Centralized Network Connects Students and Employers with Tiger Talent

February 1, 2017 - The University of Memphis now offers a one-stop center for students and employers to connect. The UofM has centralized its academic and not-for-credit internship program and established a network of career development specialists to support better communication and tracking of opportunities. This effort will provide sustainable results for both employers and students. "Tiger Talent" is the community's source for high-touch, concierge-type service for employers.

"We have had employers tell us they weren't sure how to connect with the talent they were seeking," said Lendon Ellis, director of corporate partnerships and economic development. "In our effort to be responsive to employers, we developed many entry points, and that was sometimes confusing, especially to employers seeking a new relationship with the University." Therefore, we re-imagined Career Services and career development at the University of Memphis.

The newly established Talent Communities will help employers connect with the Tiger Talent they seek to employ. Two key goals of this initiative are to provide a one-stop service center to both employers and student talent seeking to connect and engage in internships and employment, and allow all UofM students to receive early counseling pertaining to career planning and professional development. The University is considering making this a requirement for all students.

Talent Communities highlight existing academic areas, but also unite similar studies from different departments that would typically be sought after by a common employer. For example, the Education Talent Community combines departments in the College of Education with Physical Education Teacher Education from the School of Health Studies and Child Development from the University College.

In all, there will be ten Talent Communities, including the existing Avron B. Fogelman Professional Development Center in the Fogelman College of Business & Economics. The others are:

• Communications & Humanities
• Distribution, Transportation & Logistics
• Engineering, Manufacturing & Technology (including Computer Science)
• Natural Sciences & Mathematics
• Healthcare & Wellness (Nursing, Health Studies, Health Services Administration)
• Social Sciences (including Organizational Leadership and Legal Studies)
• Fine Arts, Design & Architecture
• Education (including Child Development and PE Teacher Ed)
• Hospitality & Resort Management (including Sports Management)

The new Career Services model will be fully implemented this summer, but a pilot and marketing campaign are already underway. The UofM will be aggressively pursuing new internship and employment opportunities for students, along with planning more industry- and employer-specific networking and career fair events. A kickoff event for employers will be held this spring. For more information, contact Tiger Talent at 901-678-2239, careerservices@memphis.edu or www.memphis.edu/careerservices/employers/.