What is Forage?
Forage–provided by the Duke Career Center–may be a great way to get to know a company. Employers who want to hire students like you post industry projects or job simulations as a way for applicants to learn more about what it’s like to do the work they offer, and these projects are even used as tools for hiring.
Why should engineering students use Forage?
Through Forage projects, you can learn directly from leading companies and gain valuable career skills by completing virtual work experiences on Forage. The projects let you test “a day in the life of” tasks and make for great talking points when networking with the same companies at career fairs and conducting informational and job interviews with their employees. Read more about using Forage as a networking tool on our blog post!
Can I put completed Forage projects on my Resumes, LinkedIn and in Cover Letters?
After you complete a job simulation, you’ll get a certificate of completion. Once you get certification, projects can go in the Certifications section of your resume as long as you follow the referencing guidelines on the Forage website.
Fortune 500 Employers are Using Forage to Recruit Talent
What kinds of job simulations can I complete?
You can complete engineering-focused simulations that are projected to take you one to two hours or choose one that takes up to six hours in a huge variety of job functions.
- Product Marketing
- Project Management
- Software Development & Engineering
- Data Analytics and Data Science
- Technical Consulting
- Supply Chain
- Quantitative Research
- Financial Analysis, Audit, and Quantitative research
- Mechanical Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
How do I get started?
To get started, just click our resource link to go to our custom page with engineering roles curated by your career coaches just for you! From there you’ll be able to filter by industry or take a quiz to match you to simulations that interest you.
Common Questions and Answers:
Q: Will employers see my work?
A: Employers are never able to see the work students submit for any task or simulation! Employers are unable to access this information for primarily two reasons: To create a safe space for exploration for students and because employers aren’t using Forage as an assessment tool but rather to identify high-intent candidates.
Q: How do employers use this tool to identify high-intent candidates?
A: Employers have access to a separate dashboard that alerts them whenever consenting students complete any of their simulations. Within their dashboard, they can see how many of their simulations that student has completed and can begin engaging/connecting with the student by sharing information about unique job-related activities (Internship opportunities, application dates, networking events). Again, the employer does not see the student’s actual work.
Q. How do I know if I did a good job on a simulation?
A: Students unlock an example answer after submitting their work within a simulation. This example answer is completed by an employee from whichever company’s simulation they’re working on. This example answer also gives the student a chance to compare their work with an employee’s to see what their strong points were, but also to identify if there’s any room for improvement – in a risk/assessment-free environment.
