Employers looking for a way to recruit the best students coming out of college and university might want to get cracking with TalentEgg Challenges.
Toronto-based firm TalentEgg Inc. specializes on connecting post-secondary school students with internships and entry-level opportunities through its Web portal. Now it’s launched a new initiative that allows firms to send out a challenge to its user base. The goal is to provide students an opportunity to apply their education in a work-like scenario and perhaps find some bright minds to recruit along the way, according to Lauren Friese, the founder of TalentEgg.
“Today, having relevant work experience is limited to a small elite of students who are enrolled in co-op programs, or who have connections,” Friese says in an e-mail. “With TalentEgg Challenges, a student – no matter where they’re located or what they’re studying can use this platform to prove their skills and aptitudes to employers.”
For human resources departments that want to take part, the concept is as simple as scrambling an egg. Have a work-related challenge ready to issue, a couple of prizes in place for the best ideas, and get ready to receive the entries.
Purolator is kicking off the Challenges section by issuing a question to students: “How can Purolator leverage social media to build the company’s reputation as a Canadian Innovator and customer-centric brand?”
It offers a $3,000 prize and an internship with its marketing or corporate strategy team as an incentive, as well as two $1,000 runner-up prizes. A sample template is offered for challenge entrants, but students are encouraged to be creative with their entries.
TalentEgg says more challenges are expected soon from brands including Proctor & Gamble, the CPP Investment Board, Queen’s University, Royal Bank of Canada, and Metro newspapers.
For students, the hope is they’ll get valuable work experience to add to their resume and better prospects at entering the job market after graduating.
