Students Reflect on the Career Opportunities Available Through Tallo

Students in the state of Iowa are discovering Tallo, a company that connects students to opportunities like internships, apprenticeships and careers, during the scholarship search process. Tallo represents all types of students, from middle school and high school to college and adult learners. Two Greater Des Moines (DSM) students, Henry Shires and Abhushan Pradhan, share insight into Tallo’s community, as well as why they recommend it for other students in the region.

Henry Shires, a student at Valley High School, was looking for as many scholarships as possible to fund his four-year degree. During that search, he stumbled on Tallo. As a partner of Red Kite, a scholarship database which awards $20 billion in financial aid, Tallo allowed him to easily apply for scholarships and receive dollars towards his education.

Scholarships

Shires’s scholarship search through Tallo paid off when he was awarded a $1,000 scholarship in the fall of 2020. Each month Tallo awards a student $1,000 for simply creating an account. Scholarship giveaways are regularly held through the platform to highlight high-achieving students, such as this Pennsylvania student who was awarded $50,000, and to encourage students to keep their profiles updated.

Be Recruited

For student users, Tallo allows colleges/universities and businesses to contact students as part of a formal recruiting strategy. Recruiters have the capability to search for students who fit their desired candidate for major programs or career/internship opportunities based upon information students add to their Tallo accounts. Once recruiters have identified their ideal candidates, they can message students to begin conversations about their program or business.

Abhushan Pradhan, a Valley High School student, has had one such experience. Pradhan had been using the Tallo platform for nearly a year when he was contacted by Deloitte based on his interest in computer science and involvement in the robotics program as the lead programmer at Valley High School. When Pradhan was contacted by Deloitte, initially he was unfamiliar with the company. After doing some research, he began chatting with the recruiter through the platform. Ultimately Pradhan has signed up for a team tech challenge offered by Deloitte over (2021) summer. Deloitte’s Team Tech Challenge is a virtual challenge designed to test technical skills through competition with a focus on artificial intelligence, block chain and analytics.

Why Should Students Use Tallo?

Both Shires and Pradhan encourage other high school students to use Tallo. The platform is free for students and never expires. Shires says, “Tallo brings opportunities to students much faster than if they were looking on their own.” The platform does much of the work for students and is intuitive to use. Similarly, Pradhan encourages students who are busy to use the platform because it “lessens the burden of us (students) seeking employers and opportunities all the time,” instead, such as in Pradhan’s experience, companies can seek out students with career opportunities.

Henry Shires Q+A

Why did you choose to use Tallo?

My original intent for my junior and senior years was to find as many scholarships as possible to fund my post-secondary education at a university for a four-year degree, and when searching for possible scholarships to apply for, I stumbled on Tallo. I noticed Tallo allowed me to apply for simple scholarships and gave me the chance to receive thousands of dollars, and so my main use for it was that. I tried it for a bit to see how effective it was, and I ended up becoming a recipient of the Iowa Students $1,000 scholarship that I believe was funded by the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

How long have you been using the Tallo platform?

I used it often for about a year until I received a scholarship, and since my chances of receiving another one are very low, I have used it less.

What are Tallo’s best features?

The Scholarships feature has been most beneficial to me in my years of using Tallo.

How easy is it to use?

The website is clean and easy to use. My only complaint is that the mobile app seems to only redirect users to their website when attempting to use any features. I would suggest making the app more versatile in allowing users to use more Tallo features on a native app rather than the minimal, clunky web redirector that it is now, as well as redesigning the fundamental structure of the app.

Would you suggest that other students use the platform? Why?

I would recommend using Tallo to other students, and I would suggest trying all of the features Tallo has to offer to expand students' chances of receiving contacts, scholarships and other helpful connections to begin developing a college and career path. Tallo brings opportunities to students much faster than if they were to scavenge the internet on their own. Tallo does the dirty work in finding matching opportunities and companies who are interested in finding students so students can use their time to apply for and build those networks/funds.

Abhushan Pradhan Q+A

Why did you choose to use Tallo?

I first heard about Tallo from my mom, and I thought it was a good way for me to start building my professional image and to connect with colleges and organizations and find more about colleges, connect with employers, learn about internship and scholarship opportunities and such.

How long have you been using the Tallo platform?

I have been using Tallo for a little over a year now.

What have been the best features that you have used?

One of the features that I have benefited from is the ability to receive messages from employers and organizations. I have made contact with many organizations through this feature and have found many opportunities because of it. One such opportunity is the Team Tech Challenge, offered by Deloitte.

I had never heard about Deloitte so I asked my parents if they know about the organization. Both my parents informed me how amazing Deloitte as an organization is. I looked up the company to learn more about it. I have signed up for a Team tech Challenge offered to me by Deloitte over summer.

As a student, I am interested in computer science. I am involved in the robotics program at Valley High School and a lead programmer for the team. I am also an emerging entrepreneur. I, along with four other friends, have spent numerous hours in the last two years building an app that will allow high school baseball teams to track data and analyze the game to players to make improvements.

It is amazing to learn through Tallo about new companies that we have not heard before and for them to reach out to me directly with opportunities. As a student with many responsibilities and little knowledge about what’s out there, I think that is a pretty neat feature that helps us as students and lessens the burden of us seeking employers and opportunities all the time.

I would encourage more companies to do that and not wait for students to reach out to them all the time as students might not know about them and all the opportunities out there.

How easy is it to use?

It is pretty user friendly.

Would you suggest that other students use the platform? Why?

I recommend this platform because it’s a good way to find opportunities.

Learn more about Tallo offerings at tallo.com.

Job opportunities and career resources are abundant in Greater Des Moines (DSM). Whether you're looking to find an internship, a job, develop professionally or grow as a student, we have the resources to help you thrive.