Finding the perfect job just got easier for Hillsdale College students, thanks to Honor Roll Online, a new career program that helps students connect with Fortune 1000 companies.
The Web site provides students from select schools with the opportunity to contact leading corporations. It allows students to create personal profiles and to post résumés that are available to corporations such as Microsoft, 3M and General Motors.
Honor Roll Online selects 100 schools to apply for participation in the program. The schools must have an enrollment of less than 5,000 students and meet certain criteria to apply.
The Web site’s availability at Hillsdale began about a week ago, and there are currently only 36 schools registered.
“I’m very excited about this program,” Joanna Wiseley, director of career planning said. “It is a unique way that students can get in touch with companies that don’t necessarily recruit on our campus.”
Wiseley said Honor Roll Online invited Hillsdale to apply for participation in the program because the college holds a high place in U.S. News and World Report rankings.
Hillsdale is one of three schools in Michigan selected for participation on the Web site. Hope College and Albion College were also chosen.
Wisely said the Web site is currently open to juniors and seniors looking for jobs and internships. If it is successful, it will eventually be open to sophomores as well.
Wiseley has been working to allow Hillsdale students access to the Web site for almost a year and she said she is thrilled that the college was finally chosen.
If a corporation expresses interest in a student, it will request a live, online interview via Web camera. The student can then go to the Career Planning Office, which has the camera and the software necessary to conduct the interview.
Wiseley said she intends to help students get comfortable with the set-up by holding practice interviews in her office.
Senior Steve Tourison recently created a profile on the Web site and said he is optimistic about the opportunities it will provide him. Toursion, a Spanish major and a history minor, said has taken several courses in business and hopes to find a career in sales.
Tourison said he prefers Honor Roll Online to Web sites like Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com, which are open to everyone.
“Honor Roll is much more focused because only select schools and top companies are allowed to participate,” Tourison said. “You aren’t going to get any junk mail like you do when you make a profile at other Web sites. These companies are seriously looking to hire students for more long-term positions.”
Tourison said he already had two job offers prior to creating a profile and hopes that Honor Roll Online will provide him with more opportunities.
“I think the Honor Roll is a great additional resource, but it’s not a replacement for the traditional way of finding a job,” he said.
Wiseley said the Career Planning Office helps students find jobs through on-campus recruiting, job fairs, one-on-one strategy sessions and by hosting workshops that teach students etiquette and the art of mingling. The office also hosts a “Career Café” every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon, where students can enjoy free coffee and find literature about job opportunities.
“Students should take every opportunity to get their résumé out in front of employers,” Wiseley said.
Students can create a profile at www.honorrollonline.com.