Want to ace your early careers recruitment? Here are 4 things you need to prioritise

With our busiest period imminent, it’s time for Campus Futures to get a little r&r (well, not really). But, it’s at this time of year we reflect on our previous campaigns’ performance, and start to plan ahead for the upcoming milk round. With this in mind, we thought we’d ask the team what their biggest learnings were over the last year to provide you with some food for thought!

1. Communications

Put yourself in the shoes of a candidate. We’ve all been there. At any stage of your career, job searching can be pretty soul destroying, and can quickly make you question your employability. At graduate or intern level, this feeling is x10000. We know that volume recruitment can make communication with your candidates challenging, but opting for systems that generate feedback, or working with partnering agencies that deliver regular contact and great feedback with/to your candidates is really important, and should be somewhere near the top of your ‘very important things’ list.

2. Onboarding

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again – if you put little to no effort into your onboarding process, it will definitely come back to bite you. After all your hard work, there’s nothing worse than losing an amazing candidate because you didn’t get their contract out soon enough, or you forgot to arrange that call with their future line-manager. Don’t take your candidates for granted. After-offer is a time for the business to give a little in return for all the candidates’ efforts throughout the recruitment process. Keep in touch via e-mail and phone, make introductions, and plan an intro day in the office, and if you’re working with a partner, like us, utilise their expertise in this area.

3. Staying on-brand

Your recruitment process should act as an extension of your brand. If your business prides itself on excellent customer service, then you need a process that lives up to that. In short – don’t under deliver. When you think about it, the vast majority of your applicants will be unsuccessful – but 100% of these candidates are either current or potential customers. It’s really important to deliver against wider brand promises. Make sure your process is as simple and seamless as possible. Think about your ‘tone of voice’ and communications here – leaving a positive lasting impression is really important.

4. Reflecting

And, how do you know if you’re delivering? Well, you’ll need to ask your candidates. Getting feedback is a must for any volume recruitment campaign – it will help you set KPIs, and give you a real insight into your candidates’ journey. You can even make this part fun(!) and super simple. However you choose to do it, asking candidates about their experiences – and listening – will give you the key you need to unlock a smarter campaign next time around.

From designing award-winning attraction strategies, to researching cutting edge screening processes – Campus Futures supports businesses in their early careers recruitment. We may be small but we’re mighty – we have over 15 years experience in the industry so, well, we get it.