Trends in Campus Recruitment to Watch out for
What is common between the internet, smartphones, Instagram, the great recession of 2008, and now, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic? Gen Z (those roughly born between 1995 and 2015) have been shaped by all of these and more. With the campus hiring season set to begin, firms will soon start competing for some of the best talents from this generation. These firms will need to understand and adapt to the expectations of this generation of digital natives.
We all know that the talent war is real and brutal, the pandemic notwithstanding. Learn how to step up your recruitment game by embracing the following trends that are transforming the campus recruitment landscape.
It’s digital, all the way!
The pandemic has made it next to impossible for recruiters to travel to campuses and run recruitment drives, the way it was done traditionally. The current turbulent times have given companies good reason and made it all but necessary to adopt technology for driving recruitment at campuses. The shift to digital platforms has made it possible to conduct smart and scalable placement drives from one’s home. Automated assessments with instant results, video interviews, and seamless remote onboarding are just some of the digital offerings that help ease the operational complexities of campus recruitments.
Out with the old, in with the new!
The days of staid pre-placement talks by companies and presentations to students, extolling the organization’s virtues are now passe. Students now look for organizations that use innovative methods to create immersive engagement, standing out from the crowd of run-of-the-mill recruiters. This has led to organizations choosing to build brand visibility through virtual reality videos, hackathons, ideathons, and case study competitions to establish the vital connect with the students.
Communicate your values
Gen-Zers are socially conscious and gravitate towards companies that are purpose-driven. What does your organization stand for? What are the values that drive it? Communicate these values with sincerity to the students. The year 2020 was a landmark year that saw an increased focus on diversity as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement that shook the world. Has your organization recognized the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion to drive better business outcomes? Communicate that to potential candidates since studies have shown that for many from Gen Z, a company’s stance on diversity and inclusion would be almost as important as the pay offered.
Show off your company culture
Building a great company culture is essential to the happiness of its employees and for the business’s overall success. According to a study conducted by InsideOut Development, Gen Z is driven by job security, growth, and learning opportunities. This generation has an entrepreneurial mindset, hence if your company encourages and supports innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, call it out! Access to the latest technologies, flexibility at work, and a transparent work culture are all crucial for this generation to thrive at work.
When geography ceases to matter
Earlier, companies were constrained by logistical challenges with conducting hiring drives in campuses in remote parts of the country and so, their talent pool was limited. Cut to the present – with campus recruitment going online, there is no limit to your reach. Campuses across the country are available. A case in point was when in one of the recent HirePro Momentum webinars, Mr. Rohit Jhamb, Vice President, Human Resources, at Accenture elucidated on how Accenture leveraged technology intelligently and ran a country-wide hiring program across campuses in the year 2020. Based on their performance in the assessments, students from these campuses were stack-ranked and the multinational behemoth was able to recruit the best talent from campuses.
Conclusion
It is obvious that traditional recruitment efforts are no longer sufficient to attract and retain the best talent. Companies need to be aware of and embrace the latest trends in campus recruitment to succeed in their campus recruitment efforts. HirePro has been at the forefront of seamless campus recruitment for the past two decades. To explore HirePro’s university hiring solution, contact us at sales@hirepro.in or call us at 080 6656 6000 for more information.
Reference The Ultimate Guide to Generation Z in the Workplace
