Hiatt Career Center is in its second year of its Facebook Live show, #HiattLive, where students give advice primarily about the career search through live-streamed videos. Hiatt has made over 50 episodes. In total, Hiatt has over 20,000 video views and their most popular video, a carpool karaoke spin-off where students sing songs about the job search, has gained 1600 views.
The episodes are hosted by Jackie Blesso, the assistant director for career development at Hiatt; Kristin Menconi, the assistant director of marketing and communications; and a Hiatt intern Dylan Corn ’19. In June of 2017, Hiatt was nominated for a National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) award in tech excellence.
“We were nominated in June of 2017. So, we’re still fighting for an award, we want to get back in the ring,” Menconi said. “We’ve grown a lot, but it was definitely stiff competition. We were up against schools that were much larger than Brandeis, but overall it was so nice to be recognized for some of the strides that we’ve done in the office from a technology standpoint.”
All episodes are live and range from yoga sessions to employer visits. They come out every other Wednesday at noon. The videos also feature student clubs, such as Voicemale, and career fairs.
Student employees at Hiatt, including desk associates, advisors and interns, often take part in the videos. The episode topics are planned in advance, but the content is unscripted.
Hiatt’s next episodes are on the campus calendar, and there are six episodes left this semester. The episodes include discussions with the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO), about how international students can plan internships and a Halloween episode where Hiatt staff will dress up as the jobs they want.
Menconi started the video series in 2016. “When Facebook rolled out Facebook Live two years ago, I kind of got inspired by the major brands doing it… I figured that that would be a great way to engage with the students,” Menconi said. “I started it in the summer because… it gets really quiet on campus over the summer months. So to have something that’s a little more dynamic that can keep us connected with Brandeis students over the summer was a big deal for us. And it’s been successful ever since.”
Hiatt is looking for new students and clubs to feature in their upcoming videos in the spring semester. “We’re always looking for ways to engage with the Brandeis community,” Menconi said.
