At the career fair, most companies only talk about themselves. But what if a company were to actually talk TO students and listen to what they actually want in a career?

To prove to students that J&J does so much more than make baby shampoo, they did just that.

First, we had to find out what students were looking for. So, we showed up on campus under the guise of a documentary to have an honest conversation with students about what they were looking for in a career. Then, we let the J&J employees who were living the students’ “wants” speak for themselves. And, we created nine “video conversations” highlighting the core tenets students were looking for that they could find at J&J to be released in paid social.

The paid social drove to an on-campus event where students were invited to have an in-person conversation with real J&J employees (not just the recruiters).

The event, which was once a simple Powerpoint presentation and Q&A, became an interactive conversation at every turn– whether students were learning about the company through a trivia game, taking a Buzzfeed-style Career Finder Quiz or speed networking with J&J employees in their field.

The result? We changed the game for recruitment. After increased event turnout and job applications, and an overwhelmingly positive response from students, we scaled the program for MBA students and Canada, and will be back again for Fall 2019. J&J even won a NACE Award for Recruiting Excellence.