Connect with students

How do you separate your company from the pack at a green industry career fair where a slew of other landscape firms have also set up shop? That’s a question Bartlett Tree Experts asked years ago while determining a way to maximize their success at college career fairs.

“Bartlett Tree Experts is a global business. How do we get that message out there?” says Noel Dubak, manager of global recruitment.

Dubak oversees Bartlett’s robust scholarship program through The Bartlett Tree Foundation, which supports students in two- and four-year arboriculture programs. She also heads up the company’s internship program. Bartlett brought on 45 students last year and many will return for full-time jobs after graduation.

But like any landscape company that’s recruiting, there’s competition and Bartlett wants to hire the best. “So we started spending more time at schools, getting to know the professors and the students in the green industry disciplines,” Dubak says. “We get to know the members of their forestry clubs.

“You’re spending time on campus to do the career fair, and most of the time you have to fly there. So why go for five hours when you could spend a couple of days?”

That time on campus is budgeted wisely. Bartlett gives class talks that are purely educational, not a sales pitch for the company. Dubak also does some career coaching. “I look at students’ resumes and give them tips,” she says. “I make a presentation on how to launch their first job campaign and I talk about what companies look for in general.”

Before attending a campus career fair, Bartlett gets a list of the students that are enrolled in green industry programs. She also gets a list of students who have graduated with green industry degrees. “We have a list of our open jobs and we bring job descriptions so students can read them,” she says.

Matching students and graduates with careers at Bartlett is like a marriage, and she’s not attending to persuade students.

“Our interns are our best four-second commercials. When they come here and have a great experience, they tell their professors and everyone wants to come here the next year,” she says

Aside from foundation schools (where scholarships are awarded), Dubak says their team researches campuses with green industry programs. “We look to where we have offices close by so those colleges can be feeder schools for those offices,” she says. And Bartlett also reaches out to high schools. “There are lots of seniors who love to be outdoors and want a career where they don’t have to be behind a desk,” she says. “If we can afford them a career development program, this kind of opportunity is very attractive to them.”

Branding is a big part of recruiting, and one of the best hiring tools is when the company educates potential hires about Bartlett Tree Experts and how a career looks there. Dubak says, “Students come here because they want to be here. They get to know everything about us and know if it’s a match.”