NACE Embraces Video and Other Technology
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has for years advocated for the use of technology by its college career service office members but like those members, NACE is often left with bigger dreams than budgets. While budgets in all organizations will always be limited, it appears that NACE is loosening the purse strings a bit on its technology budget and moving towards revamping its web site and even how it communicates with its employer, career service office, affiliate, and other members.
Case in point: I received an email from NACE asking me to view at YouTube the September 2008 message from NACE President, Manny Contomanolis, PhD. I had the pleasure of getting to know Manny in Saint Louis a couple of months ago at the Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers (MwACE) annual conference. Without a doubt, he's one of the brightest and most energetic people in the industry and I suspect that he's used those assets to help guide NACE towards this new and exciting approach.
Now, if only NACE could be consistent about how it implements its vendor neutral policy. My beef? At last spring's NACE annual conference, NACE set up the exhibition room in a completely vendor neutral fashion except for the placement of the booth for NACELink, the job board that NACE and its corporate partner run on behalf of hundreds of college career service offices and employers who pay to advertise their job openings on it. There's little doubt that NACELink is a vendor as it charges employers to use its services and that NACELink is a direct competitor to CollegeRecruiter.com and other job board members of NACE. Yet NACELink's booth was located near but outside of the main exhibit area. No other vendors were allowed into those hallowed grounds and the advantageous position given to NACE's job board at the expense of its other vendor members was startling and not well received by the dozens of vendors who paid for their booth space and were not given the same placement opportunity as was NACELink.
Many of the job board and other vendor members in attendance were furious and I couldn't blame them. We made a mistake by not exhibiting but plan to in June 2009 when the conference will be in Las Vegas. But just as we recognized our honest mistake and are taking steps to correct it, I sure hope that NACE is doing the same. The one placement this past spring may in time be forgiven as an oversight. Repeated placements like that will not be tolerated by many and perhaps most of the vendors who suspect that NACE feels that its vendor neutral policies are good for the gander but not for the goose.
Dear Steve,
Thanks for your kind remarks about me and NACE's technology efforts! I appreciate it!
I also appreciate your comments concerning the placement of vendor booths. I'm pleased to tell you that the NACE staff heard those comments from last year as well and have already planned that the NACElink booth will be in the same exhibit area with all the other vendors during the Las Vegas conference in June.
There is a great deal of room in our profession for everyone who offers products and services of interest and value to our members and we'll continue to do our best at NACE to provide all with access to the real decision-makers in this arena -- individual career services directors and recruiting employer organizations.
Best regards,
Manny