Recruiting 1

This talk in one slide Recruit 2

How do students pick your class? 3

“Always” wanted to take ______ –Culture –Parents –Previous teacher Word of mouth –Easy –Fun Requirement 4

Most important Don’t recruit students to a boring class 5

Second most important Don’t send the wrong message 6 “Girls Welcome”

You can’t not send a message Décor, vocabulary, humor, dress – everything communicates something to someone 7

Reach Your Audience Target students able to succeed –And/or their parents, friends, counselors, etc. Use personal contact where possible Be visible, attention-getting Share a message they care about 8

Two-fold message 9 Interest Expected positive outcome Achievement activity choices Expectation of success is crucial

Appeal to Current Interests Belonging, with potential of status in group –They have to want to belong to the group –Recruit groups instead of individuals Role fulfillment – conforming to expectations –Computing is social, helps people, allows you to give back to the community, etc. –These are true in general; make them true of your course as well 10

Messages Culture-Dependent “Flexibility” a nearly-universal keyword Social relevance Work with others Time with family (set hours) Job projections suggest little unemployment High salaries Geographic flexibility 11

Good jobs Various “best jobs in America” reports: –US News: 5 of top 15 (including #1 and #2) –CareerCast: 2 of top 10 –Salary.com: 2 of top 10 (including #1) –CNN Money: 3 of top 10 Based on job satisfaction, stability, and salary NSF reports high job satisfaction for computing professionals across all demographics 12

Many Jobs BLS predictions vary, but generally between 2 and 3 times as many jobs as degrees (recently as many as 10 times). Never had a job shortage for more than a year 13

Flexibility Career flexibility: –With CS, you can work in any field (see, e.g., dotdiva.org) –Challenge: find a company with 20+ employees that does not have computing professionals Work/Life flexibility –So many jobs means can take years off –Some (not all) will let you move hours around Location flexibility –There are computing jobs in every community –Remote work possible too 14

We can make you Special Add outreach Add clubs Add competitions and contests Make their college admissions essays look like the highlights of your course 15

Fun can be enough Not all students are thinking of the future, jobs Those who are may not want to think of it all the time 16

Two-fold message 17 Interest Expected positive outcome Achievement activity choices Expectation of success is crucial

What do you need to succeed? Math: count from 0; divide and find remainder English: know about 30 words Computer skills: mouse use, keyboard use (but typing at speed or without looking not required) Other: willingness to learn 18

Anyone can succeed 19

Invite Saying “it’s a good class” and “you can succeed” sounds hollow without “I want you” “You should take the next class too” can be more powerful than “you are doing well” 20

Targeted messages Pick an audience Identify their motives Bring them that message Beware of alienating those who overhear… 21

Reaching your audience Postcards, posters, ads, T-shirts, trophies, classroom visits, counselor education, parent pitches, hour of code, masters of the mainframe, working with yearbook/interior design/clubs, pitching in elevators/public places, computing/robotics clubs, running other clubs, student-run outreach programs, project demos… (Add you recruiting vectors here) 22

Non-student audiences Parents Counselors Other teachers 23

Understanding Parents Parents are a large influence on both sons’ and daughters’ career choices Parents asked to rank hopes for their children –Sons: “Persevere to meet future family responsibilities” –Daughters: “Be happy in career choice” Lots of cultural differences too… 24

Reaching Parents Face-time Things you send home –Official material –Post cards –Trophies, recognitions 25

Counselors, Teachers So far, no sound research on how to reach them Anecdotally, best if you know them personally 26

Plan one Recruitment Message and Delivery Strategy In groups of minutes to brainstorm and develop one idea Report 27

Questions? 28