What is campus recruitment?
Hiring new employees can be a difficult and complex task, especially as today’s workforce is significantly larger and more demanding than ever before. This does offer the opportunity to find greater talent than ever before, but it certainly doesn’t help to make the process any simpler. With the right recruitment strategies though, it may not be as hard as you think, especially if you find the ideal hiring methods for your unique needs.
Out of the wide array of options out there, we think you’ll be interested in taking a closer look into campus recruitment. For the most part, this particular hiring strategy can be a fantastic way to reach a wider audience – and while it increases the number of individuals you have to choose from, the quality can be far higher than you’d find from traditional methods of recruitment.
Better yet, it can often be utilised in an array of organisations, making it an extremely versatile strategy. Those in the finance, technology, consulting, manufacturing and engineering industries are more likely to want to reach new talent using campus recruiting, since it can be most beneficial for those in particular. Even so, pretty much any number of companies can benefit from using it also.
What does a campus recruiter do?
The role of campus recruiter is to reach out to colleges and schools to find potential candidates for the roles their company is hoping to fill. These individuals will meet with students, as well as implement strategies into the campus recruitment process to attract the best applicants, but it doesn’t stop there. They will also work alongside those in charge of hiring to conduct interviews, evaluate their chosen candidates’ potential and ensure a good fit – and if they have been active with connecting with the students in question, even extend job offers.
What are advantages and disadvantages of campus recruitment?
Thankfully for anyone interested, there are plenty of benefits that can make this hiring process worthwhile. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t any downsides to it. In fact, you may just find that some of the key campus recruitment advantages and disadvantages can impact your decision to actually go down this hiring route.
Advantages are:
- It can be far easier to recruit for entry-level positions
- An increased hiring pool means better opportunities to hire and less market competition
- Businesses will have access to the youngest generation of talent and will be able to build a strong network for future roles
- Studies suggest that employee retention is higher when campus recruiting is used
Disadvantages are:
- Campus recruitment can prove to be expensive
- Practical job exposure and experience are slim to zero
- Extensive training is often necessary
- Some students may be reluctant to accept work if they have a dream company already in mind
Six campus recruitment pitfalls to avoid
As you can see, recruiting from colleges can be difficult for a host of reasons, but also highly beneficial. For a lot of businesses out there, it can be well worth the time and effort to implement this hiring strategy and get it done right. Not quite sure where to start, or what to avoid? Here are the top four mistakes that you won’t want to make:
1. You may have limited resources to find and hire via campus recruitment
This method of hiring can be fast-paced and filled with amazing opportunities, but your business simply may not be able to reach everyone, so you could end up missing out. Try to utilise tools where possible and work with the top-performing colleges in your area to maximise your potential. There are quite a few out there, so give yourself the chance to find the perfect one for your needs.
2. The old way of doing things won’t work anymore
With the everchanging face of technology has come a rise in non-traditional methods of recruiting. In general, students are reachable 24/7 nowadays, so be sure to update your marketing approach and other factors to increase your reach. Simply getting rid of outdated marketing and hiring tactics could work wonders for your business, whether you’re planning on going for campus recruitment strategies or not.
3. Hiring a diverse team isn’t as simple as ticking demographic boxes
Being inclusive in 2022 is a lot different than it was even ten years ago, so be mindful of how you hire and the way that your workforce reflects your business. Whether you’re aware of it or not, your company could be suffering from certain biases and you want to make sure that you don’t let something like that detract from your business’ potential.
4. Don’t just ask the same, expected basic set of questions
If you want to get real answers and results during your interviews with candidates, you need to think outside of the box. So many businesses stick to the basics to keep everything simple, but this doesn’t always lead to the best results. If you don’t want generic answers that you’ll hear from most people, it’s often worth taking the time to create some questions that will help you to get the answers you need and as a result, find the best talent for your team.
5. Missing out on any number of opportunities
Making the mistake of letting good candidates go is far more common than you may think and all it takes is a difference in mindset to notice and take advantage of a variety of opportunities. For example, while there may be downsides to hiring “overqualified” individuals, there can be a number of benefits worth keeping in mind too.
6. Not giving enough information on the hiring process
There may be times where you have to wait a little while before you can make your final decision. Many candidates get tired of waiting during this time. In most cases, putting in the effort to update good candidates on the process could help to reduce the chances of them looking elsewhere.
