Recruitment Archives

Welcome to Tallo!

February 1, 2019

You’ve probably noticed by now. Things look a little…different.

Okay, so maybe things look a lot different. Where did STEM Premier go?

No worries, we haven’t gone anywhere. We’ve just changed our name to Tallo! As we’ve grown to help hundreds of thousands of young people showcase their talents, we’ve realized that those talents extend far beyond the STEM fields. So we thought a change was in order. We’re here for everybody, no matter what their passions are.

Tallo represents who we are and where we’re going. The world needs all sorts of people, whether they excel in the lab, on the stage, or under the engine compartment. Everyone is welcome on Tallo!

Why the name “Tallo”? Think “talent” + “locator.” We like to keep things simple and on point. And as a little nod to our history, “tallo” just happens to be the Spanish word for “stem.”

Our name might be different, but our mission is the same: to give young people a way to showcase themselves to the educational and professional organizations who are looking for them. Finding the right path can be overwhelming. We’re here to make it easier.

Already have an account with us? Fantastic. Your login information is the same, and your profile is just how you left it. So you can pick up right where you left off.

New around here? Pleased to make your acquaintance. Jump right in and start showing yourself off to the world! Whether you’re a student, a school, or an organization, start creating your Tallo profile by clicking HERE.

Then go ahead and strap in, suit up, hunker down, or whatever it is that gets you in the zone. Maybe it’s listening to some dubstep or country or rap. Maybe it’s interpretive dance. We don’t judge.

In other words, you just do you. Tallo will help you figure out the rest.

Recruiting Members of Generation Z

November 5, 2018

When it comes to different generations, a lot of stereotypes get floated around. The members of Generation X are the rebels. Millenials have become widely referred to as “Generation Me.” Regardless of how valid these labels may be, it’s a fact that attitudes and culture change from one generation to the next. Just like sports teams have to adapt to new-fangled offensive schemes, businesses and organizations have to adjust their own gameplans to compete at the highest level.

So what about Generation Z; the latest generation of high school and college-aged young adults? They’re suiting up the locker room and hungry for playing time. By 2020, they’ll comprise 20% of the workforce. Can you convince them to play for your team when they hit the field?

Here’s a few tips to help you “get” them.

Get after it early

Members of Generation Z have seen the massive student loan debts accumulated by Millenials. And that’s something they want no part of. Many of them are strongly considering bypassing college entirely and going straight into the workforce. They want a livelihood, not necessarily a degree.

Since attending college is no longer a foregone conclusion, high school students are weighing their post-graduation plans much earlier than previous generations. Connecting with them during this decision-making process is vital, and that’s what makes Tallo a game-changer. We’ve made it easier than ever to find young talent and build your brand. But more importantly, you can do it before anyone else can. We are your direct access point to Generation Z. So what are you waiting for? Don’t just make a first impression. Be the first impression.

Get digital

Generation Z is the first generation of true digital natives. They could practically recognize an iPad before they could recognize a bottle of baby formula. If you aren’t connecting with them online, you aren’t connecting with them, period. To them, the internet is an extension of the world, so you need to be in it! If you are waiting for them to come to the college job fair to start recruiting them, someone else already has.

Gen Z is online; and so are we. We are world’s first opportunity connection app for emerging talent, and we know that in order to connect and engage with them, we need to be playing in their sandbox.

Get real

Remember that big economic slump we call “The Great Recession?” Well, that’s the environment Generation Z grew up in. Because of that, members of Generation Z expect to work harder than previous generations. Simply put, they’re realists. Be honest and tell them what the deal is. What do they need to do to be qualified to work for your organization? What specific opportunities are you offering? Avoid vague, fluffy, and condescending language. They are skeptics at heart, so don’t bother trying to sell them on something that sounds good to be true.

When working with our college and company clients, we educate them on how to communicate with our users. Call them by their name, compliment something in their profile, tell them exactly why they are a good fit and should consider you for their next step

Get to the point

The Snapchat generation is used to digesting their information in, well…snaps. That means you’ve got their attention for 5 to 8 seconds before they scroll on to something else. It’s a challenge, sure. But the more accommodating you are to their short timeframe, the more responsive they will be. We teach our clients to leverage our personal messaging system to craft short, impactful, and individualized communications.

“War for Talent” Spurs Businesses to Extend Talent Pipelines into High Schools

August 6, 2018

Seven years ago, IBM realized that their talent pipeline strategy needed an overhaul. Like a poorly managed pension fund, the output it was generating would eventually be outstripped by an ever-increasing need for specific skills and knowledge; their system was no longer a long-term solution. It needed a fix before it all came crashing down.

“There’s a war for talent across all our competitors,” said IBM Foundation President Jennifer Ryan Crozier, “We know we’re going to need a lot of different pathways to bring talent in.”

So in 2011, IBM became the first “P-Tech” business, partnering with a Brooklyn high school and the City University of New York. The intended outcome? To produce qualified candidates for the types of jobs which IBM knows will face critical talent shortages in the future.

P-Tech is a six-year academic and vocational tech program which allows students in grades 9 through 14 to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an industry-recognized associate degree while also gaining relevant work experience in emerging fields.

Since 2011, more than 400 additional organizations such as Motorola, Verizon, and Dow Chemical have joined IBM in this exponentially-expanding experiment with over 80 high schools across the country. The companies offer input on the curriculum, bring students on site, pair them with employee mentors, and offer paid internships.

These organizations know they are on the cutting edge of talent pipeline management. The investments they are making today have placed them on the inside track, and are putting them in prime position to attract the skilled workers which these programs aim to produce in the years to come. In most cases, it’s the first professional contact these students ever experience.

“This is about preparing the next generation of the workforce,” Crozier says. “It’s not a short-term fix for roles we have open today,” she said.

Of course, not every organization has the vast resources of Verizon, Dow, or Big Blue to develop such robust recruiting programs.

That is where Tallo levels the playing ground.

By utilizing the Tallo platform, companies and organizations can tap into a digital environment of hundreds of thousands of high school students across the country. You can connect and build relationships with these students – the same way that IBM does – without investing millions of dollars to do it.

South Carolina Ports Authority Holds First Tallo Signing Day

July 9, 2018

The ink had just begun to dry on Anthony Richburg Jr.’s letter of intent when he donned the Carolina blue helmet and gave the cameras a bright smile along with two excited thumbs up.

No, he hadn’t just signed to play for the UNC Tarheels; rather, the promising 18-year-old had chosen to begin his professional career with The South Carolina Ports Authority.

In its first-ever “Signing Day” on June 19, SPCA was proud to have landed the recent North Charleston High School graduate, a promising student they would have never found if not for his Tallo profile.

“We welcome Anthony Richburg to our team as the Port’s first hire from the Tallo partnership,” said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome, “and look forward to continuing to engage with local high schools on job opportunities at the Port and ways to prepare for a maritime industry career.”

The event was held – fittingly – at the The Union Pier Passenger Terminal in Downtown Charleston. Anthony was accompanied by his mother and stepfather as well as SPCA Vice President Barbara Melvin and Director Rusty Matthews, who made the decision to hire Anthony.

After initially discovering Anthony’s profile on Tallo, representatives from SPCA contacted him via the platform’s direct messaging tool. Through direct contact and networking opportunities facilitated with Tallo, SPCA and Anthony built a relationship which culminated in his signing day commitment in June.

Identifying and connecting with Anthony early on was vital in regards to his ultimate decision. That same type of engagement will be the future for SPCA’s recruitment efforts.

“The Ports Authority and greater maritime community employ more than 9,000 people locally, and we’re pleased to partner with Tallo to raise awareness of the Port among students in the Tri-County region as part of our recruitment strategy for the next generation of our workforce,” Newsome said.

“Partnering with proactive companies like SCPA,” says Tallo Co-Founder Casey Welch, “who understand and appreciate the importance of early engagement is vital in helping to identify, engage, and recruiting the future workforce while also retaining top talent from the Charleston area like Anthony.”

Connecting America’s Rural Students with Higher Education

February 19, 2018

As debate intensifies over the future of higher education in the U.S., much of the focus has centered around the issue of racial and ethnic diversity. However, there is substantial constituency of America’s K-12 students who are going largely ignored: students from the country’s rural areas.

A recent NPR piece – based on findings from The Hechinger Report – highlights this glaring issue. It is highlighted by an alarming statistic. Despite the fact that rural students graduate from high school at a greater rate than the national average, they attend college at lower rates than their urban and suburban peers.

There have been many causes attributed to this phenomenon. Mining, farming, and manufacturing jobs which used to be a hallmark of rural economies have either moved away, become automated, or shut down entirely. The result is that there are simply less opportunities in the communities these students grow up in. Paradoxically, instead of seeking out opportunities in larger cities, most rural students find themselves as products of their environment and lose hope that opportunity awaits them. Like all good sons and daughters, they also want to stay close to home.

Acknowledging this issue “is critical to our future, not just for employment but for civil discourse and kids feeling like they can contribute and achieve and not feeling lost and ignored,” says Jeff Hawkins, executive director of the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative, a nonprofit group which encourages students in Kentucky’s coal-mining southeast corner to go to college.

Tallo understands this challenge, and is one of our foremost priorities towards achieving educational equality in the U.S. for all students.

Tallo provides that crucial “missing link” for colleges to recruit in rural areas. Oftentimes, college recruiters are pressured to maximize their scarce time and resources. As as result, they typically visit more highly-populated areas where they can interact with the highest number of students. Rural students become “landlocked” and isolated from these opportunities. Some of America’s brightest students are going unnoticed.

Using our platform, colleges and universities can eliminate geographic boundaries and engage these rural students in an online ecosystem. Not only does this save educational institutions time and money, but it meets these young digital natives where they are: on their mobile devices which have become ubiquitous regardless of where they reside.

Tallo Spotlight: Tidelands Health

December 11, 2017

Tidelands Health is committed to more than just its patients. It is also committed to its employees and communities. Comprised of three hospitals, more than fifty outpatient locations, and over 2,000 employees and physician partners, Tidelands Health is one of coastal South Carolina’s largest healthcare systems. It is also one of the newest organizations to join Tallo’s growing network as it seeks to build relationships with South Carolina students interested in pursuing the healthcare vocation. .

Tideland Health’s mission of helping people live better lives through better health began more than sixty years ago in Georgetown, SC. In 1946, citizens of Georgetown committed to constructing a hospital to serve the local community. That commitment came to life in 1950, when the first patient was admitted at Georgetown County Memorial Hospital – later to become Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital. Since then, the hospital has expanded and two additional hospitals have become a part of the system: Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital and Tidelands Waccamaw Rehabilitation Hospital. Over its sixty-year history, the system has provided healthcare to countless patients.

While its patients are always the #1 priority, Tidelands Health also prioritizes and invests in its employees. “We are focused on creating an environment where professional development is encouraged, innovation is rewarded and a healthy work-life balance is nurtured,” explains Busy Kimball, Manager of Talent Acquisition at Tidelands Health.

That’s why Tidelands Health wants to be known amongst South Carolina’s students – and future healthcare professionals – so that they consider it when planning their futures. “We are excited to partner with Tallo and believe it will help us deepen our relationship within the region by introducing Tidelands Health to members of the community at a young age,” says Busy. “Though this partnership, we will provide financial support and educational opportunities to prepare young people in our area for a future in health care.”

These educational opportunities include internships, mentorships, and shadowing so that students can get first-hand experiences of what it’s like to work for Tidelands. The goal is to connect interested young students with experts in health-related fields and introducing them to the large variety of career paths available in healthcare.

Busy says that prospective employees of should be self-driven and open-minded. “Tidelands Health is looking for self-motivated individuals with an interest in health care, a positive, customer service-focused attitude and a sense of pride in their work,” she explains. “In addition, we choose to support and hire individuals who demonstrate an openness to diversity and project a sense of inclusion for individuals unlike themselves.”

By prioritizing these criteria in their hiring process, Tidelands Health has built a network of professionals who are ready and willing to engage outside of the workplace. For prospective employees, becoming part of Tidelands Health also means becoming a part of the community. “Beyond our hospitals,” says Busy, “we partner with the community to deliver health and wellness services. Through the Tidelands Health Sports Medicine Institute, for example, we fund athletic trainers in area high schools…and our Tidelands Community Care Network, a regional collaborative of more than 30 community service organizations, churches, associations and state agencies, connects our region’s uninsured and underinsured residents with medical care and critical services such as food, housing and transportation.”

Tallo is excited to welcome Tidelands Health to our network, and we look forward to the enhanced engagement it will provide for students pursuing professions in healthcare; such as those involved with our partner HOSA.