This document discusses brand ambassadorships and how they can help address the skills gap between students and employers. It notes that work experience is increasingly important for jobs but many students lack it. Brand ambassadorships can help by giving students part-time work representing a company's brand, allowing them to gain skills like communication, teamwork and leadership that recruiters seek. Studies find most students and employers support brand ambassadorships as a way to help students get work experience and prepare for careers.

1. University
Beyond
Brand Ambassadorships Revolutionized
BRANDING
within
college markets
ONLINE
PROFESSIONAL
RECRUITING
FACT
why?
Young adults' (21-25) participation in the labor force has declined since the 1990s and now is at its lowest point since 1972. % of students and employees who think GPA is very or extremely important for landing a job:
students
68%
48%
hiring
managers
SO WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR?
WORK EXPERIENCE
think again
top
attributes
but...I have these skills?
employees prefer some type of
74.1%
20.7%
1.1%
2014
2014
2014
2013
2013
2013
71%
19.9%
4.8% “I prefer to hire candidates with...“ RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCEANY TYPE OF WORK EXPERIENCEEXPERIENCE IS NOT A FACTOR
76.6%
76%
72%
71.4%
70.3%
68.6%
written
communication
skills
verbal
communication
skills
leadership
ability to
work in a team
problem
solving skills
strong
work ethic
Source: NACE Job Outlook 2014
Source: Chegg “Bridge That Gap: Analyzing the Student Skill Index”
2
in
fewer than
5Chegg conducted a survey of 2,001 students and recent graduates - 18 to 24 years old - and 1,000 hiring managers...
hiring managers who had interviewed recent graduates in the past two years found them prepared for a job in their field of study.
bottom line:
branding is a powerful
recruiting tool.
87%
of executives
"completely or
mostly agree"
with this
statement.
"A strong corporate brand
is just as important as
strong product brands."
branding is key
84%
students
say
"word-of-mouth"
is the primary influencer for their purchasing decisions.
85%
employees
believe branding
has a significant impact on the ability to hire great talent.
GPA is 20% LESS
important to employers
as it is to students.
What is a brand
ambassador?
“A brand ambassador is a person employed by an organization to engage its products or services by embodying the corporate identity in terms of appearance, demeanor, and ethics.. Brand ambassadorships offer students a part-time opportunity to participate in one of the company’s most critical tasks, while gaining important
work-related attributes recruiters seek in resume.”
why
it is not
working
solution
there is a need
for a refined, more structured program – one that allows for proper monitoring of specific tasks and recognition of the valuable skills learned from work experience.
Bottom Line:
online professional networks are the
future of recruiting.
89%
of millennials use social media "several times a day".
observations
70% do not find jobs using the conventional recruiting methods
29%
2011
2013
42% SOCIAL PROFESSIONAL NETWORKSCOLLEGE RECRUITING PROGRAMS
+13%
-3%
social media
is the fastest growing source of hire
14%
2011
11%
2013
94.8%
stated they are interested in becoming a collegiate brand ambassador, despite an overall lack of resources for such outlets.
Source:
Barnes & Noble
Source: “LinkedIn Talent Solutions: 2013 Global Recruiting Trends”
Source:
Huffington Post
Source:
“The Company Behind The Brand: In Reputation We Trust”
Source: “LinkedIn Talent Solutions: 2013 Global Recruiting Trends”
problem
57%
of students wish their schools offered more networking opportunities to help them prepare for the working world.
Source:
Millenial Branding
Source:
Pew Research Center
Source:
Chegg
Source: National Journal
68%
Marketing
Knowledge
Leader
Professional Speaker
Relationship Builder
potential
skills
Team Player
Tech-
Adequate
Credibility
out of 5 million students
developed through
brand ambassadorships