Joe Hayes Earns Board of Regents KUDOS Award

The Board of Regents is pleased to present a KUDOS award to Joe Hayes, Assistant Director of Employer Relations within the Academic and Career Development Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO).

Joe has now been with ACDC for four years, having come to the office with prior knowledge of career advising and career centers. His rich experience coupled with his desire to learn new skills and share new insights has made him a strong team member and a valuable asset to the ACDC team.

In summer 2018, Joe was selected to create and lead a Washington D.C. enrichment program for students interning in the D.C. area. This program serves not only students at UNO but from the entire University of Nebraska system; UNK, UNL and UNMC. This responsibility was assumed on top of his current role as Assistant Director of Employer Relations and also required him to relocate to the D.C. area short term over the summer. His ability to accept that responsibility while also maintaining the quality of service to UNO employers was exceptional.

That same summer, Joe also led the implementation of a new job board product called Handshake. He thrived with the multiple areas of responsibility and represented UNO well at the system-level with his great work with the D.C. internship enrichment program and the Handshake implementation.

In the office, Joe’s main responsibility is to maintain strong relationships with the many employers that hope to hire UNO students. Recently, he created a system in which those employers can easily schedule quick conversations with him online and always makes himself readily available for calls, questions and meetings. His responsive communication with employers is one of the many reasons that UNO employers are always so happy and appreciative.

Adaptability is something Joe exercises often, especially in coordinating employers and career fairs. Employers often have last minute changes come up in plans and it is Joe’s job to make sure the student experience remains the same despite any changes. Fantastic at making things work under pressure, Joe will often step up as a career advisor when needed and has volunteered countless times to take career appointments a couple days a week to help accommodate the busy advising loads in the ACDC office.