Contributed by Christine Bolzan, Vice-Chancellor – Experiential Education, Northeastern University

As someone who spends a lot of time talking with employers about what they actually need from early-career talent, I’ve noticed a quiet concern emerging across industries: the more automated hiring becomes, the harder it is to find the people who can actually do the work that matters most.

The Massachusetts Business Roundtable has been a powerful partner in this work. Of your member organizations, 74% have participated in Northeastern’s co-op program and 43% are active partners right now, collectively hiring close to 1,000 co-op students in the current cycle alone. Since 2004, MBR members have welcomed more than 23,000 Northeastern students into co-op roles. That depth of engagement is a testament to what experiential education, done right, delivers.

Humanics: The Foundation

President Joseph Aoun has written that thriving in today’s workplace requires three integrated literacies: human literacy (creativity, empathy, communication, cultural agility), technological literacy (understanding and collaborating with machines), and data literacy (navigating and analyzing information). That thinking has deeply shaped how we approach preparing students for the modern workplace. In an era of automated screening, I believe human literacy has become the most urgent priority.

Emotional intelligence, ethical reasoning, adaptability, and resilience cannot be taught through lectures alone. They develop through experience and genuine interaction. This is why Northeastern’s experiential education goes far beyond placing students in co-ops. We intentionally build opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate the human capabilities employers value most.

Building Human Skills Through Guided Experience

Our required, co-op preparation courses are intensive training grounds for professional communication and workplace readiness. Students learn to articulate their experiences compellingly, listen actively in interviews, and build rapport with colleagues which is grounded in the reality that authenticity and presence matter in professional settings.

This preparation continues through one-on-one career advising, where students explore pathways aligned with their values and aspirations. Career educators engage students in conversations about what they want to contribute, how they work best with others, and what environments help them thrive, developing the self-awareness and ability to communicate purpose that resonates with hiring managers even when AI tools are part of the screening process.

Equally important is guided reflection during and after experiential learning. Whether students are completing co-ops, participating in hackathons, or engaging in company treks, faculty and career educators help them process what they’re learning which builds the metacognitive skills to articulate not just what they did, but how they approached challenges and grew through setbacks.

Humans Hiring Humans

The result is that Northeastern students enter recruiting processes as whole people, not profiles optimized for algorithmic screening. Our employer partners consistently tell us what they value most isn’t just technical skills. It’s students’ eagerness to contribute, ability to collaborate, and maturity in navigating workplace dynamics.

Our co-op model creates a built-in advantage: repeated opportunities for students to prove themselves in real work environments where human relationships matter. When a student completes a successful co-op, they’re not just another resume in a pile. They’re a known quantity whose work ethic, creativity, and leadership have been witnessed firsthand. That human validation carries weight no AI-optimized application can match.

As AI continues to reshape recruiting, Northeastern’s commitment to experiential learning and humanics becomes more crucial than ever. We’re not preparing students to game algorithmic systems. We’re developing the distinctly human capabilities of empathy, communication, ethical reasoning, resilience, and cultural agility that allow students to build genuine professional relationships in workplaces where leadership still requires the human touch.

In a world increasingly mediated by technology, ensuring that humans are hiring humans isn’t just a philosophical stance. It’s a competitive advantage. I’d welcome the chance to talk with any MBR member about how we can deepen that work together.