All employers who wish to recruit MGA students and alumni for employment opportunities or graduate school must have an account on Handshake and list MGA as one of their preferred schools. 

Handshake for Employers & Grad Schools

If an employer is interested in having MGA students as interns, we can help you develop a job description and identify potential majors that would fit with the job duties and learning objectives. Contact Dr. Heather McIntosh to get started. As we work with you, we can help you determine which academic areas align with your internship in case students wish to get academic credit for the experience.

We follow internship guidelines set by the National Association of Colleges and Employers [NACE] (2018). NACE states that an internship is "a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths, and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent” (para., 6).

For an internship to meet the standards outlined above, NACE (2018) also advises that an internship meet the following criteria in order to be a legitimate experience.

1. The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
2. The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
3. The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
4. There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
5. There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
6. There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
7. There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals. (para., 14).

Contact Dr. Heather McIntosh for details

Every March and October our office hosts an All-Industry Job & Internship Fair for MGA students and alums.  This event is focused on connecting students with organizations who have opportunities for from business, communications and liberal arts, information technology, computer science, natural sciences and pre-engineering, human services, and healthcare administration.  This event is on our Macon campus and averages over 200 attendees. This fair is a great way to meet students face-to-face to tell them about your full-time career and internship opportunities! Booth fees to attend vary according to company type. Employers can see all upcoming fairs from the Events page.

For our employers who are already attending career fairs, we also offer the opportunity to set up an employer specific recruitment day at the campus that best fits your needs.  In general, most Employer Recruitment Days are offered on the Macon and Eastman campuses and are focused on recruiting students for internships or for full-time careers after graduation.  

If you need something even more customized such as campus interviews, let's talk about your needs and the best ways to connect virtually and in-person with students across all of our learning locations, including online students.  These opportunities are promoted via Handshake, social media, the Student LIfe Calendar, and our weekly newsletter sent via Handshake. 

On campus recruitment works best in late August, September, and October and late January, February, and March prior to the career fairs.  However, we will continue to schedule visits up until Thanksgiving break and the last week of April.

Employer Recruitment Day Options
For these visits, we recommend an information table in a high-traffic area in addition to a presentation that you can host on campus.  These events are ideal leading up to a career fair and can be used to prepare studetns for their interactions with you that day.  When requesting this event, we work with you to determine the format and the campus location that would be best for you.  We have a diverse student population that lives across the middle Georgia region and may take classes on multiple campuse and online.  Our online students are from across the globe.  In addition to your in-person recruitment, we also recommend including virtual opportunities.

• Aviation:  Employers typically recruit on the Eastman campus to meet students in Aviation Maintenance & Aircraft Structural Technology, Flight, and Air Traffic Management.  Contact Julie Holloway to discuss options for information tables, campus interviews, and information sessions.  

For our other disciplines, we typically set up specific Employer Recruitment Days in Macon unless otherwise stated.  To get started, contact our Executive Director, Dr. Mary Roberts.

• Business & Information Technology/Computer Science:  Students in these programs take a blend on in-person and online courses.  Macon may be your best location for recruiting, particularly if you are seeking upper-level students. We are glad to consult with you and determine the best location or if virtual would be a better fit.
• Education & Behavioral Sciences:   Currently, we host Social Work Mock Interviews, Teacher Education Mock Interviews, and a Teaching Opportunities Showcase each spring on the Macon campus.  These activities are some of your best ways to reach students in these majors who are graduating. For summer camps seeking freshmen and sophomores for positions, information tables in Macon or Cochran would be ideal.
• Health & Natural Sciences:  Currently, we host the ASN Networking Event in the fall in Dublin and the spring in Cochran and Respiratory Therapy Mock Interviews in the fall and spring.  Since our health majors are in clinicals during their junior and senior years, we can strategize with you on the best way to reach those students.

• Arts & Letters:  If you have positions that require strong communication and critical thinking skills, we have a variety of students in Communication, English, History, Music, Art & Design, and Political Science that you can connect with on the Macon campus.  

This event occurs each spring and provides employers with an opportunity to engage with students in a variety of ways.  You can submit a conference proposal as well as sponsor the event and partcipate in the Employer Student Networking Luncheon. This event attracts over 125 student leaders each year from all majors. To sponsor or present a breakout session that aligns with the annual theme, contact us before October 1.

To view more information about past conferences and upcoming dates, please visit the Student Leadership Conference page.

Contact Rafael Villamil for more information

We host a variety of major-specific and all majors events throughout the year. Our major-specific events include Respiratory Therapy Mock Interviews (October & March - virtual), Social Work Mock Interviews (February in Macon), and Aviation Mock Interviews (October & March in Eastman). 

To view upcoming dates for these events, please visit the Events page.

Contact US

We offer a variety of sponsorship opportunities to help your organization reach more students during specific events or throughout the academic year.  

• Career Fair Sponsor:  Includes career fair registration and logo inclusion on marketing materials.  $400 per organization for each career fair sponsored.
• Career Chat Tuesday (Macon) Lunch & Learn Sponsor:  Offered during key recruitment months (September - October & February - March) on the Macon campus to present organization opportunities or a career/leadership topic.  $500 per organization covers lunch for up to 20 students, logo inclusion on digital promotion, and targeted emails to students and faculty about the opportunity.
• Student Leadership Conference Presenting Sponsor: Presenting Sponsor opportunity is for a corporate or non-profit entity to be included on all event marketing, including the t-shirt, as part of the conference name. i.e. The Student Leadership Conference, Presented by Company XYZ.  $3500.  
• Student Leadership Conference Events Sponsor:  Package opportunities to sponsor the Student Leadership Conference and the Student Leadership Challenge in addition to attending the All Industry Career Fair or other career fair related to your recruiting needs.  Contact us for details.
• Student Leadership Programs Corporate Tour Sponsor: Host the spring cohort of the Student Leadership Program on a tour of your facility.  This sponsorship can include an in-kind donation of providing lunch to participating students as well as additional support for student transportation to the event.

CONTACT Dr. Mary Roberts for details

The Center for Career & Leadership Development (CCLD) is dedicated to connecting students and alumni with quality professional opportunities that complement and support their academic pathways and career goals.  The CCLD reserves the right to refuse services to employers or continuing education programs that do not align with our recruitment guidelines.

These services include but are not limited to Handshake job postings, campus in-person and virtual recruitment opportunities, and special career and leadership events for students.  If you have any questions about our guidelines, please contact Dr. Mary Roberts, Executive Director for Career & Leadership Development at

EMPLOYER RECRUITMENT GUIDELINES AND EXPECTATIONS

By posting your jobs and internships on Handshake, you are able to reach alumni as well as all MGA students, even if they take courses online or attend classes on multiple campuses. 

Handshake is a one-stop shop for employers, allowing you to market your opportunities to MGA students and alumni as well as other colleges within the Handshake network. You can even direct students to apply through your own website. For more information on how to get started, check out Handshake's guide.

   Visit Handshake to create your account and post your job

Each semester, we look for employers to feature in our Virtual Internship Series. These virtual sessions allow you to reach students on all five campuses as well as those mainly taking online classes. 

• Sessions are generally last 30 minutes to an hour and reach students across all of our learning locations.  Employers can expect 5 - 10 student attendees. We also record the sessions in order to share with students who cannot attend.  
• Visit our YouTube page to see a history of our past sessions.  

To learn more, contact Dr. Heather McIntosh