Employers
Find the best students with real world experience at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Benefits of Hiring Andrew Young School Students and Alumni
The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies educates students that possess critical skill sets for employers across many sectors. Many organizations strengthen their campus presence as an effective way of accessing these talented students. The Office of Career Services and Alumni Relations provides a full range of options to build and enhance your organization’s recruiting strategy to meet and exceed your recruiting needs.
The Andrew Young School has achieved national recognition in many areas, including the following rankings:
- 3rd in Urban Policy
- 5th in Nonprofit Management
- 8th in Public Finance and Budgeting
- 8th in Local Government Management
- 22nd in Public Management Administration
- 29th in Public Policy Analysis
*According to U.S. News and World Report’s 2019 Rankings of America’s Best Graduate Schools in Public Affairs
REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE
Unlike the location of many of our peer institutions, the city of Atlanta offers Andrew Young School students comprehensive opportunities to develop their advancing skills and professional experience. Our undergraduate and graduate students are engaged in the local community through internships and research projects with the city of Atlanta as their backdrop, so their experiences are vast and unique.
CAREER READINESS
Coming Soon.
DIVERSITY
And finally, our program benefits from its diversity – diversity of faculty research, diversity of students, diversity of experiential experiences, and diversity of involved alumni who are successful professionals: regionally, nationally and globally. Employers can expect candidates from the Andrew Young School to bring this rich diversity of experience, as well as other assets, such as prior work experience or fluency in other languages.
For more information about the Andrew Young School’s mission, academic programs, research and global activities. Employer Guide coming soon.
Career Services and Alumni Relations welcome your interest in recruiting and hiring the talented students and graduates of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS). AYSPS graduates pursue distinguished careers around the globe in economics, public policy and administration, social work and criminal justice. Through a rigorous academic curriculum and an emphasis on practical application, our students are equipped with the qualitative and quantitative tools to succeed at meeting your organization’s needs.
We have several exciting opportunities for you to connect with Andrew Young School students and alumni this school year. Learn more about Career Services and Alumni Relations programming and accessing our talented future professionals:
Career Fairs
GSU Career Fairs are always well attended by students and recent graduates. These events allow our students and alumni to learn more about your organization as well as any internship or job opportunities you may have. We hope you will join us for an upcoming Career Fair.
Career Panels/Networking Events
These on-campus events provide you with an opportunity to connect with students and discuss details about trends in your field, daily operations, and what a typical day is like in your industry. We offer opportunities for you to meet one-on-one with students in informational interviews as well as traditional career panels alongside other professionals in related fields. Panelists provide students with guidance on preparing for internship and job searches and the importance of professional experience during their program.
Information Sessions
We invite employers to come to campus and host information sessions to not only educate students about their organization but also to communicate about upcoming career opportunities/openings. Information sessions are scheduled throughout the day in an effort to accommodate all students.
If you would like to schedule a campus visit contact Colleen Perry, Director, Career Services & Alumni Relations ([email protected] | 404-413-0103).
NOTE: If you are interested in promoting your opportunities across all majors/disciplines, please contact the main University Career Services Office: 404-413-1830.
Host an information session at your facility
Provide students information about an industry or organization by participating in a company visit. Students can participate in a company tour, presentation on internships and careers while they network with employees from your organization.
Job Shadowing
Provide students information about an industry or organization by participating in a company visit. Students can participate in a company tour, presentation on internships and careers while they network with employees from your organization.
*For more information about our career events please contact Colleen Perry, Director of Career Services & Alumni Relations ([email protected] | 404-413-0103).
15 Best Practices for Internship Programs
Best Practice #1: Provide interns with real work assignments.*
*Note: The best practices presented here assume the organization’s goal is to convert interns to full-time hires and is therefore paying its interns. Unpaid internships present a number of problems for organizations focused on intern conversion, not the least of which is legal issues that arise if the unpaid intern is given real work assignments.
Best Practice #2: Hold orientations for all involved.
Best Practice #3: Provide interns with a handbook and/or website.
Best Practice #4: Provide housing and relocation assistance.
Best Practice #5: Offer scholarships.
Best Practice #6: Offer flex-time and/or other unusual work arrangements.
Best Practice #7: Have an intern manager.
Best Practice #8: Encourage team involvement.
Best Practice #9: Invite career center staff and faculty to visit interns on site.
Best Practice #10: Hold new-hire panels.
In these meetings, I’ve found that the interns consistently bring up the same topics: Why did you choose this employer over others? What was your first year like? How is being a full-time employee here different from being an intern? Do you recommend getting a graduate degree? In the same field, or an M.B.A.? Is it better to go straight to graduate school after the bachelor’s or better to work a while?
It’s also fairly consistent that the new hires will offer other types of advice to your interns, such as how to handle finances those first couple of years out of school. (Their typical advice: Don’t run right out and buy a new car, and, Start contributing the maximum to your savings plan as soon as you are allowed.)
College relations staff should attend these sessions, but should remain unobtrusive, staying in the back of the room so as not to stifle the conversation. By being there, you stay aware of what is on the minds of your target group, and you can answer any detailed questions that may come up, such as those related to benefits.
Best Practice #11: Bring in speakers from your company’s executive ranks.
For you, having your executives speak to interns is another way to “sell” your organization to the interns, and get your executives invested in (and supporting) your program.
Best Practice #12: Offer training/encourage outside classes.
You may also want to consider providing interns with information about nearby community colleges: Many students will be interested in attending during their work term to take care of some electives and/or get a little ahead with the hours they need to graduate. If you have the budget, you may also want to consider paying the tuition for courses they take while working for you, but, as is the case with housing, any assistance you can provide—even if it’s just providing them with information about local schools—will earn you points with students.
Best Practice #13: Conduct focus groups/surveys.
Best Practice #14: Showcase intern work through presentations/expo.
Best Practice #15: Conduct exit interviews.
-Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Tips for Developing an Internship Program Schedule
Tips
One of the keys to developing an effective internship program schedule is to start early. It takes time to develop a comprehensive schedule, and to enlist the people and obtain the resources you need. A reasonable allotment of time is five to six months so you will be ready when your interns arrive.
Following are more tips for developing and implementing an internship program schedule:
- Develop an orientation—This could include a welcome from your CEO, a team-building activity for interns, time with managers to review specific objectives and see the work area, sessions such as an assessment focused on communication styles and time management, and more.
- Plan a community project for interns—If you do a group project, be sure to include on the schedule the weekly meetings and the final presentation to senior management. Send invitations to all attendees as early as possible to ensure strong attendance.
- Look to have an event at least once a week—Be sensitive to any days the interns may be tied up with normal work events, e.g., interns may have work assignments every Wednesday and Thursday, so schedule intern events for Mondays, Tuesdays, or Fridays.
- Plan events during which interns will be all together so they can bond—Be sure to plan at least one big social event. Invite the interns’ assigned mentors or buddies when appropriate.
- Understand what the interns need to be successful—Don’t just develop the skills they need for their internships, but for the long-term as well. Provide interns with skills they can use in the real world or if they join the organization full time. For example, offer weekly leadership skills training, which could include sessions on personal accountability, communication skills, and presentation skills.
- Ask your training and development team what training it has that would be beneficial for the interns—If they don’t have anything that fits, see if they can build it. This is one of the reasons why you should start early. Doing so gives your training and development team the time to develop training if needed.
- See what training, presentations, or other events the organization as a whole is offering during the intern program—Incorporate into your internship program schedule organization-wide events, such as company picnics and “lunch-and-learns.”
- Get management involved—Invite your president, CEO, and senior management team to participate in intern orientation and events. They may be available to host an executive reception during the first week. Book these dates as early as possible to ensure a good turnout.
- Set dates for interns’ mid-term and final evaluations—Set goals and expectations, and provide interns with honest assessments of their performance. Send reminders the week before meetings so the evaluations are completed.
- Include a “shadowing day”—Giving your interns an opportunity to shadow an employee gives interns exposure to another potential career path within your organization.
– Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Best Practices for College Recruiting
Build, develop, manage, and maintain campus relationships.
Most college recruiting professionals identify the career center as their “base.” These typically offer career fairs, job-posting services, on-campus recruiting, and other options for connecting with students. Plus, career center staff can provide you with intelligence about their campus—its culture and traditions, specifics about their students’ attitudes and behaviors, and such—which you can use to tailor your strategy. Career center staff also can help you develop relationships with other key campus contacts, including faculty and administrators.
The reality is, no college recruiting program can guarantee job openings for new college grads every year, but organizations achieving the greatest success don’t abandon campus when they aren’t hiring. Instead, they find ways to maintain their ties, such as continuing their internship program, taking part in mock interviews, or performing resume critiques. This is where career center staff can be especially helpful: They can tell you what options are open, and what will and won’t work for their campus.
Set realistic recruiting goals.
Choose your target schools carefully.
In researching which schools offer the majors you seek, be wary of “best schools for” rankings; it’s tempting to use these as a shortcut around real research, but be aware that rankings are based on criteria that may not match up with your organization’s needs.
Send the right people to campus.
Don’t take great pains to build a brand only to negate it by sending a “warm body” to campus. Research shows that who you send to campus is critical: Your reps have the most influence on how students view your organization. Send well-trained professionals who are equipped to answer questions, address concerns, represent your brand, and sell your organization.
Communicate with students about the process.
Measure and analyze your results—and adjust accordingly.
For example, a high number of interviews but few offers can tip you off to a problem with screening in candidates for interviews. Is your job description too vague, meaning candidates can’t screen themselves out? Are you unclear about what you want in a candidate? Similarly, if you are extending many offers but getting few acceptances, you can zero in on what’s going on in this part of the process. Where are the snags? Are your salaries competitive? Are you taking too long to extend the offer—and losing candidates to other organizations? (In this case, you will want to gather information from students who have turned you down to identify what went wrong, but you should also find out what prompted acceptance among those who agreed to come work for your organization. Both can be illuminating!) Once you have identified where you are having trouble, you can take steps to adjust your process.
You also want to benchmark against others involved in college recruiting, to compare “apples to apples.” (For current benchmarks, see the highlights from the latest recruiting benchmarks survey.)
Feed your full-time hiring with an internship program.
-Mimi Collins is director of content strategy for the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Best Practices for College Recruiting
by Mimi Collins
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Build, develop, manage, and maintain campus relationships.
The successful college recruiting program looks at the long haul, not just short-term results, and is built on strong relationships.
Most college recruiting professionals identify the career center as their “base.” These typically offer career fairs, job-posting services, on-campus recruiting, and other options for connecting with students. Plus, career center staff can provide you with intelligence about their campus—its culture and traditions, specifics about their students’ attitudes and behaviors, and such—which you can use to tailor your strategy. Career center staff also can help you develop relationships with other key campus contacts, including faculty and administrators.
The reality is, no college recruiting program can guarantee job openings for new college grads every year, but organizations achieving the greatest success don’t abandon campus when they aren’t hiring. Instead, they find ways to maintain their ties, such as continuing their internship program, taking part in mock interviews, or performing resume critiques. This is where career center staff can be especially helpful: They can tell you what options are open, and what will and won’t work for their campus.
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Set realistic recruiting goals.
True story: At a meeting, a group of recruiting professionals toted up their respective hiring goals for a specific major, and found that their collective goal exceeded the number of candidates available. Consider that they represented just a portion of the employers seeking this major, and you’ll see the problem with setting goals that aren’t fact-based. Base your goals on supply, demand, and related factors. How large is the potential pool? Where are the candidates? Who are your competitors? What are they offering? Do this work up front, and you’ll be better able to set reachable goals.
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Choose your target schools carefully.
Most college recruiting professionals say they build their target school list around majors available, quality of programs, experience recruiting at the school, and school location. This requires research and careful tracking, so you can see which schools are working best for your organization.
In researching which schools offer the majors you seek, be wary of “best schools for” rankings; it’s tempting to use these as a shortcut around real research, but be aware that rankings are based on criteria that may not match up with your organization’s needs.
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Send the right people to campus.
Would you approach a career fair booth if the booth staff looked bored? Would you be impressed by a representative who told you to check the company website to get answers to your questions? How comfortable would you feel in an interview if the recruiter asked you for a date? Unfortunately, this is how some company reps have behaved on campus.
Don’t take great pains to build a brand only to negate it by sending a “warm body” to campus. Research shows that who you send to campus is critical: Your reps have the most influence on how students view your organization. Send well-trained professionals who are equipped to answer questions, address concerns, represent your brand, and sell your organization.
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Communicate with students about the process.
Students need to know what the steps are in the selection and hiring process. Keep them apprised of what’s happening, what they can expect, and when they can expect it. Follow up with students you have talked to at a career fair. Keep in touch with interns after they have returned to campus. Let students know promptly about their status.
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Measure and analyze your results—and adjust accordingly.
Track how many hires you make, yes, but also track your interview to offer, offer to acceptance, and retention rates. These can help you identify where you’re having the most trouble, so you can adjust.
For example, a high number of interviews but few offers can tip you off to a problem with screening in candidates for interviews. Is your job description too vague, meaning candidates can’t screen themselves out? Are you unclear about what you want in a candidate? Similarly, if you are extending many offers but getting few acceptances, you can zero in on what’s going on in this part of the process. Where are the snags? Are your salaries competitive? Are you taking too long to extend the offer—and losing candidates to other organizations? (In this case, you will want to gather information from students who have turned you down to identify what went wrong, but you should also find out what prompted acceptance among those who agreed to come work for your organization. Both can be illuminating!) Once you have identified where you are having trouble, you can take steps to adjust your process.
You also want to benchmark against others involved in college recruiting, to compare “apples to apples.” (For current benchmarks, see the highlights from the latest recruiting benchmarks survey.)
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Feed your full-time hiring with an internship program.
An internship program is one of the most effective recruiting techniques, helping you build a relationship with potential hires early in their college career (before they are “on the job market”) and gauge their fit for your organization. An internship program can also help you achieve better retention: Research shows new college hires who have served an internship are more likely to stay with the employer. (For more on internships, see “15 Best Practices for Internship Programs”).
-Mimi Collins is director of content strategy for the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Handshake allows 24/7 access to career information and services for employers, students and alumni.
EMPLOYERS:
Handshake, GSU’s on-line job and event management system, is the primary recruiting tool used at the Andrew Young School. Handshake will allow you to search for talented Andrew Young School students and alumni to fill your recruiting needs and internship opportunities. In addition, Handshake will offer you super easy options for signing up for events.
This is your one stop for posting internship and full-time job opportunities, collecting resumes for your positions and viewing our up-to-date calendar of events (as well RSVP-ing for those events).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I login to Handshake?
- Go to app.joinhandshake.com and click “Sign up for an Account”.
- Follow the prompts to enter your personal information and join your company/create a company profile.
- Search and select Georgia State University to connect with us.
- We will respond to your request within 3 business days.
Where can I learn more about how to use the system?
How will Handshake help me find great interns or staff members for my organization or department?
- CREATE JOB/INTERNSHIP postings and easily modify & repost them each semester/year
- COPY & EDIT existing postings to create multiple job/internship postings quickly
- VIEW STUDENTS’ RESUMES and/or direct them to apply via your website
- FILTER APPLICANTS by academic year, major, etc.
- EDUCATE more students about your organization (students can search and view organization’s info anytime)
- FIND OUT FIRST about career fairs and other events where registration spots fill quickly