Thousands of students graduate every year from college with zero experience in their chosen field. Then they head out into the job search and have to make someone believe that they\’re a good choice for employment. I was one of those people, and I can tell you that it\’s very tough.

Who wants to give you a job when you have no experience, and how can you get experience without a job?

GrouperEye to the rescue!

And that\’s where GrouperEye comes in. They have developed an online platform that allows employers to meet and engage with their prospective entry level employees and interns. I spoke with Dave Rodriguez, the President of GrouperEye, and he explained the process to me. It works like this:

Company signs up for an account.

Company posts a “case.”

Students submit their answers to the problem.

The company picks a handful of winners.

The company ends up with a small group of qualified prospective employees, and the students have some experience to put on their resumes. It\’s a win-win.

Seems pretty easy, right? That\’s what I said! There is so much to be gained from this sort of process. In most cases, companies get hundreds of applications to an open position. Why not filter out those who aren\’t serious about working for you by requiring them to participate in a Grouper Eye challenge?

And to take it further, Grouper Eye\’s employer back-end panel can be used as an ATS for entry level positions and internships. An example of a current case is one by HealthCentral, who is looking for a social media plan to advance its online presence. Some enterprising student can research, build, and submit a presentation on building a social media plan for this company. And even if that student doesn\’t win, he/she has an immediate work sample to take to an interview.

I’ve just scratched the surface of the possibilities, but if you\’d like to try it out, then give Dave a shout on Twitter or via the contact page on the site. Don’t miss out!