5 Ways to Build an Effective Campus Recruitment Strategy

As the recruitment season sneaks in, India’s chilly job market seems to be warming up. Campus placements shoot in with its ever-growing pace.

Any going-to-be-graduated candidate, at this point in time, apart from being excited, also is worried about finding an excellent job that will pay well and where he’ll be satisfied. The majority of candidates, on asking which company would they would choose or like to work for, mention the ones among Fortune 500 or the provocative brands we hear and read consistently.

Well, there could be exciting start-ups and organizations with a thriving culture, too, among the top priority organizations of the students to work for. All they need is to invest in an engagement strategy and, for that matter, make it an always-on initiative, not just a concealed thought that suffers an early fall.

Thousands of organizations in India today hire more than 1 lakh graduates on campus every year in India. On-campus recruitment drives are a safer and better chance for candidates to decide for campus placements as opposed to attempting fortunes in off-campus recruitment drives. The major plus point being candidates need not travel to any other locations; instead, companies approach them, which in turn saves a lot of time, energy, and resources and hence is preferred by the students.

Students see Campus Recruitment as a lucrative job opportunity, with a very low level of competition leading to attaining easy entry-level jobs, where even references are not necessary. 

The reality is, today’s graduates possess a different set of requirements and plans totally as compared to the earlier ones. So, this is the high time to speed up the Campus Recruitment process with some really innovative strategies.

Here are a few campus hiring strategies that every organization should incorporate if they are serious about recruiting talent from the campus.

1. Identify Hiring Needs:

A hiring manager is always in the search for quality employees, which, in turn,  could really add value to the organization. On a broader side, it may seem as if the hiring need inculcates as and when an employee leaves the firm, or when there is some kind of departmental shifts.

Before setting up the arena in campus with the placard depicting “Help Wanted”, take the time to consider and analyze overall hiring needs.

Long before you arrive at campus for the hiring process, recruiting managers must have a solid grasp on what they are hoping to achieve. Recruitment is done for skills and knowledge, not just to add more bodies. This could start by asking yourself what your current staffing necessities are, and what they will be in six months to a year.

Additionally, consider what the key departments or potential positions are that your organization is hoping to fill and whether any of these groups could utilize an internship or co-operative education program. At long last, take a glance at any skills or proficiencies that you’re experiencing difficulty finding in your existing talent pool.

2. Choose The Right Place

Waves after waves of graduates are getting ready to enter the market. In that case, one of the most essential parts of a strategic approach includes creating a target school list, a nerve-wracking task.

When it comes to deciding which schools to target, first focus on determining the type of skills you’re looking for in optimal hires. Next, look into which schools have expertise in academic programs that match those functional needs.

For instance, an engineering consulting firm will probably need to join forces with a school/college that is known for its unique engineering program. Or on the other hand, if an organization battles to discover deft IT experts for its suitable department, banding together with a college that is exceptional at its technical program is a keen method to enhance hiring success around there.

Where Do Top Companies Hire From (based on College’s Ranking)

Source: Linkedin

Also, when assessing campuses, try not to forget considering accreditation, previous year placements, or post-grad placements that could give a better insight into the varieties of students on different campuses.

Considering your existing employees is yet another great approach to target the colleges. They could be the great brand ambassadors when it comes to attracting potential candidates.

Well, if the brand value is the only the basis of your campus research, then it’s just chasing fewer candidates against a large pool of talents. If you’re planning to expand the reach, use your resources carefully to target the right campuses.

3. Create an Unforgettable Impression

While attracting the right talent, to make the first and everlasting impression must be the ultimate goal for an organization. And for that, a compelling pre-placement talk would be the first step in the campus hiring process.

Care must be taken when assigning the role of the individual joining your organization because it is something that makes him/her feel important.

Here are some of the things that an ideal Pre-Placement talk should cover:

• About your organization- What makes it unique?
• The opportunity being offered for the employees
• The kind of projects your organization deals with
• The work culture
• Salary along with perks and benefits
• How can the candidates make an impact in this role
• All of these, followed by doubts and queries session

Well, the extent of creativity and innovation varies from organization to organization. More Creative and extensive be the PPTs, more be the attraction and hence the quality of hires gets enhanced.

Apart from this, many a time, a poor portrayal of what an imminent candidate can anticipate from the job can set wrong desires; thus, prompting a higher attrition rate with time. Amid campus placements, most candidates have the freedom to look over different job openings from organizations.

“On an average, every corporate job opening attracts 250 resumes. But only 4 to 6 of these people will be called for an interview, and only 1 of those will be offered a job.”

Another source of attraction for candidates is the job descriptions. Inaccurate or outdated job descriptions can negatively affect recruiting and productivity, detriment the employer-employee relationship, and pose serious legal risks for the company.

With a well-designed job description that is interesting enough for candidates, an organization can for sure hold the edge with regards to them settling on a decision. Well, adding value to the job descriptions returns a higher rate of candidates’ attraction towards the job role.

“You never get a second chance to make the first impression.” Use that wisely when it comes to campus recruitment. The next great strategy is to attract the campus students.

4. Attract Students On-Campus

In the space of talent acquisition at colleges, there is a brilliant and formidable strategy incorporated by the consulting firm Deloitte, much of which is centered on building the campus brand in order to stay significant to the consistently changing impression of the students.

The motivation level of today’s youngsters is completely different from their predecessors. They need to work for companies that focus on making the world a better place and promoting a social and fun workplace. During the campus hiring, companies should present their workplace culture, people, and values in the most effective way.

A strong social presence, in this age, is a mind-blowing way to attract the talent pool. Create short, captivating bits of content that can sustain on your career site and link to your social pages.

The campus recruitment process may also include online events as well, which could be a great source to attract the talent pool. Incorporating Twitter chats and Facebook live streaming along with online contests develop a kind of interest and attention among the students towards the company.

“84% would consider leaving their current job if offered a job by the company with an excellent reputation.“

Alumni volunteers ought to be an essential piece of every event, assisting recruiters and making them a part of the group. Regardless of whether it’s staffing a booth at a college, or controlling a visiting group around campus, alumni offer students a friendly atmosphere of interaction.

Also, if the college alumni accompanying the hiring team is at some prestigious post in the company, it gives the candidates a sense of worth joining that organization.

Students can very quickly tell which are real and which are not. It is important to ponder over what distinguishes your company in a genuine and authentic way. These strategies, if incorporated, present the company as a brand looking for fresher with exciting ideas.

5. Incorporate Automated Assessments

“When employers do hire from college, the evidence suggests that academic skills are not their primary concern,” says Peter Cappelli, A Wharton Professor.

Grades or CGPA has been, since long, the basic criteria to filter the vast talent pool of candidates. The recruiters must keep in the notice the fact that not always a student with good grades in 10th and 12th along with an excellent record in college will suffice the need for the job role, while on the contrary, a student with comparatively lower grades can.

Although the introduction of automated online assessments has helped reduce the burden of test administration, with instant detailed reports of the candidates. The objective approach has also helped in eliminating the human error in grading, minimizing hiring and training costs, hence improving hiring decisions with minimal risk of bad hires.

Well, the previous methods for recruitment incorporated specialized tests, one-on-one interviews, presentations or a very well combination of all these. All these characterize whether the individual can carry out the job.

Again, some tests that measure the actual behavior of the candidate and determine if he/she fits in the job role or is the correct fit. Also, these help the company to find out the leadership attributes, stress management skills, social behavior, motivation and numerous other fundamental characteristics, which may, in turn, prove far beneficial when it comes to hiring.

Companies like Mettl provide a detailed assessment aiming to test the behavioral aspect of the candidates along with the obvious cognitive and domain-based skills. A candidate can be judged more appropriately by making use of situation-based problems, psychometric tests along with cognitive tests. Even dark personalities of the candidates may prove helpful in making reliable and firm hiring decisions.

“Tell me something about yourself.”, “Where do you see yourself after 5 years down the line”, and several more questions. These are the common questions each and every company during campus hiring asks to the hopeful candidates. The exciting part is, each and every candidate, irrespective of which grade-block he/she belongs, or what extent is he/she proficient for that job role, start practicing these at least two months beforehand, or in fact, they learn by heart those.

Well, this isn’t a bad thing, though.

One of the best ways to cope up with these situations could be the involvement of assessments, which include each and every aspect of the candidate. The detailed introspection of the candidate may come via these kinds of assessments.

In this placement season, students on campuses are tensed and worried about getting placed in the organizations of their preference, so are the HR and recruiting managers when it comes to hiring effectively. With these campus recruitment strategies in place, you’re prepared to begin connecting with the upcoming age of star talent.

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