9 Things You Need to Know About Graduate Recruitment
Publié le 22 May 2023
Hiring recent grads can be rewarding for your organization, but also presents specific challenges. There are 9 things you need to know about graduate recruitment, and how it can benefit your business.
Recent graduates can make great additions to any team. They bring a fresh perspective and can fill those open entry-level positions.
But graduate recruitment can be challenging, with a unique set of considerations to keep in mind. So, you’ll want to bookmark this blog whether you’re seeking to attract the most talented graduates or help new grads secure their dream jobs.
With these 9 things you need to know about graduate recruitment, you’ll have all the knowledge and insights you need to ace the grad hiring process. Let’s dive in and make your next round of graduate recruitment a resounding success.
Why Recruit New Graduates?
Before we dive into graduate recruitment strategies, let’s take a moment to discuss some of the reasons you’d want to hire recent graduates for your business.
They are eager
College graduates are generally more energized because they have new goals and are eager to start their adult lives after so many years of school.
They have not yet been beaten down by an unengaged business culture or jobs that they don’t really enjoy. This creates an opportunity to recruit candidates who are teaming with enthusiasm and drive.
Plus, by bringing these people onto your team, you can cultivate these qualities within your business culture.
Generational strengths
Gen Z is notorious for demanding efficient communication and honesty. Their perspectives are different than those of older generations. Luckily, hiring new grads will bring people from this young generation onto your team.
Since many Gen Zs grew up with handheld access to the internet, they’re known to fact-check and source information at the drop of a dime. They have the ability to educate themselves, as well as having the expectation that those around them will remain informed.
They’re plugged in
Hiring younger people who keep their fingers on the pulse of pop culture will help your business stay modern. They can help you stay on trend and explore new opportunities for your business.
For example, this age group is mostly educated with a digital-focused curriculum, so they can help you leverage new technology such as AI writing tools, online programs, visual content creation tools, and more.
Plus, recent graduates are great additions to marketing teams since most grew up with social media and are ingrained in the digital culture. Staying on the pulse is key to creating viral content that puts your business on the map.
They can help you identify the best memes to create and trends to jump on. For example, banana bread recipes were all the hype during the pandemic. The fresh perspective recent grads have will help you continue to jump on whatever is next.
9 graduate recruitment strategies and tips
Now that you’re familiar with the benefits of graduate recruitment, let’s dive into some more actionable strategies and tips for hiring students who have just graduated. These are 9 things you need to know about graduate recruitment.
1. Optimize job descriptions
Optimizing your job descriptions is key to attracting graduates. Using an AI writer to create a first draft can be a good way to start, as long as your HR team should review and tweak it from there.
As you create your job descriptions, it’s important to remember Gen Z’s preference for transparency, especially regarding compensation. Although graduate recruitment is typically used for entry-level jobs, your recent graduate applicants will appreciate knowing what kind of salary and benefits you can offer.
2. Use social media
Don’t forget the power of social media and other online platforms to showcase your company culture and values. Since many modern students are on social media, this is a great way to connect with prospective employees from this age group.
By sharing employee success stories, company updates, and behind-the-scenes stories, you can build a strong employer brand to attract top talent. As you create this content, make sure to remain authentic to attract prospective employees with a great culture fit.
3. Offer competitive benefits
We mentioned before that members of Gen Z are typically particularly skilled at finding information on the internet due to the digital nature of modern curriculums. With that, recent grads can find the benefits that other companies offer for equivalent positions.
That’s why offering competitive benefits packages to your new hires is extremely important, and with the aid of an employee cost calculator, you’ll know how many extra benefits you can offer. It’ll show them you’re equipped to treat your team members as they deserve.
Some perks you could include in your benefits package include generous PTO allotments, health insurance, dental insurance, free lunch, and tuition reimbursements.
And believe it or not, 73% of employees are more inclined to stay with their current employer when provided with the proper benefits.
4. Attend job fairs
Many colleges host job fairs for soon-to-be graduates to connect with businesses nearby. Getting booths at job fairs at nearby schools is a great way to get to know some local graduates.
When you participate in job fairs, you should go in with a plan. Think about how you’ll forge and maintain connections with the students you meet. You can ask people to apply on the spot or collect contact information to follow up after the event.
It’s also a good idea to create a memorable setup. Perhaps you can offer branded merch or host a giveaway that requires students to follow you on social media. Both of these approaches will keep your brand in your potential new hires’ peripheral.
What’s cool about job fairs is that you can get as creative as you’d like to represent your business in a way that’s memorable.
5. Showcase the opportunity for growth
When it comes to recruiting college graduates, there are two main categories of people: those who have gotten their dream jobs right out of school and those who are still struggling to find the right fit.
Many recent grads find themselves in the latter category, looking for positions with opportunities for growth, like more responsibility or faster paths to promotion. And that’s the perfect scenario for startups hoping to fill positions with the best candidates.
Good employees are the secret sauce to starting a successful business and keeping it running smoothly. So if you plan on recruiting for a startup and attracting top talent, make yourself look appealing to recent grads by focusing on the growth potential within your organization and the opportunity for new graduates to show off their skills.
One way to do this is to partner with local universities or colleges to create co-op programs that last for a set period of time before they’re eligible for a promotion or raise. This strategy gives students practical experience and allows your business to evaluate potential candidates for full-time positions.
For example, you can offer a 6-month, apprenticeship-like program that builds new hires’ skills. This hands-on training could include check-ins with managers and other colleagues. The employee would be paid for all their time and would be eligible for a promotion at the end of the program period.
The result? A robust pipeline of qualified candidates for the job.
6. Hire locally
Another great graduate recruitment strategy is to focus on hiring locally around universities. Graduates will use terms like “jobs near me” when searching for jobs in their area, so make sure your jobs are listed for the location you’re targeting.
You can get your job listings to rank on Google for terms like “job near me” by posting them on popular job boards. Make sure you optimize the listings with relevant keywords and include the name of the university and the city in the job title and description.
These simple SEO strategies will increase the chances of your job listings appearing in the search results of graduates looking for jobs in your area. The importance of relevant keywords is definitely something you need to know about graduate recruitment.
7. Hire interns
Internships are becoming more popular parts of college curriculums. Sometimes, this involves on-campus internships, like in the financial aid department, or off-campus jobs at local businesses.
As a business, you can partner with universities to offer accredited internships. This is great because it gives you direct access to the students at the school.
Internship programs are customizable, and deciding how you want to structure them is up to you. Some internships are geared towards having an extra set of hands around the office, and others are more practical, such as having interns do basic writing tasks or voice-over jobs for beginners. Before starting an internship program, it’s important to learn about all the laws and regulations governing internships in your jurisdiction, and ensure that your organization abides by them at all times.
8. Create a mentorship program
Like internships and apprenticeships, mentorship programs are great for establishing relationships with students who have just graduated or will be graduating soon. These can start during a student’s last year or semester of school.
These programs will allow you to help students adopt the skills and experiences they need to excel in your business. Of course, this requires a time investment from your business and a commitment from personnel to provide quality mentoring. But it can be a great opportunity to recruit graduate candidates right out of the gate.
9. Create truly entry-level positions
Something important to know about the graduate recruitment process is that many grads get frustrated very quickly once they start the job application process. The reason for this is that positions that are labeled “entry-level” actually require several years of experience. It can be hard for them to create a resume and a cover letter that address these needs, while the past several years of their lives have been devoted to academic success.
To avoid being part of this problem, make sure you’re hiring for positions that are truly entry-level. Rather than years of experience, your requirements should revolve around transferable skills – also known as soft skills – such as communication, leadership, time management, and problem-solving.
10. Offer flexibility
The transition from college to the professional world is a difficult one. Students are used to flexible schedules. That’s why offering flexibility regarding PTO, work schedules, and work locations is a great way to improve your graduate recruitment efforts.
This doesn’t mean you should be lax on rules and boundaries, but it does mean that you could consider offering a hybrid work schedule. This type of working arrangement is popular with most workers, and addresses the needs and expectations of new grads who have been using remote working and learning set-ups for a large part of their lives.
Start recruiting graduates
If you want to recruit graduates, you can start with any of the tips or strategies we’ve discussed in this post. Every business is different, so it’s important to choose a strategy that makes the most sense for your goals and your ideal team members.
Are you ready to hire the best graduate candidates for your team? With 9 things you need to know about graduate recruitment, you’ll be well on your way to accomplishing this goal.
Happy hiring!
