NACE: Enhancing Hiring Outcomes through Predictive Modeling

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) recently provided a spotlight article on “Using Predictive Modeling to Get Big Results from ‘Big Data.’” The WPI Career Development Center refers many employers to the WPI Fact Book to view analytics on the WPI student population. Using data to study campus recruiting activity, compare results across colleges, and target best-fit institutions is increasingly important to many WPI employers.

The CDC sees activity from a number of large companies that have targeted WPI as a top-tier partner school. However, it is important for our small and mid-sized business partners to leverage these data points as well. In the NACE article, Shawn Tubman, vice president of talent acquisition at Liberty Mutual Insurance suggests this very fact to all recruiters saying, “There are little things that we can do at our desktops that can help drive the business forward, such as a quick paper-and-pencil analysis of the numbers of students who have attended our campus events at the schools where we recruit.”

Creating valuable partnerships is important for the business of WPI, and for the business of our employer partners. When we mutually share data and seek opportunities for meaningful collaboration, students will succeed in internships, co-ops, and full time opportunities, and employers will benefit from the high-quality work and highly dependable team-players that WPI provides.

In our recent Fall 2014 Career Fair survey of employers, many of you as partners of WPI ranked several learning outcomes and skills. We thought you would enjoy seeing the top three competitive qualities of WPI students given in response to the question: “Based on your overall experience with WPI students, please evaluate how they compare to other universities,” with a 4-point rating scale from Very Competitive to Needs Improvement. Overall, WPI students rated relatively high in all ten categories provided. The highest were:

1. Commitment to Excellence
2. Ability to Work in a Team Structure
3a. Demonstrates skills and knowledge of current tools and techniques
3b. Ability to make decisions and solve problems

We hope that you continue to leverage the WPI Fact Book and your own data to measure the effectiveness of campus recruiting efforts at WPI. Please contact us at employer@wpi.edu if you would like to start a dialogue about recruiting partnerships and how the CDC can help your company obtain high-quality WPI talent.