Just as university students in Canada are wrapping up their winter exams, Cisco is about to wrap up its recruitment drive for new grads.
Recruitment through the
Cisco Sales Associates Program (CSAP) ends this Friday. It's a global program aimed at hiring recent grads foryear-long, paid sales rep and systems engineering positions.In Canada, Cisco will hire five people for each position for 2012.
I was pretty underwhelmed when I first read about this program. Tech seems to be one industry that isn’t struggling as hard as others, even in terms of
entry-level opportunities, and Cisco isn’t the first company to have a university recruitment program.
But then I realized that for the sales rep positions, technical experience isn’t required and according to Cisco, its CSAP participants are often Bachelor of Arts graduates in areas like communications or English.
I think that means this program has potential to recruit more diverse people into the tech sector, including those who might not have considered working in the field at all. It also gives opportunities to degree holders who might otherwise face a lot of closed doors or unpaid opportunities.
Plus, even with a more technical, “in-demand” degree, being fresh out of school is still usually a barrier to finding gainful employment, which is unfortunate, since new grads can bring a lot to the workplace. Cisco apparently agrees, andhas been talking about how organizations can attract young talent and
bridge thegeneration gapfor a while now.
In a recent interview, Cisco Canada president, Nitin Kawale, told me the company will be recruiting heavily in the coming year, mainly for its R&D initiatives. I hope it (and other vendors) willcontinue to put their money where their mouth is and consciously hire even more Gen-Y staff outside of this program.