How to recruit graduates in 5 steps

Are you looking to attract and recruit graduates to join your team? It’s important to optimise your hiring strategy to resonate with the next generation of talent.

Here’s how you can run a successful graduate recruitment campaign to bring the best new talent to your workforce.

Why your business needs graduate recruitment…

Graduates are the next generation of talent – the business leaders of the future! Engaging fresh candidates is essential for the continued success of your workforce.

Recruiting graduates gives you the opportunity to nurture new talent and skills within your workforce, leading your business towards a more prosperous future. 

Freshly educated candidates have more knowledge and skills than ever before – bringing innovation and current best practices into your team.

How can I recruit graduates?

Targeting graduates can be more challenging than engaging ‘seasoned’ professionals. You need to recognise the wants, needs, and expectations of the next generation – selling your company as an attractive place to begin their career.

Here’s how you can optimise your hiring campaigns to appeal to graduate candidates…

#1 – Ensure your vacancies appeal to ‘less experienced’ candidates

Applying for a role with little/no experience can be nerve-racking. Make sure your vacancies appeal to candidates with less on-the-job experience; focus less on career history, and more on your company’s learning and training initiatives.

Advertise appropriate roles as ‘graduate friendly’ to ensure younger applicants feel confident in pursuing your opportunities.

#2 – Make your EVP resonate with younger talent

Recently-graduated candidates will likely have vastly different expectations to those of your more ‘seasoned’ employees. Make sure your company culture (including employee benefits and incentives) truly resonates with the next generation of talent.

Survey your ‘newer’ employees to identify which benefits/cultural factors matter most/least to them. This will help you to identify which factors to shout about across graduate hiring campaigns.

For example, benefits such as life insurance or healthcare packages may be a hit with more mature employees, but may be deemed less important by the younger end of your workforce. Build a dynamic Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that meets the unique wants/needs of employees from all backgrounds. 

Try using gamified survey tools to identify employees’ expectations

#3 – Advertise in the right places

Different age groups of candidates will search for opportunities in different places. Make sure to target platforms most popular with graduate candidates, such as social media or online job boards.

64% of employers* now use social media to advertise their vacancies. Failing to cover all platforms will lead to you missing out on a vast number of compatible candidates.

To recruit graduates, polish your brand’s social media presence, and use your profiles to promote new opportunities. This ensures your vacancies are always promoted to the newest generation of talent – boosting the success of graduate hiring campaigns.

*Talos360’s Hiring Trends Stats Report 2021

#4 – Shout about learning & development opportunities

Today’s graduates are more ambitious than ever; they don’t want to enter a role without the option of progression. 

If you want to recruit graduates with ambition, shout about learning and development opportunities available to your employees. Make it clear to candidates where the role can take their career, especially when marketing entry-level positions.

Graduate vacancies are far more than just ‘jobs’ – they’re the first step for many into an exciting new career. How will your company help its graduate recruits to thrive and progress in their roles?

#5 – Provide an engaging candidate experience

The ‘candidate experience’ is often overlooked when developing a recruitment process. However, it’s an essential part of engaging new talent, and giving new recruits the best start possible with your business.

Recruiting graduates is a competitive business; candidates have more opportunities available to them than ever before. It’s therefore crucial to give candidates an engaging hiring journey, ensuring they choose you over any other employer.

Keep candidates in the loop at every stage of their hiring journey, including in receipt of application, pre/post-interview, and during onboarding. This reduces the risk of applications being abandoned, and ensures new employees can start their new roles with confidence.

Introducing…

Talos ATS: Graduate recruitment made easy!

Talos ATS is an all-in-one recruitment platform, making it easy for in-house hiring teams to attract, manage, and onboard new talent.

The platform combines all the best recruitment software tools into one user-friendly dashboard, providing a true end-to-end talent acquisition solution.

Talos ATS includes:

• Multi-posting recruitment advertising suite
• Fully-branded careers page 
• Remote video screening/interview tools
• Next-generation Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
• Automated progression of your strongest candidates
• SMS/email updates for applicants at each hiring stage
• Employee onboarding tools and resources