Campus Pride, the nation’s premier nonprofit dedicated to building future leaders and making college and university campuses safer and more welcoming for LGBTQ people, announced November 2 the creation of Campus Pride Career Connect, a one-stop career engagement portal creating meaningful, authentic relationships between LGBTQ young adults and prospective employers.

Through this new platform, LGBTQ+ students can connect with employees for specific career prep help or as mentors to assist on their career journey; get career prep, job skills, and resources; and find jobs and internships in the fields that most interest them.

“While more companies have made great strides in LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices, there still remains systemic cultural disparities and bias for LGBTQ+ people on the job and in recruitment, hiring and the search process,” said Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer.

“The idea came from several conversations with LGBTQ+ students, specifically our trans, nonbinary and queer youth of color, who shared trepidation about applying for certain jobs and the hiring processes. The Career Connect platform will create that safe space for LGBTQ+ young adults to engage with professionals via career prep help, mentorship and one on one relationships, breaking down those systemic barriers and opening up career path opportunities early-on.”

LGBTQ-friendly employers will use the Career Connect platform to recruit a diverse talent pool of job candidates; connect with upcoming talent early in their college careers to build job skills and readiness; and offer their existing employees volunteer opportunities to get directly involved in helping LGBTQ+ young people as they start their career paths.

“As a company that embraces diversity and has created an inclusive workplace, the implementation of the Campus Pride Career Connect platform will ensure that Ally is connected to the best and brightest young talent,” said Brian Roach, Sr. Director of Marketing at Ally Financial. “The market is especially competitive – having the platform available to our recruitment teams will help us build relationships with a new generation of leaders as they start their careers.”

“The Campus Pride Career Connect began three years ago as an idea for ways to support LGBTQ+ young people as they make the transition from school to chosen career,” said Campus Pride Board Chair Tom Elliott, a graduate of the 2008 Camp Pride Leadership Academy. “I’m so thankful to all the Campus Pride staff, volunteers, and board members for pushing this concept forward, and to each of our inaugural corporate partners for supporting and investing in the next generation of LGBTQ+ talent.”

Campus Pride Career Connect is available at www.campuspridecareerconnect.org/. There is no cost for anyone signing up as students, connectors or as mentors. Companies and Career Centers may register as partners with a paid membership at various benefit levels to post jobs, internships, events, resources and more.

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