Thank you for being a part of the AmeriCorps Ohio College Guides Initiative! The purpose of the following guide is to assist AmeriCorps Ohio College Guide host sites in recruitment efforts for the 2013-2014 program year. All of the documents listed in this guide can be found in DropBox within the Recruitment folder. Please remember that all of the documents provided in DropBox should be treated as templates. Areas where e-mail messages, fliers or letters are highlighted yellow indicate an area for you to customize. Please save all documents in a personal folder before making changes to them. Otherwise, changes saved in the shared DropBox folder will change the document for everyone. This guide is organized by month, recruitment expectations for each month, and a listing of DropBox materials needed to accomplish recruitment tasks in each month. I hope this information is helpful to everyone. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions at bmcfadden@collegenowgc.org or (216) 635-0447. Sincerely, Bridget McFadden Recruitment Guide Contents March DropBox Materials 2 Recruitment Expectations 4 April DropBox Materials 5 Recruitment Expectations 6 May, June DropBox Materials 6 Recruitment Expectations 7 Page 1 of 7
I. March a. DropBox Materials i. Recruitment Resources for Host Sites 1. The Ohio College Guides-Recruitment Process - Presentation providing an overview of the Ohio College Guides recruitment process 2. Using egrants for AmeriCorps Recruitment - Presentation providing step-by-step instructions for using egrants. 3. Source for free AmeriCorps Materials and handouts - Information on ordering free AmeriCorps handouts, bookmarks, posters, etc. for your recruitment purposes. 4. How to Create an egrants Account College Guides-Step-by-step instructions for creating an egrants account. ii. Position Descriptions 1. Contains Member Position Descriptions for each host site. 2. Please remember that all sites are required to use the 2013-2014 Member Position Description Template iii. Electronic Recruitment- For use via email or submissions to campus listservs, online newsletters, or other communications to potential candidates 1. Instructions to Apply Online- describes how to apply for a position via the AmeriCorps website 2. Message for Listserv Marketing- template for host sites utilizing a campus listserv. Modify to suit the needs of your site. 3. Recruitment Email from Host Site- template for an email directly from the host site to prospective applicants, including the alumni base at your organization. Page 2 of 7
4. Recruitment Email from Cooperating Program- template for an email directly from a cooperating program to prospective applicants. iv. Recruitment Fliers- Fliers that can be modified and printed to hang around college campuses or the community v. Info Session Materials- Materials to advertise and facilitate an information session on campuses for prospective applicants 1. On Campus Flier- a flier template created to advertise the information session. Modify the time, location and date, then may be copied and posted around campus (dorms, bulletin boards, buildings, etc.) 2. On-Campus Information Session Presentation- PowerPoint presentation for use during the information session with prospective applicants. 3. Sign-In Sheet for Ohio College Guides Information Session- a sheet that tracks who attended each information session 4. Conducting an Info Session outlines steps and tips for conducting a successful info session 5. E-mail Message to Listservs Marketing Info Sessions-template to be modified to market info sessions. 6. Follow-up E-mail for Attendees to be used as a follow-up to all info session attendees. E-mail addresses will be collected on the sign-in sheet distributed at the info session. 7. SUB FOLDER: To Distribute - documents to be copied and distributed to students who attend an information session a. How to Apply to the Ohio College Guides- document explaining how to apply for a position via the AmeriCorps website b. Ohio College Guides Program Overview- a brief summary of the program, as well as a list of important facts Page 3 of 7
c. Source for Free AmeriCorps Materials and Handouts- Information on ordering free AmeriCorps handouts, bookmarks, posters, etc. to distribute at info sessions. d. AmeriCorps Fact Sheet General overview of AmeriCorps from a national perspective. 8. Recruitment Avenues information Bridget received regarding career fairs at colleges around the state. b. Recruitment Expectations for March i. Submit position descriptions to Bridget (deadline: March 10th) Bridget will then post them on the AmeriCorps website through egrants. ii. Designate a Member, if appropriate, to head information session efforts and begin planning them; review presentations on recruitment for AmeriCorps and the Ohio College Guides iii. Target alumni of your organization, or students at nearby four-year campuses, or other cooperating organizations in your community that would be willing to help spread the word about your positions and upcoming info sessions. Modify the e-mail communications in the DropBox Folder for a listserv or electronic newsletter, then submit to colleges and other cooperating organizations to start spreading the word about your available positions. Marketing Suggestions: 1. University job postings for students 2. Recent graduate resources like a career services office 3. Listservs and newsletters that target audiences who may be interested in a year of service a. Education, social work, political science, counseling, human development/family sciences, pre-law, humanities majors b. Sororities and Fraternities c. Student organizations centered around service Page 4 of 7
d. Teach for America, if recruitment offices on a campus in your area. 4. Craigslist or other free posting services 5. Idealist.org(Bridget will post a general listing here) 6. Don t forget to send an e-mail to the alumni of your college access organization that are about to graduate. 7. Listservs that you belong to that make sense for recruitment purposes(i.e. TRiO) iv. Once the marketing has begun, begin checking the egrants/americorps Portal regularly so that you may view applications that have been submitted and respond to potential candidates promptly. E-mail templates for messages to applicants are available in DropBox for each phase of the recruitment process. v. Determine dates to hold phone screens and begin scheduling them II. April a. DropBox Materials i. Phone Screen Interview Questions 2013 A guide that will help in conducting phone screens with candidates. ii. Recruitment Candidate Tracking Sheet For Host Sites An Excel sheet that will help organize and track candidate communication. iii. Applicant Score Sheet Rubric for Phone Screen 2013 A document to help you in selecting phone screen candidates to invite to a face-to-face interview. iv. E-mail to Applicants 1. Thank you for Applying E-mail 2. No Phone Screen E-mail 3. Yes Phone Screen E-mail 4. Yes Phone Screen E-mail Confirming Date and Time 5. No Face-to-Face Interview E-mail 6. Yes Face-to-Face Interview E-mail Page 5 of 7
7. Final E-mail to Applicants All Positions Filled *Please remember that the documents provided in DropBox should be used as templates. Please save them in a personal folder or desktop before making changes to them to customize them to your site. b. Recruitment Expectations for April III. May, June i. Begin to conduct phone screens ii. Conduct Info Sessions iii. Continue to review incoming applications and schedule phone screens as appropriate. Reply to applicants promptly with provided e-mail templates iv. Determine schedule for face-to-face interviews to be conducted in June and by the middle of July(if needed) a. DropBox Materials i. Offer Package All materials you will need when formally offering a College Completion Coach position to a candidate. Please note, a verbal offer should be made by phone prior to sending out an offer package. 1. AmeriCorps Member Offer Letter-Template for Host Sites 2. Direct Deposit Authorization 3. I-9 Form 4. Member Contract Template for Host Sites 5. Ohio Grievance Procedure for Programs 6. Ohio Withholding Certificate 7. W-4 Page 6 of 7
b. Recruitment Expectations for May, June i. Conduct phone screens and face-to-face interviews. Use Skype if possible as a face-to-face interviewing tool for out-of-state candidates. ii. Make offers to candidates. Please note, the earliest we will learn about our grant award is the end of May. Verbal offers may be made contingent upon awarded funds. iii. Continue to review incoming applications and schedule phone screens and face-to-face interviews, and reply to submitted applications. Page 7 of 7