Dynamics Academic Alliance to Partners: Seek Channel Recruits on Campus

A good many partners in the Microsoft Dynamics channel struggle to recruit college and graduate students. For starters, most partner firms have limited recruitment budgets. Few are household names, which can make it hard to capture students' interest. Finally, many potential recruits lack an understanding of the many careers available in the channel: they see themselves beginning their careers in Redmond, Washington, at Microsoft corporate headquarters.

To remedy this, the Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance has begun hosting what it's calling "Campus Events" at colleges and universities worldwide.

As we reported in February, the demand for full-time Microsoft Dynamics CRM experts (as an example) was on the rise in partner firms, consultancies, and at end user companies.  Newly-educated fresh eyes are  finding work as stronger economic conditions and an evolving product have signaled more opportunities and changing job descriptions.

And those companies are willing to invest in full-time employees whose careers they nurture with training and education. "Management is more comfortable hiring full time and investing in their employees versus three years ago," says Brian Ray, managing partner with DynamicsFocus, a provider of recruiting, staff augmentation and career development services.

As of mid-December, the plans for 2016 are to hold several Campus Events in the US, potentially five or six in Canada, and more in Europe. The goal is to "strategically locate" Campus Events near where partners are interested in hiring both interns and full-time employees.