Campus recruiters share their best strategies for reaching underrepresented students

Nehemiah Green
Diversity Together
Published in
4 min readJul 30, 2018

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Students need to be able to see themselves at your company in order to feel comfortable applying there.

Which diversity and inclusion-focused conferences should I go to this year? What’s the best way to attract and engage students from underrepresented backgrounds? How do I build authentic relationships with students of color and expand my employer brand? We asked D&I experts to share with us their favorite conferences and recommend proven engagement strategies for reaching underrepresented candidates. Here’s what they had to say!

Roz Harris, Senior Engineering Recruiting Lead, Uber

Before she landed at Uber, Roz led recruitment and diversity efforts at organizations including IBM, Clorox, and Toshiba. Roz is working to move the needle on inclusion through several initiatives, including working closely with Uber’s multiple affinity groups.

Best events: Roz shared with us that one of her favorite recruitment events is AfroTech, a conference organized by Blavity, the Internet media company and website for black millennials. “AfroTech has multiple tracks around technology, marketing, community outreach, social activism, and recruitment.

Building relationships with students: “Leading up to AfroTech, we hosted a Pre-AfroTech mixer at Uber HQ that was open to all attendees. At the event they had an opportunity listen to a panel of Black employees from Uber’s marketing and Product team, and Bernard Coleman, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Uber. Afterward, students were given the opportunity to ask questions and have an authentic and engaging conversation with panelists about inclusion, diversity, and career development at Uber. We also hosted another mixer after the conference for candidates to exchange information with employees.

As a team, we actively prepare for our conversations with candidates. Students will ask us ‘what is it like to be a Black woman, man or Black and LGBTQ in this role?’ and it’s important to prepare and equip your team to answer questions with authenticity and sincerity.

Annie Hopkins, Former VP of Diversity Recruiting, Goldman Sachs

Annie Hopkins is the founder of Annie Hopkins Consulting. As the former vice president of diversity recruitment for Goldman Sachs, she helped form the partnership with 1VYG (the first-gen conference) to build the multinational investment bank’s pipeline for underrepresented talent.

Best events: Annie shared with us, “As employers think about D&I, it’s important to not only consider the well-known conferences but also smaller, more intimate gatherings that have a lower cost to entry for both employer AND students. For example, LEDA (The Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America) just started hosting a yearly conference in August. Goldman Sachs went last year and our recruiters were incredibly impressed with the talent there. There are also gatherings like 1VYG (the first-gen conference) and the Black Solidarity Conference.”

Most successful engagement strategies: “Think about how to engage with and sell super-strong candidates both before and during the conference. You can do this at no cost — ask one of the professionals coming with you to set up a few 15-minute calls ahead of time to answer questions and make that personal connection, or host an invite-only webinar ahead of time. You can also pre-schedule informational interviews — ask students to sign up for 15-minute sessions at your booth, in the lobby of a hotel, or in a coffee shop in the conference center!

If you have a budget, consider holding a private reception during the conference at a local restaurant, where strong students can mix with your representatives.”

Dr. Joy Hightower, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, Genentech

Joy led an enterprise wide assessment to understand Asian, Black, and Latinx employees’ experience of and access to development and promotion opportunities. Her strategic recommendations from this assessment are in support of Genentech’s 2020 People of Color goals.

Building connection: “My recommendation for recruiters is to augment their conference strategy with smaller gatherings that create an environment where students feel comfortable asking the recruiter substantive questions.

When creating events like these, it’s important to be transparent about the job opportunities you have available. I recently had a conversation with college students who are looking for internship opportunities this summer. They shared that when companies come to campus to host an event but aren’t sharing the purpose of the event or roles they’re looking to fill, it inadvertently creates confusion and mystery. While I think a student should have to work to get the job, they shouldn’t have to work to figure out the opportunities available.”

Now that you’ve heard from the experts, you’re ready to give it a shot! To help you plan your upcoming travels, we’ve compiled a list of diversity and inclusion-focused conferences happening in 2018 and 2019. Check out the list below:

We’ve included dates, location, and a brief description to help you decide the right event for your organization’s needs. For the few events where dates and location are still pending, you’ll see “TBD.” You can also click on the events for a link to their website to see more.

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Nehemiah Green
Diversity Together

Building a more equitable and inclusive job market. Social Impact at @Handshake. Previously: Biz Dev at @Code2040 & helped craft education policy @EdTrust.