There are numerous advantages to hiring recent college graduates. After all, they’re America’s youngest emerging talent. Companies have discovered that young employees’ knowledge of what’s relevant in pop culture, music, art, and technology is invaluable. What these college graduates might lack in experience, they make up for in knowing what really matters to their generation.
Companies don’t want to risk becoming stagnant and irrelevant. They’re after young individuals who won’t be afraid to suggest changes that can improve the way the company runs, saving them an ample amount of money and time. In fact, hiring college graduates can sometimes ensure a company’s future success.
Although nearly 80% of employers said that they plan to hire college graduates this year, the average college graduate needs 7.4 months to find a job. What may be the cause of this?
To find an answer, let’s take a look at some tips and tricks for recruiting college graduates in less time:
Source Talent from Multiple Recruitment Channels
The job search never sleeps when graduates are entering the workforce. They’re determined to find a good job and they’ll look for it on multiple channels.
In fact, you can say that their job search is mobile. Whether they’re riding on the bus or drinking a cup of coffee, they’ll be searching for a job everywhere they go. Meaning, recruiting college graduates through job fairs and on-campus recruitment is not enough. You need to research where you can best reach them.
One study found that:
- 84% of people aged 18 – 29 use Facebook.
- 64% of people aged 18 – 29 use Instagram.
- 40% of 18-29-year-olds use Twitter.
- 29% of people aged 18-29 use LinkedIn.
Using social media in your recruitment strategy is essential. You should take full advantage of platforms like Facebook and Twitter to reach recent college graduates. Not every channel will work for your business, but experimenting with the channels will give you an idea of what’s most effective.
Offer Career Growth and Development Opportunities
According to a report by Gallup, 87% of millennials think that career growth and development opportunities are very important to them. To compare, only 69% of non-millennials said the same.
Although you may want to hire an experienced college graduate with an extensive list of skills, sometimes you need to invest in them to see significant results. Helping your employees grow can help your company grow as well. Meaning, if you want to attract and retain recent college graduates, you need to develop a strong training and mentorship program at your company.
If your company invests in this type of training and development, it’ll be more attractive to young talent, but it’ll also save on turnover expenses. You’ll manage to recruit and retain engaged and motivated employees who will stick with the company in the long run.
Time Your Recruiting Efforts Right
You have to think about the timing of your recruitment efforts. When hiring college graduates, you have to make sure your recruitment calendar correlates with the academic calendar. It’s common sense that college graduates will be looking for job opportunities near the end of the academic year.
So, if you’re planning on sourcing college graduates, you’ll need to start working on your recruitment strategy in advance. It’s always better to start early so that you can conduct a detailed analysis of what’s the most effective recruitment method for your company.
If you start hiring early on, you’ll succeed at locating the best talent for your business. However, if you start with the college graduate recruitment too late, you’re risking losing the best employees to the competition.
Offer Flexibility
According to the 2018 Global Talent Trends study, 51% of employees want their company to offer more flexible options. Another report by Buffer confirms the desire of young people to have more flexibility at work. A whopping 99% of respondents said that they want to work remotely, at least some of the time, for the rest of their careers.
It’s so clear that the traditional 9-to-5 working model is outdated. If recruiters want to attract young talent, they need to offer more flexible work options. It doesn’t matter if your company is in the retail industry or in IT, flexibility is important to job seekers across the world.
Recruit College Graduates from Your Intern Program
Do you have an intern program set in place? If you do, then that program is the perfect channel for recruiting recent college graduates. Because why hire people who’ve never worked at your company before instead of hiring young people as interns, teaching them your business, and hiring them when they graduate college?
Hiring directly from your intern program comes with a number of benefits, including:
- You’ll hire people who fit within your company culture.
- These people will have proven their skills and worth.
- Hiring from within opens up an opportunity for fresh perspectives on your business, strategies, and plans.
- It’s no secret that younger generations are more tech-savvy than the previous generations of workers. They’ll help you enhance your social media strategy and boost your employer brand.
- You’ll have an extra set of hands to help you accomplish goals and finish projects.
Source: RecruiterBox
Final Word
Welcoming fresh blood to your company can open a world of horizons. Especially if your target group is younger people, hiring recent college graduates can bring your customers closer to your business. After all, they are tech-savvy, speak their language, and know their desires. And let’s not forget how innovative and creative they can be!
So, if you’re trying to build the company of the future that’s keeping up with current trends, welcomes a diverse pool of talent, and is a desirable place to work, hiring college graduates might be an essential part of your strategy. From fresh perspectives and reduced costs, the benefits will be numerous and your success will be long-term.
