Career Catalysts Competition

The CES Career Catalysts Competition challenges interdisciplinary student teams to act as early talent consultants, developing research-based solutions to real-world recruitment issues submitted by employer partners. Each team must integrate CES support into their strategy. The top three teams, selected after preliminary judging, will present their final pitch at the RecruitED Summit on Wednesday, April 29.

Program Pillars

• Real Talent Acquisition Challenges
• Career Center Integration
• Data-Driven Insights
• Mentorship
• Interdisciplinary Teams
• Career Exploration
• Public Engagement

This selective, multi-week partnership program will connect employer mentors with interdisciplinary student teams, beginning with a kick-off event on Thursday, March 5 from 2-4 pm at the Gateway Transit Village in New Brunswick. With input from mentors and judges, we will identify real-world talent acquisition and early-career recruiting challenges.

Participating employers will serve as challenge sponsors, mentors, and judges, working directly with students to explore recruitment strategy, employer branding, and campus talent pipelines. The program culminates on Wednesday, April 29 with finalist presentations at the RecruitED Summit, where employers engage with student recommendations and emerging talent.

This is not a traditional career fair or case competition. It is a structured, multi-week mentored experience designed to generate research-based insights while strengthening employer-student relationships.

Application Deadline  |  Friday, February 20
Applications must be submitted before noon on Friday, February 20. Submission does not guarantee acceptance. Space is limited and applications will be reviewed to ensure a strong and balanced cohort.

Kick-off  |  Thursday, March 5 • 2-4 pm

Gateway Transit Village, College Ave Campus, New Brunswick
The Career Catalysts Competition will launch with an in-person Kick-off event on Thursday, March 5, from 2–4 pm at Gateway Transit Village in New Brunswick. This opening session officially brings together selected employer mentors, judges, and interdisciplinary student teams to begin their multi-week collaboration.
 

Mentor & Team Meetings  |  March 25 – April 23 (Minimum of 3) 

Team meetings will take place between March 25 – April 23. 
Virtual or during allotted times in CES offices — we have reservations blocks on Wednesdays at the Busch Campus Center and Thursdays at Gateway Transit Village from 1-4:30 pm. Student Teams should reach out to request a slot, if desired.
 

RecruitED Summit & Final Career Catalysts Case Competition Presentations 
Wednesday, April 29 | Summit: 10 am-2 pm
Presentations will take place during lunch at the 
Busch Student Center, Busch Campus, Piscataway

Judge involvement includes:

• Submission of a current talent acquisition or recruiting challenge for consideration by CES (Optional by February 18)
• Participation in kick-off programming
• Visibility for your organization across CES promotional materials and student engagement
• Judging of finalists' presentations during the RecruitED Summit on April 29

Please note registration allows you to provide one or two names. First, provide details for you or a colleague interested in serving as a Mentor, provide an additional name if one of you wishes to serve as a judge. Submission of this registration request does not guarantee acceptance. While invitations were highly selective, we may have more responses than able to accommodate.

The $1,500 fee includes one complimentary Career & Internship Fair Booth, for use in 2026, valued at $900. Your payment will go towards the following student team prizes:

• 1st Place: $2,500 (all awards will be divided among teams via student accounts)
• 2nd Place: $1,000
• 3rd Place: $500
• People’s Choice: $150

Mentor involvement includes:

• Submission of a current talent acquisition or recruiting challenge for consideration by CES (Optional by February 18)
• Participation in kick-off programming
• Dedicated mentoring of a student team (minimum of 3 touchpoints/meetings between March 25-April 16 - virtual or during allotted times in CES offices)
• Visibility for your organization across CES promotional materials and student engagement
• Participation in finalist presentations / judging during RecruitED on April 29 (strongly encouraged)