This year, CDC released the new On Campus Recruitment (OCR) program, a series of one-hour info sessions held at NYU Shanghai by various employers over nine weeks. The program was originally established at NYU New York and spreading to the Abu Dhabi and Shanghai campuses. NYU Shanghai’s OCR program is generated based on a combination of the local market’s recruitment timeline, NYU New York and NYU Abu Dhabi’s practice, and local Chinese universities’ practice.The OCR program welcomes companies from a wide range of industries who have strong interest in the NYU Shanghai education model and talent; priority is given to leading companies who show global vision in talent development and can offer positions to both Chinese and international students. “We do have a number of companies who are open to referring our international students to other regions. Based on most of the multinational companies’ regional practice, recruiters here are mainly responsible for Greater China, however other region’s opportunities are all available online.” commented Assistant Director of the CDC, Hao Guo. Companies that have already presented at NYU Shanghai as part of OCR include ACCESS Health International, PwC Information Technologies, MSH China, JP Morgan, Ernst & Young, Monitor Deloitte and The Peninsula Shanghai. OCR targets all grade levels at NYU Shanghai, providing opportunities to better understand the industry in question, develop ideas for career aspirations, gain confidence in networking, and strengthen students’ ability to communicate with a senior professional. Some OCR events are more than just presentations by employers, and also serve as networking events or possible on-site interview opportunities. As most employers have global offices, OCR presents an opportunity for international students to impress the employers and explore career opportunities in global branches of the companies. Some recruitment events take place in Mandarin to provide real life experience for students to test their proficiency, practice their language skills, and hear about businesses described in Mandarin. The attendance for most OCR events, however, has been low as students tend to only show up for big brand companies. “The biggest challenge we are facing is the concern that an employer decides not to return to NYU Shanghai because of low attendance and/or lack of interest from students this year,” Guo said. Students who have attended one or more OCR events, however, had generally given positive feedback such as the fact the event provides informative industry knowledge, is a great story telling opportunity, and paints vivid pictures about different careers. NYU Shanghai freshman Milton Zhang, who attended the OCR events for Goldman Sachs and L’Oreal China, enjoyed both events: “The OCR events broadened my views on career opportunities present for my major that I otherwise would not have known were actively looked for in an industry. I really appreciate the NYU Shanghai CDC for putting on these events.” Zhang found the Goldman Sachs event interactive and informative to listen to, while the L’Oreal event was organized and had an enjoyable “show” aspect to it. The only criticism received was that the event focused more on the company's activities than their career opportunities and desired qualities in candidates. Other than NYU Shanghai’s on-campus OCR sessions, students now also have the opportunity to participate in NYU New York’s OCR program through a partnership between the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development and NYU Shanghai’s CDC. To participate, students must go through a mandatory virtual orientation as well as complete a short quiz. You can find a list of upcoming OCR events here. This article was written by Editorial Staff. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Wasserman Center of Career Development