iCIMS Hire Expectations™

As a Talent Acquisition professional, I am acutely aware that career fairs are a beacon of Top Talent.  However, the career fair is the “grand finale;” there is a magnitude of preparation required to run a successful exhibit. 

First, it is important to identify universities, organizations, or professional groups that align with company requirements.  By leveraging programs that cater to your company’s needs, the fair will draw Top Talent candidates.   Also, asking the organizer for analytics of attendees can prepare the recruiter for positions in another office or branch of the company. 

Secondly, each fair is an opportunity to brand your company and showcase the company culture.  Each organization has a culture that is built on the relying of employees to contribute to the culture positively. At each career fair, the potential candidate is experiencing your company for the first time.  For this reason, it is best to bring as much of the office vibe with you; it will source the right culture fit.

Lastly, follow-up, follow-up, follow-up! In having a tight back-end recruitment process, where each candidate can be connected, is key.  Once you have met a potential candidate, it is imperative to realize that they have just experienced many companies in a short period of time.  Reconnect with all of the candidates.  This puts faith in the candidate that their resume was considered, and may encourage candidates to check back for the right opportunity. 

This process of attending career fairs hinges on the ability to cast wide net, engage potential candidates, and stay in touch.  As the process moves forward, the recruiter can bring onboard the Top Talent for the open position and feed their talent pool with engaged Top Talent for future opportunities.  Progressive and positive employment branding will lead to a better candidate experience and more engaged new hires.  

It is the start of the spring semester, also known as the final 4 months of freedom for a large number of students anticipating graduation this May. You can assume these individuals are basking in what remains of their care-free lifestyle. However, for most of us, this time is even more stressful than the prior 4 years combined. What could possibly be hanging over our heads, you ask? … The daunting task of securing a career!

For recruiters, on the other hand, this is an exciting time because the availability of top talent is at its highest. The question is: how can you be sure your company will attract and retain these recent grads? During frequent discussions regarding this topic with my friends, I have noticed recurring complaints regarding the application process, all of which can be easily prevented and improved upon.

1. What company am I applying for again? More often than not, my friends will glance over at me while completing their application and ask this question. Each time I think to myself, how do they know they will be an optimal employee for this position? And also, why would this company want an employee who isn’t certain what the company is all about? Avoiding these fundamental pitfalls is simple with consistent site branding. Make sure that your organization’s name, description, logos, and trademarks are all highly visible and easily found within the application process and description pages.
2. Similarly, what job am I applying for? I know…an unbelievable, yet still regularly asked question during the application process. After proceeding past the initial page the job title and description often disappear, making it difficult for candidates to reflect on relevant tasks or positions. Keeping a short overview of the job and the title in plain sight will allow candidates to describe important skills relating to the position, as well as, discourage candidates who lack certain requirements from submitting the application and cluttering your inboxes.
3. Lastly, the most frustrating question of all for students – why haven’t I heard anything?! As recruiters, it is impossible to touch base with each and every candidate that has applied for your position. Still, you do not want candidates to be frustrated or develop any negativity toward the position or your company.  Try setting up automatic emails that thank candidates for applying, provide a time frame for application review, or even notify them if they lack the experience you were searching for.

These quick-fixes will not only attract a larger qualified talent pool, but will also result in positive communication between recruiters and candidates. Ultimately, you can rest assured knowing you have retained the best employees and maintained open communication with potential future references. 

(Now try saying that 5 times fast!)

As a college senior, I feel as though recruiters and job fair coordinators are stalking my every moment. Between the multiple emails I receive every day from my school’s career center and the banners displayed on every building advertising upcoming career fairs - it can definitely get a little overwhelming. If it is this overwhelming for me, I can only imagine how stressful it must be for recruiters during this time. So how should a company go about standing out from the crowd and attracting top talent to their company? While there are many different strategies to do this - I researched and found what I believe to be the most effective approaches.

1. Attend Industry-Specific Job Fairs: They are so many general college fairs that attract students from every major and every interest. While these can definitely be effective, often times both the student and employer can get overwhelmed by the mass attendance and variety of options. One way to avoid this is to search for industry specific career fairs in your area (or even virtual fairs!). Many colleges offer specific fairs that cater especially to certain majors such as technology, business, etc. This gives the recruiter a higher quality candidate pool to choose from because all attendees are interested in the recruiter's own industry.

   

2. Arrange Personal Meetings Prior to Fairs: College fairs are a great way to get introduced to quality talent that may be perfect for entry-level positions at your company. However, asking students to fill out resumes on the spot can be time consuming and may cause them to move on to a different company’s booth. In order to avoid losing potential candidates, promote that your company will be in attendance, and ask for students to submit their resumes before the fair. Also, if you have implemented an applicant tracking system with prescreening functionality, you can easily search through resumes for ones that possess the skills you are interested in. Reach out to the best applicants and arrange personal meetings while at the fair to ensure you get the chance to meet them. 
3. Branded Giveaways: Who doesn’t like free stuff? While giveaways may seem over done or insignificant; according to Tim Andrews of Advertising Specialty Industry, ‘Studies have shown that students are inspired to apply for jobs where recruiters have given them a little memento.’ Whether your giveaway is something useful (like a pen) or fun (like a bobble head) they will bring more traffic to your booth and motivate more students to apply for your company.
4. Make it Social: Take advantage of social networking and recruiting sites to advertise open positions at your company. Also, implementing an ATS with social capabilities in the near future will allow for applicants to upload their resumes right from their LinkedIn profile, making it a quick and easy process for both the recruiter and the applicant!

Following these tips can make college recruiting much less overwhelming for both parties involved! Recruiters, what strategies are you using to stand out from other companies and attract top talent?

This past month, the iBlog has done a wonderful job of discussing the inherent value of college internship programs from both an intern and corporate standpoint. Katie Meeker even went as far as providing an overview of the legality behind unpaid and credit based internship programs.

I think everyone can now agree on the value that internships offer to college students as well as organizations. In addition to the mentorship aspect, internship programs have proven to be the best source of recurring entry level talent for competitive organizations across a wide array of industries.

Now that we agree on the value of internship programs and university recruitment, it is important to strategically map out a tailored university recruitment campaign.

Recruiting effectively at the university level, for both internship and entry level positions, is very different from experienced hire recruiting. Think about it, would the employment brand that appeals to C-level hires also appeal to recent college graduates? To optimize your university recruitment campaign, your organization’s university strategy should be tailored to reflect the interests and career aspirations of this targeted talent pool. With social media and Web 2.0 changing the face of university recruitment, successful corporations are placing less emphasis on passive recruiting programs and dedicating their time to online strategic resources. To compete for the most qualified talent at the university level, organizations should strive to implement a strategic university recruitment campaign that heavily relies on building and maintaining a strong, candidate focused, online presence.

While on campus information sessions and networking events are still extremely valuable, online networks, social media sites, virtual mentorship programs and interactive learning sessions are quickly gaining popularity on college campuses. These online resources allow candidates to connect and build relationships with members across your organization for extended periods of time. Innovative organizations are even building their social media campaign directly within their University Career’s page. Twitter RSS feeds show candidates what your current employees are saying and LinkenIn widgets help candidates identify who they are professionally connected to within your organization. Along with these external online resources, forward thinking organizations are redesigning their corporate careers site to include a separate sub page dedicated to University Recruitment. Separating these unique recruitment efforts enables organizations to tailor their employment brand to their university hires. Adding interactive elements, including video testimonial interviews with a cross-section of current employees, has also emerged as a best practice to attract and engage university candidates.

Furthermore, your organization’s College Recruiting Campaign should be as paperless as possible. Research has shown that recent college graduates are willing to take a pay cut if it will enable them to work for an organization who demonstrates corporate responsibility. Going Green with your university recruitment campaign is a great way to make a positive first impression on socially conscious college students as well as demonstrate your organization’s dedication to the environment. Not to mention, automated recruitment campaigns increase recruiter efficiency, decrease cost-per-hire and time-to-fill metrics, and often lead to higher caliber candidates.

Recruiting talent at the university level either through internship programs or university recruitment campaigns is the most cost-effective way to hire fresh, innovative and highly educated talent. Now that your organization has your University Recruitment campaign strategically mapped out, it is important to have the platform architecture in place to attract and manage this unique talent pool.  iCIMS’ Talent Platform provides organizations around the world with a highly configurable talent portal dedicated solely to the management of a college recruitment program.

For additional information, click on iCIMS' University Recruitment video.

Food Network and HGTV being pulled off the air temporarily:  That was scary. What’s even scarier? My diploma application being due. That means that no longer will I just have to worry about buying textbooks, pulling all-nighters before a major exam, or trying to stay awake in 8am psychology classes. Next month I am graduating, and as exciting as it seems, I then have to worry about getting a job.

Job searching is almost as fun as pulling your teeth out one by one minus the Novocain. When there is “nothing out there”, it’s quite discouraging. However, when you do find something that catches your eye, it gets the attention of the other million users on Career Builder or Hotjobs.  Not to mention, a good half of these applicants have multiple years in the business and resumes that go on for miles. How do you possibly complete with the Donald Trumps of the applicant pool? How do you stand out among everyone else? Finally, how do you land that dream job?

1. Don’t lie!
If you learn nothing else in your quest for the “j-word,” at least remember not to lie. On your resume that is! One of the worst things an applicant can do is exaggerate and falsify information on a resume. What are you going to say when the recruiter asks you, “So, you have ended world hunger I see?” On a serious note though, many companies search resumes for keywords, statements, or qualifications. If you list skills that don’t really apply to you, then who are you really helping? I have learned to just be honest, and remember that everyone fits in somewhere, and your resume may just be the next one to turn up in a company’s resume search.
2. Internships: Your sneaky way in.
Virtually every company has some sort of undergraduate or graduate internship program designed to give students, without much experience in the industry, a chance to get their feet wet. Many companies participate in University Recruitment, where they will even come to your college/university to seek out applicants. All in all, internships serve as great experience and excellent resume boosters. (Hint: Many companies extend full-time or part time positions to previous interns, just a thought.
3. NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!
Your goal is to make yourself known by people in the industry and, if you play your cards right, these people may just come to you with positions and openings in their companies. You can start on social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. I developed a profile on all of these, and you’d be amazed to see the type of people you can come across and the possible leads you can find. Also, simply just ask around. The other night I was out with some friends and we began talking to another group of people sitting near us. By the end of the night, I walked out of the restaurant with a few business cards. Can you say, “Connections?” In all honestly though, I had the opportunity to get real advice from people that have been in my shoes and have made it out alive!

So those are my life lessons in a nutshell for how to not end up short in the war for talent. Yet, above all, I feel the best advice I have been given, is just to be you. The “real world” is not as scary as some people make it out to be, and if you just be patient the right opportunity will come your way. In the meantime though, I have a diploma application to fill out!

CBS News recently reported that the unemployment rate amongst recent college graduates has more than quadrupled in the past two years. In 2007 the unemployment rate for 20 to 24 year olds with bachelor's degrees was just 2.2 percent while current rates hover above 9.3 percent and are still increasing. What is even more disturbing is that the average college student graduates with $3,000 in credit card debt and $23,000 in student loan debt. How are these students expected to repay college loans when one in ten of them are unemployed and an even starker number are underemployed?

Okay, so now for the good news: organizations across the globe are still actively recruiting at the university level! While 31% of organizations stated that they were cutting back on university recruiting, very few organizations have discontinued their university recruiting programs altogether. To prepare for a potential hiring spike, many organizations are even re-investing in Talent Acquisition Solutions to re-vamp their university recruitment initiatives and help support a robust pipeline of qualified graduates for future employment opportunities. Although we are in for a slow recovery, these organizations value the vitality and fresh spirit that only recent graduates can bring to a workforce. For college graduates, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

A few words of wisdom for unemployed recent college graduates: make yourself marketable. Recent graduates are seeking advanced certifications or even higher degrees to make themselves more valuable candidates and gain a leg up in the competition. It is important to remember that the ’08 and ’09 graduates will soon be competing with the ’10 graduates for entry level positions- it is important to stand out. Expand your network.  Networking is one of the keys to finding your dream job. Building a robust professional network and then leveraging it to your advantage is one of the best steps you can take while still in college or as a recent graduate. Embracing social networking outlets is often a great way to expand this network. And lastly, Stay Positive! As a college graduate, you have the advantage of an advanced education and that degree will pay off. Just think, the unemployment rate amongst high school graduates is three times higher than that of college graduates. On a more personal note, my younger sister is preparing to graduate in December with a degree in Criminal Justice and she just received her first job offer, there is hope.

How has your organization altered your university recruitment initiatives in response to the soaring unemployment rates?