #1: Invitation (+4 weeks)
Subject Line Options:
How to turn an email into a smart hire
Turn this email into a valuable hire
Join the 2023 Resume Round-up (horse and rope optional)
Hello Colby,
Polish up your open positions and grab your favorite saddle (OK, chair) for the FREE 2023 virtual Resume Round-up!
Whether you're hiring now or restocking your pipeline, April 17th-21st is your window to collect resumes from in-demand Harbert College of Business accountancy students without getting in your car. And before they accept another offer.
If you're new to the Resume Round-up, welcome; if you're an experienced "rider," we're glad you're back. Everyone needs to please register in Handshake by Friday, March 24th. I'll follow up with event details but make yourself at home clicking around the FAQs under my signature until then.
If you're still on the fence, consider these facts:
- It's a FREE showcase for your local or regional accounting firm.
- You're not traveling.
- There's no wasted time planning or building a booth.
- There’s no obligation until students "drop their resumes."
Our only requirement is a promise of professional courtesy. Registering means you'll acknowledge each resume received. Whether you send a polite email confirming receipt or scheduling an interview, this communication (or lack of it) says so much about your firm.
Phew, thanks for reading this long email. The promised FAQs are below, and you can “reply” to ask questions.”
[Signature]
What is the Resume Round-up?
It is a proven way to virtually collect Auburn University Harbert College of Business Accountancy sophomore students' resumes without spending money or time. Resume Round-up is not a career fair, and you're not blocking out time for text or video chats.
We use Handshake to manage registration and secure, user-friendly Career Fair Plus (CF+) Resume Drop software to host the event. Both systems send informational emails after registration, before, and during the April 17-21 Resume Round-up.
Why should my firm participate?
The better question is, Why wouldn't you?
- Resume Round-up is free.
- There's no planning or travel time required.
- It doesn't disrupt your work.
- You can fill current openings or replenish your pipeline.
How do I get the resumes, and what do I do with them?
TL;DR: You'll log in to your CF+ account (I'll send set-up directions) and pull the resumes from your firm's customized virtual space.
ACCT students "drop" resumes to your firm for consideration; you view and download them on a rolling basis to reach out as promised. Pro Tip: we anticipate 100-125 participants. So, if you receive a high volume of resumes, consider downloading the Excel file, then running an email merge to speed up your outreach.
How many recruiters can I register?
There's no limit. You register a primary POC in Handshake, and CF+ adds this person to their platform as the Team Lead. Then you log in to CF+ to invite additional recruiters. Everyone has equal access to view and download resumes. Yes, it's easy; yes, I'll send directions.
And it's really free?
Yes, it's free; $0.00 due. In exchange for this powerful recruiting tool, please connect with your students by May 5th, two weeks after Resume Round-up closes and before final exams end and students shift gears to their summer commitments. Email, phone, or book a video chat, but please recognize the people who acknowledged and showed interest in your firm.
How do I ask more questions?
Call me: [phone number]
Email me: [email]
Visit Resume Round-Up I'm ready to register
Email #2: Team Lead Registration Confirmation (+2 weeks)
Subject Line Options:
Cool, you’re the Team Lead for the Resume Round-up
Time to invite your coworkers to the Resume Round-up!
Your Team Lead account is ready for the Resume Round-up!
Howdy Resume Round-Up Employers!
It's official! You are the Team Lead for your firm's participation in the Auburn University Harbert School of Business Accountancy Resume Round-up April 17-21, 2023.
If you already have a CF+ account, please log in with your current credentials to review your booth. Then, send me any updates, including logo files, if you need to change the graphics, firm description, or supplemental questions.
If you need to create a CF+ account, follow these directions and contact support@careerfairplus.com for help. And FYI: their tech support is fast and with real people.
Take a test ride on this video before April 17th to see the sample resume I dropped in your firm's booth.
Finally, please remember the expectation that you'll contact each student who drops a resume. Please reach out by May 5th; even a receipt confirmation is important. Ideally, you'll engage top candidates this summer to cultivate a relationship before fall recruiting.
Thank you for filling up the Resume Round-up; another productive and beneficial event is on the horizon. I'll check in closer to Day One (April 17th) but call or email me anytime.
[Signature]
P.S. Remember, the coworkers you invite to the Resume Round-up need CF+ accounts before they can view your firm's event space in the software. Also, there aren't any video meetings or chats during this event—only Resume Drop and candidate notes.
Email #3: Four Business Days to Go (+4 days)
Subject Line Options
Resume Round-up starts in 4 days!
Saddle up! The Resume Round-up starts in 4 days.
It's almost time to round up impressive resumes!
Hi All!
Finally! The 2023 Resume Round-Up starts Monday, 4/17, and ends Friday, 4/21.
But you can connect with your target candidates immediately via the attached links. Introduce your firm and encourage them-especially 2025 graduates-to drop you a resume.
Please log in to CF+ to review your booth and/or invite team members before Monday. Email me any changes.
There's more information in the email below, and I'm here to answer questions.
Thank you for supporting Harbert Collect of Business and our impressive, bright, ready-to-work accounting students.
[Signature]
Email #4: Post-Event Reminder to Connect with Students (one week after)
Subject Line Options:
Finals start May 8th, so contact your candidates by May 5th
Do your Resume Round-up follow-up by May 5th
Hi all!
Thank you for a spectacularly successful Resume Round-up and for honoring your promise to contact each student interested in your firm. Whether you’re politely acknowledging receiving their resume or initiating the next steps, please connect by Friday, May 5th.
Reminder: finals start Monday, May 8th, so students might take longer to reply. Or you could miss an interview window altogether.
I appreciate your remarkable support for our outstanding Harbert accounting students and professional development programs!
[Signature]
P.S. I'm contacting our professional partner group shortly about sponsorship renewals and fall semester updates.
Get a Head Start on Your CF+ Resume Drop Career Fair
