When I accepted a campus recruitment position, I had Human Resources experience under my belt, but I had never considered a career in campus recruitment.  When I was offered the position, my initial instinct was, ‘how hard could it be to hire students’?  I just need to stand at a career fair, make some offers.  I know many of you are laughing right now.  We all know its not that simple but I didn’t know, what I didn’t know.  Within the organization I worked for at the time, there was no one to show me the ropes, which is typical of so many organizations where campus recruitment isn’t a huge team, but rather one person’s position, or just a part of a role.

So I did what every other new campus recruiter across Canada does.  Start with Google and call start calling university career centres and coop offices.

What I needed, and eventually found, was a mentor.  Now, this person actually has no idea I would consider them my mentor (eventually I might tell this person), but they were there for me despite different time zones, industries and organizational size. Whenever I had a question, frustration or success, they were my first phone call.  This person inspired me and challenged me and for the first time, I saw campus recruitment as a critical function for building talent within the organization, rather than just posting jobs and hiring summer students.

For those of you who have just heard about this mythical phenomenon of mentorship, and haven’t experienced it for yourself, mentorship is defined as, “a relationship between two individuals based on a mutual desire for development towards career goals and objectives.”  

According to mentorship expert Ann Rolfe these are just some of the benefits for participants in a mentoring relationship:

• Discover and develop talents and skills
• Discuss career aspirations and options
• Give and receive feedback
• Receive encouragement and support to achieve goals
• Tap into information communication channels
• Learn the ‘unwritten rules’
• Hear about opportunities
• Gain visibility with, or outside of an organization
• Network and expand contacts

We’re so excited about our Recruiter Mentorship Program, because it truly aligns to CACEE’s commitment to Learn, Connect and Collaborate.  In case you missed it, we posted a ‘Meet A Mentor’ post on LinkedIn a few weeks ago, profiling just one mentor who has applied to the program.  However since then, we have received submissions from some incredible campus recruitment talent from across Canada. 

Name

Nancy Eaton-Doke, Team Lead, Campus Relations

Years in Campus Recruitment

8

Why did you decide to participate?

I'm excited about the idea of sharing my passion & my ideas with someone just starting out in a campus role.

What do you have to offer a Mentee?

8 years of mistakes & successes! How to navigate the politics of campus recruitment i.e. how to deal with parents, children of executives, etc.

What do you hope to learn as a Mentor?

Hope to receive honest feedback from my mentee so that I can improve as a mentor & in my own role. Hope that there will be mutual sharing of ideas & brainstorming.

Personally, I can tell you that had I had this opportunity, many years ago, when I took on a campus recruitment role, to be mentored by an experienced campus recruitment professional, I’m sure I would have had fewer sleepless nights prepping for fall recruitment and a lot less missteps along the way.

To learn more about CACEE’s Recruiter Mentorship Program and to apply to participate in this year’s program, visit our Mentorship Page.