A blog post I wrote on a different site for prehealth advisors:
https://naahponline.org/2018/09/24/...-other-not-so-crazy-things-you-could-provide/ . Hopefully you should be able to access it.
EDIT: Blast, it does prompt you for an NAAHP login. Here are the short points:
1) Interview Attire and Accessories Borrowing/Discount Program
Most advisors have that “what not to wear” lecture they or career advisors give every year. A novel wrinkle to the usual presentation is to have a system where applicants can borrow interview attire and accessories. ... See if your career services office has set up a clothes-share program for students going to interviews. In addition, contact your University bookstore and alumni office for accessories that have the official school’s brand or logo, such as lapel pins, notepad portfolios, or business cards that you can provide at a discount.
(... Recently the New York Public Library began to allow its patrons to check out work attire for job interviews or accessories such as ties and handbags (
Raphelson, 2018). )
2) Travel microloans [
note: the original article was published in September 2018]
Students will likely spend hundreds to thousands of dollars in travel and housing costs to interviews. This presents a significant financial disincentive, and it would not surprise me if many of your own students have already engaged in personal online fundraising (gofundme) to help defray the costs. Perhaps one incentive is to give advisees a microloan credit system so they can borrow money to help with paying for exams, exam prep, applications, travel, clothes, or lodging during their application cycle. Talk to your administrators about having such emergency/discretionary funding available, and talk with someone at a business school about setting it up as a microloan project.
3) Professional-Style Headshot Sessions [following text below is not in the blog post]
I've started to see many career services office (like some of the UC schools) set up a digital photo booth specifically for professional headshots. If your campus has one, take advantage of this prior to applying so it can be shared with schools that decide to invite you to interview.