Business Guide

Getting Started

MESH connects your business with motivated students across South Central Indiana's 10-county region. Whether you're looking for interns, offering job shadowing experiences, or creating case study projects, MESH makes it easy to find the right talent.

Complete your business profile first. Navigate to your profile settings and add your company description, industry, address, and contact information. This helps students learn about your business and enables distance-based search results.

Posting Opportunities

Opportunity Types

Required Fields

• Title: Clear, descriptive name (e.g., "Marketing Intern" or "Construction Job Shadow")
• Type: Select from the opportunity types above
• Description: Explain what students will do, learn, and experience
• Requirements: List skills, qualifications, or prerequisites needed
• Location: Where the opportunity takes place (defaults to your business address)

Optional but Recommended

• Compensation: If paid, specify hourly rate or stipend amount
• Hours per Week: Expected time commitment
• Duration: How long the opportunity lasts (e.g., "3 months" or "1 day")
• Start Date: When the opportunity begins
• Application Deadline: Last day to apply
• Age Requirements: Minimum and/or maximum age (see Youth Safety section below)
• Skills: Specific technical or soft skills students will develop

Writing Effective Descriptions

Be specific about what students will do. Instead of "assist with marketing," write "create social media content, analyze campaign performance, and attend client meetings."

Highlight learning opportunities. Students want to know what skills they'll gain. Mention training, mentorship, or certifications they'll receive.

Set clear expectations. Be upfront about physical requirements (standing, lifting), schedule flexibility, transportation needs, or background checks.

Youth Safety & Age Requirements

MESH takes student safety seriously. When posting opportunities, you can set minimum and maximum age requirements to ensure age-appropriate placements.

Setting Age Requirements

When creating an opportunity, use the Minimum Age and Maximum Age fields to specify age restrictions. For example, set minimum age to 18 for opportunities involving heavy machinery, driving, or handling sensitive information.

Students will only see opportunities they're eligible for based on their age. Age badges (e.g., "Ages 16–21") display on opportunity cards so students understand requirements before applying.

Parental Approval for Minors

When a student under 18 applies to your opportunity, MESH automatically requires parental approval before the connection becomes active. Parents receive a notification with opportunity details and must approve before their child can proceed.

You'll see "Pending Parental Approval" status on applications from minors. Once parents approve, you'll be notified and can move forward with the student.

Recommended Age Guidelines

• Ages 14-15: Job shadowing, volunteer work, light office tasks
• Ages 16-17: Internships with supervision, retail, food service, administrative work
• Ages 18+: All opportunity types, including those requiring certifications or handling equipment

Managing Applications

Reviewing Student Profiles

When students apply, you'll receive a notification and can view their full profile. Student profiles include academic background, career interests, skills, work experience, and career assessment results that show personality traits and career matches.

Application Statuses

• Pending: Student has applied, awaiting your review
• Pending Parental Approval: You've accepted a minor's application, waiting for parent approval
• Accepted: You've approved the student for the opportunity
• Rejected: Application was declined
• Withdrawn: Student withdrew their application

Messaging Students

Use MESH's built-in messaging to communicate with applicants. Schedule interviews, share additional details, or answer questions. All communication stays within the platform for safety and transparency.

Best Practices

Respond promptly. Students are often applying to multiple opportunities. Quick responses show professionalism and help you secure top talent.

Be transparent about next steps. Let students know what to expect after applying—whether it's an interview, background check, or start date.

Provide feedback when declining. If you reject an application, consider sharing constructive feedback to help students improve for future opportunities.

Location & Distance

MESH serves South Central Indiana's 10-county region (Bloomington, Columbus, Bedford, Nashville, Seymour, and surrounding areas). Students can filter opportunities by distance from their location, making it easy to find nearby experiences.

Setting Your Business Location

Complete your business profile with your full address (street, city, state, ZIP code). MESH automatically geocodes your address to calculate distances for students. Accurate addresses help students find your opportunities and plan transportation.

Remote Opportunities

If your opportunity is fully remote, toggle the Remote option when posting. Remote opportunities appear in all students' searches regardless of location, expanding your talent pool.

Managing Your Opportunities

Opportunity Statuses

• Draft: Not visible to students; use this while you're still editing
• Active: Live and visible to students in search results
• Paused: Temporarily hidden from search; useful if you need to pause applications
• Closed: No longer accepting applications but still visible in your dashboard
• Filled: Position has been filled; automatically hides from search

Editing Opportunities

You can edit any opportunity at any time from your dashboard. Update descriptions, change deadlines, or adjust age requirements as needed. Students who already applied will see the updated information.

Closing or Pausing

When you've found the right student, mark the opportunity as Filled to remove it from search results. If you need to temporarily stop applications (e.g., during a busy season), set the status to Paused—you can reactivate it later without recreating the posting.

Privacy & Data Protection

MESH is committed to protecting student privacy and complying with data protection regulations including FERPA, COPPA, and GDPR/CCPA.

What You Can See

You can view student profiles, applications, and career assessment results only for students who apply to your opportunities. Student contact information (email, phone) is shared only after you accept their application and (for minors) parents approve the connection.

Data Usage

Student data is used solely for connecting students with opportunities and workforce development analytics. MESH never sells student data to third parties. Aggregated, anonymized data may be shared with Regional Opportunity Index (ROI) partners to inform workforce development strategies.

Reporting Concerns

If you encounter inappropriate behavior, safety concerns, or policy violations, use the Reportbutton on student profiles or messages. MESH administrators review all reports promptly and take appropriate action.

Tips for Success

Attract Top Talent

Offer meaningful work. Students want real responsibilities, not just coffee runs. Highlight projects they'll own and skills they'll develop.

Be flexible with schedules. Students balance school, extracurriculars, and family commitments. Flexible hours or remote options make your opportunity more attractive.

Provide mentorship. Students value learning from experienced professionals. Assign a mentor or supervisor who can guide their development.

Build Long-Term Relationships

Think pipeline, not just placement. Today's intern could be tomorrow's full-time hire. Invest in student development to build your future workforce.

Stay connected. Even if a student doesn't work out for one opportunity, they might be perfect for another. Keep your MESH profile active and post regularly.

Share your success. When students excel, celebrate their achievements. Positive experiences encourage more students to apply and strengthen your employer brand.