The ways in which companies attract graduates has significantly changed over the last decade. Now the tables have somewhat turned and graduates are becoming much more selective about what schemes they choose to apply for.
Employers once had the opportunity to pick the best, however now they are in the position where they have to work much harder to understand and attract top calibre candidates.
The rise of the internet, and social media in particular, as well as the amount of high profile attention on small to medium sized businesses, has meant that the landscape has become far more competitive when it comes to graduate recruitment.
For this reason it is even more important for companies to understand what the graduates that they are targeting are looking for, and what they expect from you as an employer.
It is important for a business to think about the scheme they are offering from a graduates’ perspective; ultimately it is a partnership that needs to be made in order to attract the best candidates.
Pick a clear message
When graduates visit your social media feeds, careers fairs or website, they are judging the opportunity, the company ethos and ultimately whether or not it seems like a good fit for them. As a result it is really important that you portray a consistent tone and ‘call to action’ throughout all your platforms.
Focus on answering the question ‘if candidates were to conclude what we are offering, what would I like them to say?’ Now you can think about how to go about conveying that message – it can really help to involve graduates already within in the company when it comes to understanding what might appeal.
Create a process for feedback
Getting your attraction process right is not just a one-off thing as it requires a long-term approach that is flexible. If you find that you receive a lot of enquires from the wrong type of candidates, ask yourself why that is and evaluate the changes that need to be made.
If however, you are receiving interest from the right kind of candidates, then think about the experience that you are giving them, throughout the whole process. You should want them to tell their friends about the process, even if they are successful or not.
This might mean providing feedback on why they were not successful or even just going the extra mile with a general enquiry.
If you’re an employer looking to attract the best graduate talent, find out how Discovery Graduates can help
