According to data from Scholars, an early-stage startup matching students and companies for jobs, roughly 30% of internships have been cancelled over the past three months due to COVID-19. If these numbers represent internships as a whole, that means almost one million students lost an internship opportunity. On top of that, 55% of companies have moved their programs remote. There were similar numbers of cancelled internships during the 2008 economic crash and many companies lost their talent pipelines because of it. Scholars is on a mission to make sure these issues never happen again by matching companies and students for internships and entry-level roles based on interests, skills and experiences.
The most recent investment of more than $300K in Scholars comes from LogicBoost Labs, a San Diego based startup accelerator. The Scholars’ platform is designed for recruiters to digitally engage with students from across the country ensuring that companies always have a diverse talent pipeline during both pandemic and prosperous times.
Ben Siegel, co-founder at Scholars says, “COVID-19 has completely changed the way companies will recruit college students. Companies that embrace technology to engage with and recruit students will definitely have a leg up in the future.” Scholars is focused on building a holistic entry-level recruitment platform. Siegel continues, “Although it is not the same as a career fair, recruiters can still deliver an amazing online experience through a platform like Scholars. Plus, they can connect with students from hundreds of different schools at the same time.”
LogicBoost Labs is providing the investment and strategic partnership to Scholars. “We saw similar uncertainty during the 2008 financial crisis. The companies that stayed strong and invested in the future went on to do great things” said Jonathan Cogley, CEO at LogicBoost Labs. “Scholars has the right mix of experience, talent and tenacity to help university recruiters throughout the U.S.”
The founders of Scholars, Ben Siegel, Parker Pell and Evan Deere, attribute their early success to being recent college graduates who have experienced these pains firsthand. They’ve built a platform that college students love just as much as recruiters do. Nearly 100,000 students have already joined the Scholars network since they launched less than a year ago.
Scholars matches students with companies based on the students’ skills, experiences and interests. Founded in 2019 by Ben Siegel, Parker Pell, and Evan Deere, the platform allows companies to increase brand recognition on college campuses, build talent pipelines based on preferred criteria and engage with students before inviting them to interview or apply.
