Is advertising still working for your graduate recruitment?

Experience - and that of many of our clients - tells us that advertising is failing to attract the best graduate talent and we believe that relationship building is the only way forward!

Fifteen years ago media such as The Times, The Guardian and Prospects Today were the main advertising tools available to graduate recruiters. This changed with the introduction of online recruitment sites which soon, with the growing size and spread of the graduate market, became the fastest way (and most cost effective) to communicate with as many graduate jobseekers as possible.

Although online recruitment advertising is still popular with many graduates, it is an increasingly less cost effective way of recruiting, so is no longer the best method for finding the very top applicants.

Go back to university! 

We are seeing much more focused activity online i.e. organisations using fewer job boards. Even the big generalist careers fairs aren’t as popular as they used to be, companies are doing more activity with fewer universities such as focused career fairs, employer presentations, relationships with Academics and Faculties and internships.   

The key to real success with this on campus activity is to see it as more than just ‘nice to do’ branding. Your organisation must leverage the full value from these activities to get firmly and consistently onto the radar of the best undergraduate talent.

Advertising needs to be examined to see whether it is delivering recruitment success in the same way it did ten years ago. It’s likely that businesses will discover that the effectiveness of advertising is dying and it’s time to get back to old-fashioned relationship building with students to ensure they attract the top talent before they graduate.

 

“Most of the best graduates know who they want to apply to before they start applying. They know this not because they have searched for all companies offering, for example consultancy or marketing roles, but because they are aware of the ‘best’ companies out there.

This awareness has been achieved as the ‘best’ companies have created a powerful profile well in advance of the time students start actively job hunting.”

Simon Reichwald, Director, Graduate Success