Introducing TechGen 2.0!
Last week marked a huge milestone for TechGen as we unveiled our new (and amazing) tech platform!
But before I dive in, let’s take it back for a second. I joined the NEVCA in November 2014 with a vision to build, launch and run a massive, scalable and sustainable program connecting students with innovative tech companies in the state of Massachusetts. We wanted to engage the hundreds of thousands of students who come from around the world to the Commonwealth each year and enable them to launch their careers in this vibrant and exciting tech ecosystem. We wanted to make it effortless for companies to tap into a talent pipeline to fuel expanding teams.
So, like any startup, we bootstrapped and hacked together a platform to test the model. In our first 9 months, we engaged over 1500 students and over 100 startups. We realized we were onto something big. This first iteration — our “beta” — was manual for students, startups and for us; complete with weekly excel spreadsheets used as a reporting tool to document the applicant process for our participating companies.
So as I look at last week’s press coverage, engagement stats on the new platform, and our cool new site, I am reminded that TechGen 2.0 and its current construction comes as a result of the tons of feedback we received from you. And with the help of our local friends at DockYard and echobind, we’ve been hard at work gearing up for the next wave of internships.
What’s different?
For students, looking for internships is daunting. It’s also almost impossible to know where to start to uncover companies and what you hope to be fun opportunities. TechGen plugs you into a community and the new platform makes the hunt simple.
Now you can simply create a profile and apply directly to the roles and companies that jump out at you. You can explore a wide breadth of opportunities and get to know all of the companies that make up this talent tech community but your search for an internship is targeted to what you know you’ll be fantastic at.
For companies looking for interns can be time-consuming and manual. It’s draining, both on time and resources, to visit campuses, go to career fairs and build your brand with students.
TechGen aggregates student talent from across campuses and across majors into one place. You can create your company profile, post the roles that you’re looking to fill and get top notch student applicants. Students that see the position, learn about your company and… get excited. You can also browse all the students on the platform and when you see a standout, invite him/her to apply to an open role.
The new platform makes finding interns/internships simple and seamless, which means that we can effectively reach and engage a broader audience of students and companies, and facilitate hires.
We’re on our way to that massive, scalable and sustainable program we envisioned a year ago! With the support of the NEVCA, MassTech Collaborative, LogMeIn and other local companies who want to support this community and build the next generation of innovators, we will get there.
Originally published at community.thetechgen.org.
