Recruit Illini
The Illinois Recruiter's Forum offers employers an inside look at recruiting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Hosted by the University, the event highlights the student perspective, recruiting trends, campus resources, student engagement opportunities, and best practices for building a strong recruiting presence. Employers will gain practical guidance, new ideas, and direct connections that support successful partnerships with Illinois talent.
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Rooted in collaboration and real-world experience, this forum is designed for action. Through interactive roundtables, data-backed insights, and candid Q&A with students, participants will be informed and explore the current challenges and leave with ready-to-implement ideas that move hiring forward
Chicago area, here we come! We’re excited to announce that this year’s forum will take place in Rosemont, Illinois, just outside Chicago, on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Join us to help shape the future of recruiting and talent acquisition.
Register for the Illinois Recruiter's Forum, Click HERE!
Don't miss out on $300 Buy One, Get One (BOGO) registration-perfect for bringing a colleague! This offer is available through February 1, 2026, or until registration reaches capacity. Registration closes May 1, 2026.
LODGING AND ACCOMODATIONS
Please refer to the Big Ten Conference Center website for hotel and lodging recommendations. If you require any special accommodations, please contact Craig Cliburn at cliburn2@illinois.edu
TRANSPORTATION
The Big Ten Conference Center is located at 5440 Park PL., Rosemont IL 60018, and is part of Rosemont's Parkway Bank Park. Parking is available at the Parkway Bank Park Garage. The validated rate is $7.50 per day, and tickets must be validated at the Big Ten security desk prior to returning to your car for departure.
Rosemont, Illinois is approximately 18 miles northwest of downtown Chicago and is easily accessible from O'Hare International Airport via nearby Expressways, including I-90/I-94 and I190. The area is also reachable from downtown Chicago by the CTA Blue Line "L"", ride-share services, taxis and nearby hotels and CTA stations.
Current Itinerary
8:30 a.m. Check-in and Continental Breakfast
9:15 a.m. Welcome and Introductions
- Jordari Rene, Assistant Director, Employer Relations and Professional Connections, The Career Center
9:30 a.m. Welcome to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Campus Insights
Learn about Illinois student enrollment, demographics, Illini Success, and employer engagement.
- Un Yeong Park, Associate Director, Professional Connections and Assessment, The Career Center
10:00 a.m. Opening Keynote: Early Talent Recruiting Trends and Insights
Explore the latest national research and emerging trends shaping today's college-to-career transition, offering practical insights to strengthen your full-time and internship hiring strategies. You'll gain data driven perspectives on the job outlook, AI, career readiness, internships, hiring benchmarks, and the evolving attitudes of today's students.
- Shawn VanDerziel, President & CEO of the National Association of College and Employers
10:55 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. Breakout Sessions I
Session 1: Does the Composition of the Recruiting Team Affect the Composition of Hires?
We will discuss new research in this area and implications for firms, focusing on the setting of prestigious firms recruiting on college campuses.
- Speaker: Dr. Russell Weinstein, School of Labor and Employment Relations
Session 2: The Engagement Gap: Using Data to Strengthen the Campus-Employer Partnership
This session explores the widening engagement gap between campuses and employers as event attendance and job postings decline amid hiring freezes, budget shifts, and an oversaturated recruiting landscape. The discussion will close with emerging models and an open discussion for more collaborative, resilient partnerships between universities and industry.
- Speaker: Bryan Goode, Talent Manager at Research Park
12:00 p.m. Lunch
12:30 p.m. Student Panel
Gain valuable insights and perspectives on career services and employer engagement from Illinois students representing our various colleges and majors. ACES, Gies, Grainger, iSchool, LAS, and LER.
1:20 p.m. Break
1:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions II
Session 3: Early Talent Development Program through Satellite Office
Session 4: Finding the Skills You Need: Skill-Based Hiring Round Table Discussion
Skills-based hiring can help to overcome some of the challenges of filling entry-level roles. Talent can easily fall into the gaps between how employers convey their needs and how students understand their career-relevant abilities and experiences. We will explore ways to narrow that gap by reframing the way employers, students, and career professionals use the language of skills.
- Speaker: Kirstin Wilcox, Director of Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Services
2:00 p.m. Spotlight Keynote: Futureproofing Talent: Rethinking recruitment from Z to A
Revamp campus recruiting to genuinely attract and engage early career talent by centering partnership, inclusion, and belonging. This keynote challenges employers to rethink how they show up on campus to win Gen Z now and get ready for Gen Alpha next.
- Speaker: Amy Patton, Director of Early Career Talent Acquisition, LyondellBasell
3:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions III
Session 5: The AI Hiring Journey: Creating Shared Understanding Across Early Talent Recruiting
AI now touches multiple points in the early-talent hiring process, shaping how students explore opportunities, how recruiters assess candidates, and how career services support career readiness. This session provides a practical overview of where AI commonly appears across the campus-to-career journey, clarifying what is typically automated, where human judgment remains essential, and where transparency matters most.
- Speaker: Jameson Dixon Jr., Talent Attraction Partner for Salesforce
Session 6: What Employers Want, What Students Need: A Round Table Discussion
A facilitated discussion with current students and employers on the best practices for optimal college-to-career transitions. Additionally, employers will have the opportunity to share any gaps that they are seeing in their new hires. After completing this session, attendees will understand what graduates value in a new work environment and will be able to better design their own onboarding programs to retain talent.
- Speakers:
Dr. Jean Drasgow, Senior Director of Experiential Learning and Director of Career Development, Agricultural, Consumer, & Environmental Sciences Career Services
Katie Kennealy, Assistant Director of Career and Alumni Affairs, Department of Economics
4:30 p.m. Closing Remarks and Survey
2026 ILLINOIS RECRUITER'S FORUM COMMITTEE
Co-Chair: Jordari Rene, Assistant Director of Employer Engagement, The Career Center
Co-Chair: Issac Miranda, Recruiting and Employer Connections Coordinator, Gies College of Business
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Craig Cliburn, Recruiting and Professional Connection Coordinator, The Career Center
Ulyssia Dennis, Associate Director, Office of Corporate Relations
Bryan Goode, Talent Manager, Research Park
Matt Hebron, Assistant Director, Corporate Relations, Grainger College of Engineering
Kristy Krisher, Assistant Director, Employer Connections, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
John Mahlmeister, Assistant Director, Engineering Career Services
Michael Warrell, Sr. Assistant Director, Marketing and Communications, The Career Center
Zellarose Walden, Assistant Director, Career Education and Outreach, The Career Center
This event is open to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, or national origin. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request, please contact careercenter@illinois.edu.