Help Me Help You – Tips for University Recruiting

All recruiters and HR professionals that target Gen Y student talent are looking for an inside track.  Even in a down economy, the cream-of-the-crop students still have options.  And lets be honest, everyone wants to employ the most capable and talented people.  How can you reach and retain the best and the brightest?…or at least the fairly-bright?

There are many strategies that are seen in the marketplace for businesses to attract potential hires.  Here are a few observations of methods that don’t seem to work:

• Glitz and Glam - We have all seen the company that spends a fortune on their career fair booth and marketing collateral, but forgot to spend the time and money to make their actual company as impressive.  The real question is whether their company is as cool to work for as they would like students to think.

• Shotgun Blast – Of course companies want to maximize their exposure, but sometimes it can be too much of a good thing.  If your company spreads its resources so thin that all it can afford is a cardboard cut-out of an HR rep, you may be at too many career fairs!

• Scare Them To You – As crazy as it may seem, some companies are telling potential employees how bad the economy is and that they have little to no chance at actually finding their “ideal job” and should take any offer they can get!  They follow up that horror story with, “so….do you want to work for us?”  Something here doesn’t add up.

Granted, for every one of those companies utilizing these failed practices, there are probably a dozen more that are doing things by the book and having moderate success in relaying their company culture and appeal to college students.  There is a much smaller percentage, however, that are really getting it right.  They are the rockstars of the career fair and convention each year.  What are they doing?  How are they so freaking cool?  Check it out, here are some insider tips (shh, don’t tell anyone we told you):

• It’s Not You, It’s Me – Instead of dumping money into a fake façade that makes you appear cool…why not actually be cool.  No, not everyone has the resources of Google to give every employee a lay-z-boy and gum ball machine at their desk (or whatever other crazy cool perks they have), but you can do what you can.  Considering hiring an employee branding specialist like Universum to help you appeal to new talent.

• Get A Scope – Identify a few key schools that you want to have a presence at.  This could be your alma mater, the school with the toughest mascot, who has the coolest fountain in the quad, or something out-of-the-box like who has students that would be the best fit for your company.  However you generate that list, which should be a proportionate mix of maximizing your recruiting budget without diluting your message by trying to hit too many campuses, zero in on those students.  Don’t be creepy and stalk them in the cafeteria, but have a continuous presence at all the career related events.  This will help build brand awareness and trust that you support their school and students.

• Get Cozy – It takes more than just showing up at Career Day and slapping up a booth with a few fliers and passing out Pez dispensers with your company logo.  You need to establish your reputation and recognition before you get to the career fair. To be truly effective in your university recruiting you have to take it to the next level and actually connect to the students in a way that they will understand and appreciate.  Imagine the power of a student coming to your booth and already knowing all about your company and what you offer them as a potential employer.  You don’t have to spend your time explaining the concept, but rather getting to know the student and talking about specific employment opportunities.

The Career Center is your biggest advocate on campus, but they are only the beginning of the efforts you should be making to reach the students.  The Career Center organizes the events and provides an amazing forum to get to know their students.  Don’t you want to take advantage of this open door and possibly get a jump-start ahead of your competition? That is where we come in…

Zumeo offers businesses with a unique solution to the problem of connecting to students and increasing their brand awareness.  By taking advantage of Zumeo’s partnerships with top universities and Zumeo’s effectiveness in attracting and retaining their students, you will own the skeleton key to unlocking the mystery of college recruiting…ok maybe that was a little bold, but we do offer a distinctive way to connect HR recruiters to Gen Y talent that are looking for an internship, co-op during school or a job after graduation.

So, to boil this down in one sentence…if you want to appeal to the new generation of movers-and-shakers you need to: get cool, get specific and get involved…of course Zumeo can help you with all that and more.