In yesterday’s Advisor, expert Tom Borgerding offered his take on building recruiting relationships on campus. Today we present a case study with three examples of what works, plus metrics for college recruiting.
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Borgerding, CEO and president of Campus Media Group, works with a large number of notable companies such as AT&T, Bon Ton Stores, BP, Citi, Deutsche Bank, GRE, Great Clips, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Shell Oil. His suggestions came during a recent HR Works podcast.
[Go here for the first part of the interview]
HRDA: Without revealing any details, do you have a case study or real life example of a program that’s really clicking?
TB: Let me give three levels of examples:
- Entry level—Insurance company
- Job postings
- Social media engagement
- Website that has culture/opportunity/growth info
- Simple language for jobs—stay away from too much industry jargon
- Outreach to candidates in ATS/CRM
- Mid-range option: accounting/audit company
- Special campus website page
- Stories of employees to explain culture and opportunity
- Recruiters who visit campuses, engage groups, professors, and career centers
- Engagement—mentor, bring in partners to speak, bring in recent hires to share their experiences
- Intern competitions/social events
- Newsletter for interns, newsletter for experienced hires
- Stay in touch with people who have worked for them
- Social media presence and quick responses to questions
- Careers page retargeting —developing brand relationship
- Advanced option: large global competitor
- Special website
- Full experiential event where students register when they arrive, get an exciting feel for them and their thinking and can apply to the global competition (thought leaders in engineering)
HRDA: Tom, any final tips about successful college recruiting?
TB: Sure. Here are a few more suggestions:
- Don’t wait.
- Think culture fit. (Help by answering questions students have about the transition from college to work.)
- Be positive and supportive with honesty and transparency
- Use recent hires/peers to talk with target candidates (even better—hires from that school)
- Don’t leave students hanging once they accept. Stay in touch. Consider social gatherings or training. Start a Facebook or LinkedIn® Have the hiring manager or team members start to speak with the candidate.
- Finally, subscribe to our blog: Blog.campusmediagroup.com to get trends and college recruitment data, and follow us on twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
HRDA: What suggestions could you offer for employers with limited resources in staff, time, and/or budget?
TB: The top three things I recommend are:
- Know thyself.
- What are your business values, how can you help students grow?
- Where have you hired in the past? Who’s worked out and who hasn’t?
- Focus on experiential.
- Face-to-face; mentor; show up.
- Large or small events.
- Get to know the candidates/schools.
- Don’t just place the job posting.
- Ongoing—help out.
- Build a mobile friendly website.
The bonus is that you can have multiple levels of engagement (video, newsletter, careers section, contact a recruiter, apply), and mobile is where students spend their time. Then use social media feeds to promote your openings, promote your brand, schedule, etc.
HRDA: Do you have any particular metrics that you recommend for evaluating college recruiting programs?
TB: Sure. Here are some that clients use effectively:
- Dollars to hire
- Applicants to hires
- Time to hire
- Length of stay within your organization
- Quality of hire (are they moving up and making an impact)
- Hires per school (common)
- Hires per degree (common)
An important source of data is the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Standards Report—www.naceweb.org or e-mail me.