Tap schooled talent

Recruiting college graduates with green industry degrees has become an important aspect of recruiting at Surrounds Landscape Architecture + Construction in Sterling, Virginia. “Having career-minded people who are excited about the landscaping business is refreshing and brings a lot to our company,” says Barry Schneider, president.

“They don’t know what they can’t do,” he says, relating how those who have just been schooled in the field are not afraid to try new approaches. This reminds veterans that different can be very good.

“In my experience, it’s important to have someone at the fair that students can relate to.” - Barry Schneider, president

Surrounds likes to bring in recent grads because their energy is a real booster. It all started five years ago when Schneider recruited an intern from West Virginia University. The landscape architecture student gained lots of experience during his summer with Surrounds and joined the company after graduation.

Then the company began attending a career fair at Penn State University. “They have a great program for landscape contracting and horticulture,” Schneider says. Surrounds sets up a 10- by 10-foot booth that’s mostly a backdrop with photos of Surrounds’ work. Schneider attends the fair and takes a younger colleague along with him. “In my experience, it’s important to have someone at the fair that students can relate to,” he says.

Surrounds offered logoed drink cozies one year, but none of the students seemed all that interested in the give-away, Schneider says. So, the company keeps it simple with the booth, letting photos tell the firm’s story.

Surrounds collects resumes, and Schneider or his colleague will make notes if there is a stand-out student who seems interested and qualified. After the career fair, they follow up by email and phone. From those dozen or so conversations, six students are generally interested and an average three or four will visit Surrounds for a tour and to learn more. Every year, Surrounds ends up hiring one person from the fair.

Displaying at the fair keeps the brand in front of students. “Students start recognizing our name as the years go by,” Schneider says. This is helpful for hiring interns, who go back to school talking about Surrounds.

Surrounds attends the National Collegiate Landscape Competition, and last year hired a Colorado State University graduate.

“He stayed in touch with his professor and has spoken highly about his job with us, so the professor reached out and asked if we would visit and talk to his class,” he says.

Schneider will share his experiences working in the industry and the work Surrounds does. The presentation is an opportunity to reach more college students on a personal level.

“I would highly recommend that any landscape company reach out to college graduates,” Schneider says. “It’s incredibly rewarding on many levels to work with students.”