Dr. Med Byrd’s Tips for a
Great Pre-Night Event
There are many good reasons for a company to sponsor a meal-based event on the evening prior to interviewing students for industry positions (the so-called “Pre-night” event):
To get to know the interviewing students prior to the actual interview;
To help all students understand more about your company, the jobs that are available, and what your expectations are for hires;
To “sell” your company and the positions to students who may be undecided.
To achieve these goals, it is helpful if your Pre-night presentation is effective. I have listened to many such presentations over the last 5 years….some effective…and some not so much. I have prepared the list below as a friendly recommendation of what techniques have worked well and have gone over well with the students.
#1. Keep it SHORT!!!!!
20 minutes or less….please! The event starts at 6:30. It is a good idea to let the students go through the food line first and start eating. This will take 10-15 minutes, and during this time you can chat informally with some of them. Once you start the presentation, however, it is a good idea to keep it under 20 minutes. Our best presenters usually do an upbeat, high-energy presentation for 10-15 minutes, followed by questions or interaction for 5-10 minutes.
#2. Keep it UPBEAT and MOVING!!!!
Students respond to well to high energy and passion. Tell why you like your company! Stress the good things about the location! Use presenters that are able to motivate.
#3. Accentuate the POSITIVE!
This is related to #2 above. Don’t say things like, “I know our mill is located in the middle of nowhere…” - instead, talk about how low the cost of living is and how much more pay they will hold onto. Sit down and make a list of the most positive and most convincing reasons a student should choose your company and a particular site.
#4. Use video or graphics.
Presentations are more effective when accompanied by a (short!) mill video or colorful graphics that show what the company makes, the site, etc. We have full A/V and LCD projector capabilities in our classroom, either using your media (flash drive or CD/DVD) in our computer, or you can hook up your laptop to our projector. Sound is available. We have an internet connection.
#5. Use alumni or students.
Our students respond very positively to presenters who came from our program…or, alternatively, to recent graduates from any school. Testimonials like “There are the kinds of projects/responsibilities I have been given” work very well. Of course, this is not always possible!
#6. Don’t “wing it”
Some presenters get up and don’t really seem to know what to say. They ramble. Students like a focused presentation with structure. Set it up! Rehearse it!
#7. Talk about the actual projects (summer and co-op positions)
This is often not possible – but students really enjoy hearing about the actual projects that are proposed for their summer internship or co-op. Students are anxious to know if they will be working on actual, structured, planned projects – or doing busy work or repetitive testing.
#8. Talk about logistics and details (summer and co-op positions)
Students like it when companies talk about arrangements for housing, transportation, pay, etc. That indicates that thought has been put into the experience.
#9. Finish up with a Q&A session…or a “trivia” contest
Involve the students in your presentation. They usually have some very good questions prepared.
1