Keynote Presentation: Maximizing the Benefits of co-operative Education at J&J
Dominic J. Caruso, VP Finance and CFO
Mr. Caruso is a former Co-op student (accounting at Drexel). He seemed to have chosen Co-op to verify his career choice for himself. Through good mentors at work and good advising through the Co-op office, he gained a better understanding of the variety and complexity of the business and the profession.
There are 114,000 employees at J&J. Engineering is fairly big at J&J...perhaps there's room for some BMEs?
Co-op students are more valuable and are engaged more deeply than interns (summer students). They bring more experience to the Co-op role and that experience is valued at the time of full-time hiring, being preferred as they stand-out. In fact, their retention rate is higher because they are making an informed decision about J&J. Significantly, they see higher performance and faster promotion rates for Co-op students.
There are seven, top-tier schools that they use (Drexel, Rutgers, etc.). They are looking for talent in Commerce, IT, engineering, etc. 40% of the 1500 new hires were Co-op students. They have noticed that there has been a decline in the number of acceptances for Co-op offerings recently. One theme from focus groups is that students are pursuing internships rather than Co-op. There is a perceived benefit to get through the Bachelor's degree and get onto Master's level study, faster.
Johnson & Johnson are very willing to work with Faculty to improve curriculum. But, they're not too sure what "real world experience" means.
In response to a question from P. Jarvie (UW), Mr. Caruso replied that J&J values students who have had multiple opportunities and experiences and therefore the more familiar model of Co-op is recognized as beneficial. They're quite satisifed when a student chooses J&J after seeing other experiences.
Showing posts with label hiring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiring. Show all posts
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Employer Panel...the Talent Pipeline
The Talent Pipeline: Corporate Executives Discuss the Strategic Value of Co-op and WIL
companies represented: Merck, GM, RIM, Hilton, Lockheed Martin
**********
What's more important...GPA or experience?
...neither...they just get you in the door. Who are you? Are you collaborative? Will you fit with our culture?
...past performance is a predictor of future abilities and GPA shows that you can succeed.
**********
Is it more important to hire from a Co-op school, culturally?
...for RIM, yes.
...for Merck, yes, also. The reason being, it's easier to convert these students to full-time hires.
...for GM, these students are more able to differentiate themselves.
**********
How should Universities prepare their students? (from Sweden)
...students seem to have difficulty working in the corporate world. If it were possible to create a learning space for students (tip sheets, classroom experiences, confidentiality discssions), this would have recognizable benefits. Even something as simple as email etiquette is important.
Expectation levelling would be worthwhile, also. For example, corporate entities don't pay for lunch and commuting time.
...collaboration in classrooms and with other students in project work seems to be recognized as beneficial.
**********
Is the internship program integrated with the talent management program?
...Merck says yes, including both succession planning and the full involvement of MBA candidates in rotations around the world to understand and learn from their business.
...GM says that if candidates can learn from one situation and apply it in another, which is demonstrable even in a Co-op work-term, then it supports their TMP.
...Lockheed says, students should be aware that they are always being observed.
**********
What are best practices for international exchange? (from Austria)
...from RIM, the issue is work-authorization and immigration policies. The value is apparent...the cost is prohibitive.
**********
What are your best practices for promoting yourselves on-campus? (from Canada...guess who).
...GM is reevaluating.
...Lockheed, use professors, be on social media, use former students (go for the halo effect),
...RIM, be on-campus and be in-person...paying Ambassadors to be there. Unfortunately at 10% of the workplace population being co-ops, the conversion rate is very low for full-time recruits. So, they are evaluating what works best...don't have to do much in Ontario...but do have work to do in other countries.
**********
What characterized your best Co-op student and how did you challenge them?
...RIM, we have great technical talent. It's their interpersonal skills and communication abilities that distinguish them.
...from Merck, being able to craft something innovative with little or no guidance is distinguishing our current Co-op student.
...GM, a student who is involved in extracurriculars and can multitask is what we're after.
...at Lockheed, they welcome the problem-solver and the willingness to tackle a difficult situation.
companies represented: Merck, GM, RIM, Hilton, Lockheed Martin
**********
What's more important...GPA or experience?
...neither...they just get you in the door. Who are you? Are you collaborative? Will you fit with our culture?
...past performance is a predictor of future abilities and GPA shows that you can succeed.
**********
Is it more important to hire from a Co-op school, culturally?
...for RIM, yes.
...for Merck, yes, also. The reason being, it's easier to convert these students to full-time hires.
...for GM, these students are more able to differentiate themselves.
**********
How should Universities prepare their students? (from Sweden)
...students seem to have difficulty working in the corporate world. If it were possible to create a learning space for students (tip sheets, classroom experiences, confidentiality discssions), this would have recognizable benefits. Even something as simple as email etiquette is important.
Expectation levelling would be worthwhile, also. For example, corporate entities don't pay for lunch and commuting time.
...collaboration in classrooms and with other students in project work seems to be recognized as beneficial.
**********
Is the internship program integrated with the talent management program?
...Merck says yes, including both succession planning and the full involvement of MBA candidates in rotations around the world to understand and learn from their business.
...GM says that if candidates can learn from one situation and apply it in another, which is demonstrable even in a Co-op work-term, then it supports their TMP.
...Lockheed says, students should be aware that they are always being observed.
**********
What are best practices for international exchange? (from Austria)
...from RIM, the issue is work-authorization and immigration policies. The value is apparent...the cost is prohibitive.
**********
What are your best practices for promoting yourselves on-campus? (from Canada...guess who).
...GM is reevaluating.
...Lockheed, use professors, be on social media, use former students (go for the halo effect),
...RIM, be on-campus and be in-person...paying Ambassadors to be there. Unfortunately at 10% of the workplace population being co-ops, the conversion rate is very low for full-time recruits. So, they are evaluating what works best...don't have to do much in Ontario...but do have work to do in other countries.
**********
What characterized your best Co-op student and how did you challenge them?
...RIM, we have great technical talent. It's their interpersonal skills and communication abilities that distinguish them.
...from Merck, being able to craft something innovative with little or no guidance is distinguishing our current Co-op student.
...GM, a student who is involved in extracurriculars and can multitask is what we're after.
...at Lockheed, they welcome the problem-solver and the willingness to tackle a difficult situation.
Friday, January 28, 2011
First Day of Interviews
So much goes on behind the scenes to make career opportunities blossom for university students. There's a great team developing opportunities with the employer community and others dedicated to the logistics of bringing the parties together.
The bloom opened today. We've got a full house of employers and students who are all trying to make the best decisions for themselves.
It brings a real refreshment to the air through the energy that exudes from the overall excitement. Yes, students may be more on-edge than employers since they look at the mountain from the bottom, while the hiring people feel it through their obligation and willingness to make the right selection and keep their team moving up the mountain.
At the risk of forcing the metaphors together, everyone should recognize that flowers in the meadow on the mountain are what it's about.
The bloom opened today. We've got a full house of employers and students who are all trying to make the best decisions for themselves.
It brings a real refreshment to the air through the energy that exudes from the overall excitement. Yes, students may be more on-edge than employers since they look at the mountain from the bottom, while the hiring people feel it through their obligation and willingness to make the right selection and keep their team moving up the mountain.
At the risk of forcing the metaphors together, everyone should recognize that flowers in the meadow on the mountain are what it's about.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Finding Talent...different vantage points
In the last month, I've gone from being the coach of students who were being interviewed...an involved, third-party you might say, to being interviewed, to interviewing others. In each, the hot seat has a different temperature. Definitely, as you all have experienced, being interviewed is the most stressful. You feel that your whole person is on display and you're being characterized and judged. Can I add to that that the role of the interviewer is similarly stressful, in a different way?
The interviewer is thinking about the impact to the business' future, the effects that the new person will bring to their team, and how you're affecting the successful candidate's future. None of which are inconsequential.
So, here we have a dynamic where two parties both want to "win" and there's a bit of a tension, if that's the right word. I feel that if openness and clarity are at the heart of the discussion, then both the interviewer and the interviewee should be able to walk away satisfied, on some level.
Certainly, qualifications are critical. Experience is deeply desired. But, often, employers tell me they're looking for people with the right chemistry...to work with their team. How do you convey that?
The interviewer is thinking about the impact to the business' future, the effects that the new person will bring to their team, and how you're affecting the successful candidate's future. None of which are inconsequential.
So, here we have a dynamic where two parties both want to "win" and there's a bit of a tension, if that's the right word. I feel that if openness and clarity are at the heart of the discussion, then both the interviewer and the interviewee should be able to walk away satisfied, on some level.
Certainly, qualifications are critical. Experience is deeply desired. But, often, employers tell me they're looking for people with the right chemistry...to work with their team. How do you convey that?
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