Each year, millions of qualified candidates graduate college, and while some students are employed before they leave, many are left eager to join the workforce as soon as possible. This provides HR teams with a pool of highly-educated millennials to recruit from.
To access the best talent from campuses across the country, companies should maintain a robust campus recruitment strategy. This will allow them to begin connecting with students before they graduate to encourage them to apply at your company when they are ready. Doing this can also help you compete with other recruiters looking for talent in the same industry.
Improve your talent acquisition plan today by implementing these five techniques:
1. Establish Relationships with Campus Career Departments
It’s important to build relationships with the career departments of your target schools way before you set foot on their campus. Many will have specific guidelines, timelines, and events associated with the recruitment process.
You don’t want to overstep the mark or miss out on an opportunity to connect with exceptional students who may become your potential new hires. Career departments can act as your guide and support your search for up and coming young professionals.
2. Connect With Students Where They Are
One of the reasons companies focus on-campus recruitment is because it's a way to meet potential employees on their turf. But the campus shouldn’t be the only place you connect with students. Social media offers companies an ideal opportunity to build relationships with students through a platform on which they feel at home and spend a large chunk of their time.
Develop a tailored social media recruiting strategy across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (popular social channels for college students). Consider advertising as well as starting conversations with prospective employees.
3. Offer Internship Opportunities to Find the Perfect Fit
It’s amazing how many companies invest in hiring college graduates, yet overlook internships for students who aren’t graduating. Many of the best candidates won’t even be looking for jobs come graduation because they’ve already secured a role through a previous internship.
Students are eager to get experience as they are to get a full-time job. Leverage that and build an internship program that exposes your brand to students. This will give them a taste of your company and industry and lets you assess their skills over a designated time period. That way, you can find and nurture the perfect candidate.
4. Cultivate a Network of On-Campus Student Ambassadors
It’s impossible for your company to have a presence on campuses, at all times. Or is it? If you have an internship program, you have a pool of (hopefully) willing candidates for student ambassador roles. When they return to their schools during the semester, they can help you spread your brand message and recruit new students for future internship and graduate opportunities.
Read more: 4 Best Practices to Recruiting Millennials
5. Leverage The Power of The Alumni Network
It’s essential for students that they can see real progression opportunities within your company. What better way to prove this to them than by using alumni from their school.
Arranging alumni-student interviews and Q & A’s is a fantastic way to build a rapport with your current employees and your future ones. Not only will it provide students with a clear path to success, demonstrating you hire and value their school’s talent, but it can also build tremendous brand loyalty.
Campus recruiting is an integral part of many organizational hiring strategies. It provides businesses with a new pool of tech-savvy, entry-level candidates who are in tune with the latest trends to recruit from.
Learn More: Why Campus Recruitment Is a Crucial Step to Attracting Top Talent
Partnering with a staffing and recruiting firm, like Sparks Group, can improve your campus recruitment strategy by helping your HR team create valuable partnerships with top colleges and universities. Thanks to their robust network of qualified candidates, a staffing and recruiting firm can connect you with colleges that have students who are interested in working in your company or industry and allow you to recruit from the newest talent in the job force.
Need help with your graduate recruitment strategy? Contact Sparks Group today to schedule a free consultation with one of our staffing and recruiting experts.
