The cost of covering applicants’ travel expenses for an interview can add up very quickly for both employers and candidates. Employers have become reluctant to accept résumés from candidates who are not from the area, and candidates are keeping their searches local, as well. Thanks to Come Recommended Visual Connect (courtesy of TokBox), the cost of interviewing potential candidates-or conducting informational interviews-is greatly reduced.

As always, both the candidate and employer must have three recommendations in order to use this feature. Additionally, one user must be an employer and the other user must be a candidate for the webcam interview to work.

On the right side of a candidate’s profile, an employer can select a time to schedule the video chat. Both employer and candidate will receive an e-mail with a secure link to their video chat. The link will be active immediately, regardless of when the meeting is scheduled. The link in the e-mail will also connect the members’ webcams and microphones and give instructions to begin the video chat.

We envision Come Recommended Visual Connect to most often be initiated by employers. However, we also encourage candidates to request informational interviews via this new tool.

While this feature is still in beta testing, video interviewing will be free to use. If a member runs into an issue with the feature, they are encouraged to submit a detailed description of the problem to support@comerecommended.com.

Two weeks ago, during a panel discussion with campus career centers, a participant asked how Come Recommended intended on reaching small businesses throughout the country.

Small businesses are the backbone of this country and our nation’s chamber of commerce and Small Business Administrations (SBAs) are the voices of these small businesses. Most of these businesses have considerably smaller budgets than large companies and are really looking to cut costs and streamline their hiring costs.

Small businesses can really benefit from using Come Recommended as a hiring tool because it is free to join the community and exposes employers to a plethora of very qualified candidates. With the help of Come Recommended, these employers can network with candidates from around the country that may be interested in their small business without ever leaving their office and at a time that is convenient for them.

Although outreach to small businesses was always on the itinerary, thanks to this inquiry, we stepped up our timeline and have been notifying chambers of commerce and SBAs throughout the country about our services–inviting them to take part in free online demos. Space is limited, so sign up today!

• Chambers of commerce demos
• SBA demos

Come Recommended is a community always looking to expand its reach to others who support the cause of helping entry-level and internship candidates find jobs. This led us to join the grassroots coalition 80 Million Strong.

80 Million Strong is a coalition composed of Millenials and organizations that support them in their efforts to find employment during this slow economy. According to the 80 Million Strong Web site, nearly 87 percent of Millenials have a high school diploma and nearly thirty percent have a college degree or higher-and are in tens of thousands of dollars in debt. These young professionals need jobs and are faced with competing against more experienced workers for entry-level positions. We cannot allow the definition of “entry-level” to continue becoming more and more unattainable for recent college graduates.

80 Million Strong plans to convene a summit of young people in Washington, DC, to discuss the problem of unemployment among Millenials and develop federal legislation based on the discussion in order to build a grassroots coalition that empowers the millennial generation.

Come Recommended has added our voice to this coalition, and we encourage our members and supporters to do the same. It’s free and very easy. For more information, visit www.80millionstrong.org or follow them on Twitter at @80MS.

Thank you to the campus career center staff who attended the Introduction to Come Recommended webinar today! Unfortunately, the presentation did not record correctly. So, we’ve embedded a copy of the PowerPoint below. Additionally, I’d be happy to give a personal presentation to anyone who desires one–no matter if you attended the original webinar or not.

Finally, I wanted to address the fantastic questions asked during the presentation in more detail:

Q: How do you differentiate Come Recommended from other job sites such as Monster or CareerBuilder that also allow potential employees to create an online profile to find jobs?

A: I honestly don’t even consider those sites competitors. They have become behemoths, bogged down by fake or misleading job ads and résumés of unqualified candidates. And although I encourage candidates not to leave combing the job boards out of their search plan, that action alone simply isn’t enough anymore.

That said, a few current differentiators:

• Come Recommended is limited to only those seeking internships and entry-level jobs, and employers who want to hire at these levels. Candidate members must have graduated no longer than one year ago. That means no more competing against people who aren’t truly entry-level but are willing to take those positions because they need a job.
• Everyone in the community must have three recommendations before they are allowed to interact with you, and that includes employers. These recommendations are displayed clearly on every profile.
• Once accepted into the community, candidates have the ability to chat directly with hiring managers through the site. They can initiate a conversation with them, and vice versa. So, if candidates visit an employer’s profile and like what they see, they send a chat request and tell them! (Also note that webcam/video interviewing capabilities are coming soon!)

Q: Do you verify recommendations for students, and what happens to this information? What about the recommendations for the employer? Who recommends them?

A: We assure the legitimacy of recommendations in several ways. First, recommendation requests can only be sent to “paid” e-mail domains–not free accounts such as Gmail or Hotmail. Second, because references must provide their phone numbers, Come Recommended staff performs random checks to assure accuracy. Finally, if a user suspects a reference might not be legitimate, he or she is encouraged to contact us immediately, and we will follow-up. If, indeed, the recommendation has been falsified, the user will be permanently banned from Come Recommended.

Candidates may receive recommendations from current or previous employers, industry professionals, professors/teachers and other non-family members. References need not be registered users of Come Recommended. Once the reference answers the questions in our recommendation process and hits “submit,” the reference’s name, title, organization and e-mail address-along with the questions and answers-are automatically transmitted onto the candidate’s profile page.

The process for employers to access our site is exactly the same. Employers may receive recommendations from current or previous interns or entry-level professionals. Again, references need not be registered users of Come Recommended.

Q: You mentioned several large organizations who’ve already registered. What about smaller and mid-sized employers, regional employers, etc.? To what extent are you reaching out to employers outside the Fortune 500?

A: Come Recommended is a fantastic resource for small and mid-sized organizations–perhaps in some ways even more so than large organizations. Our goal on the employer side is to reduce hiring costs and streamline the entire process, with the hope of encouraging more internship and entry-level hiring.

We reach out to employers–of all sizes–in a number of ways:

• Through our already-existing database (monthly e-newsletter, webinars)
• Sponsors and strategic partnerships
• Viral word-of-mouth campaign (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, flickr and YouTube)
• Media relations campaign
• Attendance at key conferences/events

Q: Is there a password we can use to test out the system?

A: No, not the way we have it set up. You’d actually have to register as an employer or a student. However, I have an administrative account, and I’d be happy to arrange a time to walk you through the site virtually.

Q: Is a student’s photo required?

A: A student does not need to upload a photo–it’s only there as an option if they choose. If they do not upload a photo, a generic “avatar” is put in its place. We chose to have photos as an option because we feel it helps both candidates and employers seem more “real” and personal, rather than just another résumé. But again, students do not have to include one, and many of our current students haven’t.

Q: How soon will the new features be added?

A: As soon as possible! We want to grow the site quickly. In order to do this, we are forming strategic partnerships with organizations that already offer the features we’d like to add-but we also need sponsorships to cover our costs and to keep the features low-cost or free to our members.

Q: Would we just go ahead and link to your from our Web site for our students to get started?

A: Yes, that would be fantastic! You might also want to think about including an announcement in your newsletter if you have one and/or sending information to your school’s student newspaper.

Logo choices for your Web site can be found here. Resize them as necessary. Also, the two sentence description of Come Recommended is as follows: Come Recommended is an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level candidates with the best employers. Unlike other exclusive recruiting networks, Come Recommended requires both candidates and employers receive three recommendations before accessing the community and its features.

Please let us know how else we can help you get the word out to your students.

Best,

Heather R. Huhman, Founder & President
Come Recommended

At Come Recommended, we are always looking for new ways to help our members-and it is no secret how difficult it is to find entry-level jobs and internships right now. That’s why we’ve created a two-part online course to put you ahead of the competition: “Come Recommended: What You Won’t Learn in the Classroom.”

The introduction session is held on Saturdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, and the advanced session is held on Saturdays at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. While you do not have to take both sessions, the tuition for the course covers both. Each session requires a minimum registration of two people and a maximum of five. The total cost of the course is $300 dollars, but if there are five people signed up for the sessions you join, you share the cost (only $60 for you!). If two people sign up, the cost to you is $150, and so on.

During the introduction course, you will learn the essential tools needed to get you into the door for that interview:

• Résumé and cover letter writing
• Choosing great references
• Compiling a compelling portfolio

During the advanced course, you will learn tips and tactics to take you from the job search to the interview and beyond:

• Creating your own job search strategy
• Proper phone interview tactics
• In-person interview pointers
• Thank you notes
• Tips for following up

If you wish to join one or both of these ongoing Saturday sessions, you must make your reservations by Wednesday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. You will be contacted on Thursday if there are not enough people registered for the session, and payments must be received Friday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

The “Come Recommended: What You Won’t Learn in the Classroom” course will begin on Saturday, July 11. As an added bonus, the first five people to sign up for these July 11 sessions will be able to take the course for free! For more information and to register for the course, click here.