MightyRecruiterIt doesn’t necessarily need to be the spring recruiting season for you to start preparing for recruiting college students and recent grads to work as employees and interns for your company. As a business owner, you realize how important proper preparation is, and on-campus recruiting is no different. Learn 10 key insights that are sure to boost your chances of attracting the fresh talent you desire.
1. Start With the Colleges
Before you actually start recruiting students to your business, you’ll first want to form a relationship with the colleges. Specifically, put your focus on the college or university’s career services in order that you’ll know how to best attract their students. Such services will have the best idea of which school organizations, clubs, departments and entities are most likely to have the type of students you’re searching for.
2. Allow Your Employees to Be Your Advocates
See if your best employees would be willing to act as company advocates and agents for your on-campus recruiting efforts. While business owners know their businesses better than anyone else, they aren’t always going to be the people future employees will be working beside day in and day out. By letting your current employees act as advocates, students and graduates get a better idea of what it’s like to work for your company.
3. Cooperative Education Programs and Internships
Everyone likes having a trial period on a product or service before they decide whether to make a long term commitment. Both cooperative education programs and internships give students firsthand knowledge about a company and a company firsthand knowledge about how well an individual is likely to perform should she or he decide to become an employee.
4. Know Where the Students Are
Something to always bear in mind when it comes to on-campus recruiting is that potential recruits aren’t always at the college fair. You’ll also want to have an online recruitment presence that is visually appealing and rich in content. Besides using social media to broadcast recruitment opportunities, you’ll want to have a recruitment section on your business site that has the message you want to send to potential hires and internship information.
5. Campus Ambassadors
In addition to your leading employees, you can also include former interns who are now long term employees with your recruitment efforts. These individuals are even better company advocates, mainly because they can relate to college students and know how to market your company.
6. Simplify the Application Process
It won’t do you much good to entice students and recent graduates with former interns and your top employees if applying to your company is a chore. Millennials enjoy an application process that’s simultaneously thorough, efficient and easy. Make sure every step in the application process is necessary and not redundant. Once you’ve simplified the application process, make sure you do your part by following up with interested students after your on-campus recruiting efforts..
7. Bring the Recruitment Process Down to Earth
Even if students can apply online, there may be some who have hard copy resumes they’re looking to hand out. It makes no difference if your company even accepts resumes, it’s still a good idea to at least look at the resume and give the person an idea of whether he or she is the type of candidate you’re looking for. Doing so helps save everyone’s time.
8. Get Your Priorities in Order
Everyone loves it when you make it rain with swag, but make sure there’s some substance behind those free items. While you’re handing out t-shirts, pens and mugs, make it clear what your company’s mission is, the reason the company was started and why someone would want to work for your company. Today’s youth’s are more focused on company concepts than you might think.
9. Be Honest
Honesty is key when it comes to on-campus recruiting and any other type of recruiting your company does. What this means is you want to be honest when it comes to evaluating resumes and when you’re informing students of the types and number of positions you currently have.
10. Touch Bases With Students
The recruiting doesn’t end with a job fair or online recruiting campaign. Make sure you follow up with interested students, even if it’s just to say you’re still considering applications or candidates. Doing so makes sure everyone’s on the same page and maintains interest.
For more tips on recruiting employees and making all-star hires, be sure to use the rest of the tools and articles found on Mighty Recruiter.