Graduate Careers Australia
Graduate Grapevine - Number 8, Winter-Spring 2007
A Big NACE Conference in the ‘Big Apple’ & a Cosier CACEE in Kingston
It’s that time of the year again – summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and time for our international friends to hold their annual conferences. I was privileged this year to attend both the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) conference in the ‘Big Apple’, followed immediately by the CACEE (Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers) conference in Kingston.
What a contrast between the two conferences! NACE, with over 1900 delegates, is the largest conference held in the graduate recruitment industry. This year’s event in New York was a sell-out, and many people who were keen to attend were unable to secure a place. The large numbers ensured that there would be either a session at the conference or someone attending who had just the information you needed or the network you needed to join – with the associated downside that it was sometimes difficult to find that person or decide which session to attend. The very comprehensive strands of sessions started early (7.30 am) and activities (whether conference-organised or otherwise) extended well into the night. The conference venue was right in the middle of Times Square in New York (where the glittering ball drops each New Year’s Eve), and I can’t imagine a busier, noisier, more crowded or more exciting place on earth – you got an adrenaline rush just trying to cross the street!
And what a difference the following week – the Canadian conference held in peaceful Kingston, Ontario. One week we were in the centre of the ‘Big Apple’, and the next being hosted by the historic and very beautiful QueensUniversity, where tradition and history seeps from the very walls. The warm welcome extended to the international delegates by our Canadian friends was simply outstanding, and while the ‘intensity’ of deciding what sessions to attend was less frantic, the calibre of the sessions were equally high. This was matched by a wonderful social program, highlighted by a night at FortHenry, where we were subjected to the delights (and rigours!) of ‘dining at the officer’s mess’ – where, in order to obtain a drink, you needed to ‘sing for your supper’!
The primary benefits of conferences such as these are always, of course, the renewal of old friendships, making of new ones, the networks created and the opportunity to see how well the Australian graduate recruitment industry compares against our international colleagues. I’m extremely proud to report that, not only do we hold our own against our international friends, but in some instances, we lead the way. Australia had a number of delegates at both conferences, and our country, our local industry and our organisations, were well represented and regarded. Well done Aussies!
Cindy Tilbrook, Executive Director Graduate Careers Australia
General Impressions of NACE/CACEE from GCA
Overall impression: a fantastic opportunity to mix and mingle with the employers, Career Service representatives and suppliers, who make up the graduate recruitment industry in North America. Old friendships renewed, new friendships forged and a good time had by all.
Major Differences Between the Two Conferences
- Size: NACE with 1900 attendees, CACEE with just over 200.
- Location: NACE – located in bustling Times Square, New York City, while CACEE was in the historic lakeside university city of Kingston, Ontario.
Similarities
Both conferences had a wide variety of sessions, excellent content and a varied and entertaining social program. The hospitality extended to the international delegates at both conferences was outstanding.
Best Presentation
NACE: The session led by Maureen Crawford, a graduate recruiter, on how to make the best use of social networking sites from both the student and the employer perspective.
CACEE: The opening ‘drumming session’, this immediately forged the delegates together into a bonded, cohesive group. Also, the regular CACEE Awards ceremony: I’m always impressed by this event where recognition is given to the many volunteers who contribute to the industry in a sustained, interactive manner.
Best ‘Take-Home’ Idea
Two great suggestions
Make sure you find out as much as you can about using the new social networking sites (myspace, facebook, etc.). These types of sites can help you find the right candidates (from the employer perspective) and find the right job (for students). For Career Service representatives, with the increasing use of these sites in the jobsearch area, you need to stress to students the fact that these sites are ‘putting their profile out to the world’. They should be careful about what they put onto these sites and remember that potential employers may view this information when assessing their suitability as a candidate.
For employers: offer potential candidates a ticket to a future (eg. 18 months away) major sporting or social event on the condition that they are still with you at that time.
Overall Impressions of Cities
New York – the biggest, juiciest apple of all: bustling, noisy, exciting, dynamic, fantastic architecture, patriotic locals, too many things to see/do in too short a period of time, must go back one day.
Kingston: serene, beautiful, peaceful, quiet-paced (or was this simply relative to New York?) pretty, revolves around the university, interesting little arts/craft shops, lovely Canadian people, would love to go sailing on the lake one day.
Worthy Quotes from the conferences:
“Hiring the best is a team sport”
“Stakeholders watch what we do, not what we say”
“This generation looks for cues to recognise opportunities”
General Impressions of NACE/CACEE from QUT
New York, New York… How does the song go? Well, what a privilege to be able to not only attend an international conference but in this fabulous and exciting city. NACE holds an annual conference with 1900 delegates, the magnitude of which makes for an interesting experience. The conference days felt a little short with most days finishing reasonably early, I think to encourage delegates to make the most of being in such a large and wonderful city. One keynote address was presented each day with actor BD Wong (Law and Order police psychologist for those in the know) closing the conference talking about his life and career.
Of the many parallel sessions it was difficult to decide which one to attend, however for me a session on podcasts stood out. Matthew Nelson – University of Wisconsin, Madison – advised branding podcasts and changing the content often, while allowing for a library of previous content. His impression was that most students listen to podcasts on their computers rather than on mp3 players (which makes sense when you think about it). His suggestions on content included interviewing employers, advertising events, etc. as well as the expected things like résumé writing and interview preparation. The RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication, allows for notifications to user of frequently updated content) is a good way to get students to register and constantly interact with your site. The ‘send to a friend option’ may also increase your reach with your target population.
Highlight of this part of the trip? Seeing Alan Alda and P Diddy in the street (I could have simply watched Channel 7, and I had to ask who P Diddy was anyway)… oh, from the conference… has to be seeing how the Americans love to do things bigger than everyone else. Quite a feat to put on such a large event, to be honest it was a bit overwhelming and difficult to decide which sessions to attend.
CACEE is the Canadian equivalent of NACE. With around 200 delegates this created a far more intimate feel. After NY it felt a bit like coming home, more of the same feel we have in NAGCAS and I actually felt, for a number of reasons, that I got to know nearly everyone there.
The conference was held at QueensUniversity, Kingston, Ontario. The university sits on a picturesque location at the top of LakeOntario and the access point to the thousand islands on the St Lawrence River. The conference precursor was a cruise around the thousand islands while eating dinner. One of the interesting approaches this conference takes is to have a day of networking activities prior to the conference start; golf, shopping, wine tasting and ending the first day with the president’s dinner, where numerous people are recognised for their contributions to the association over the year and to the conference organisation.
The conference proper opened with the ‘Drum Café’. We walked into the main auditorium to a huge drum beat and on reaching our seats we each had an African drum on the seat. My first thought was, how am I going to get this back to Australia, closely followed by how do I explain this to customs? The group leaders led the delegates in a drum fest for over 30 minutes and engaged every single delegate in the room. Fabulous!
One of the clear messages I got from attending sessions was that Careers Services were becoming more outcome focused and being asked by their universities to be able to report on these outcomes. I attended a session that concentrated on evaluating student learning. While it was centred primarily on workshops it talked through the need to have clear objectives and to ensure that you’re measuring those outcomes in your evaluations.
The final session worth mentioning was a student panel, which highlighted the following points for all Careers Services:
- Encourage awareness of your Careers Service from year one.
- Indicate usage is not only when you have a problem.
- Use student ambassadors to market your Service.
- Have a consistent (Brand) visual image.
The CACEE conference had a number of recognition awards. One of particular note was for the person who managed to attend all the sessions and maximised their time in networking (read ‘drinking in the networking suite’) with the maximum number of delegates. It was awarded at the end of the conference.
Interestingly both associations’ membership comprises employers and Career Services, unlike our models here in Australia. This appears to create a strong collegial atmosphere at the conference, and I presume works well for both parties in the general day-to-day business. Every committee that was mentioned (at least at CACEE) had representatives from both sides of the fence and both worked very well together.
My final impression was that, often with far fewer resources, our CAS in Australia deliver high quality services to our students that match, if not exceed, our North American counterparts…. Go Australia!
Dr Alan McAlpine, Postgraduate Career Counsellor Queensland University of Technology
Where to Next Year?
If you would like to benefit from attending one of these overseas conferences, then put these dates in your diary now for 2008…
- NACE – New Orleans, 27-30 May
- CACEE – Montreal, 1-4 June
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