Creating an innovative & effective outbound recruitment campaign

Does your early-career recruitment strategy need some work? The short answer is ‘yes’.

You may be inclined to stick to your tried & tested method, and shaking things up may not be at the forefront of your to-do list. However, focusing on your early-career recruitment strategy could lead to sourcing top-quality talent. Candidates with this level of potential can provide your business with fresh ideas and new perspectives.

So how do you go about creating a recruitment strategy that facilitates this?

Fortunately for you, our experts have put together this handy guide to help. Within it, you will find insight into some of the fundamentals to support your business. These tips can support you on your journey to design an effective recruitment strategy for early-career candidates.

Know early career talent

Successfully recruiting today’s generation of early career talent requires an understanding of their attributes, empathy for their values, and the development of a recruiting process that engages their interests and preferences.

Aside from their obvious technical ability and digital advancement, today’s early talent has so much to offer. Industry research has found that this includes a strong work ethic, a desire for autonomy, a competitive mindset and a strong desire for purpose.

Gen Z workers are:

Proactive – This talent has grown up with quick access to infinite resources (thanks to Google). They’re used to proactive problem solving and finding solutions swiftly. Gen-Zers are known for their can-do attitude. Only ever asking for help after they have tried to solve the problem on their own.

Driven – Pay-check is important, but having purpose is key. Those kick-starting their careers are driven by purpose.  As explained by Forbes, around 45% of Gen-Zers want to work for a company that makes a positive difference to the world. Making them highly motivated to perform.

Digitally Savvy – Having grown up with technology, Gen-Zers can provide invaluable skills to companies looking to innovate and stay ahead. They can introduce new software that scales processes, content that engages consumers and a new perspective on your business.

Tailor your early career strategy

Today’s new recruits bring fresh ideas and innovation to the table, challenging traditional ways of thinking and doing business. To effectively engage with this sought-after cohort of job seekers, organisations will need to evolve their recruitment methods to be more authentic, digital and personalised.

Communicate your values and purpose

To make your business more attractive to candidates it is important to convey your values and purpose. Diversity, inclusion, progression, and the environment are the most popular elements that early-career prospects value within their career. Highlighting these in any way possible can increase the credibility of your business from the perspective of this generation.

Why? The importance of hiring someone for your business who enjoys working there can be shown in the following cycle. Happiness at work > Elevated level of productivity > High performance> Business growth and so on.

If you consistently hire candidates that don’t enjoy the environment, don’t get on with your team or understand your long-term goals, it will be almost impossible to achieve any positive results. Even one cog in the machine can make all the difference.

Stand out to early-career candidates

Don’t be afraid to be creative and ambitious with your job description. Your business needs to stand out from other listings. Early-career candidates have a vast selection when it comes to opportunities. Over the course of 2021, it’s become apparent that great candidates are in record demand as companies retool and expand. It is in your organisation's best interest to capitalise on any interesting USPs your business may have.

Another element to consider is how your current and past employees perceive the business. Early-career candidates now have access to tools such as Glass Door, allowing them access to employee testimonials and the ability to investigate what it is like to work for your business. If your current employees enjoy working for your business, then it is important for you to convey it within your recruitment strategy.

Be realistic

Many employers have unrealistic expectations of early years candidates. Therefore, it is imperative to manage your expectations of the talent pool. As an example, it would be unfair to ask for two years of specific job experience in an early-careers role.

Whilst some candidates may have "work experience", it is likely not related to the position you are recruiting for. But remember, even though these candidates may not have the experience you would like. There are other ways to evaluate their suitability (more on this later).

Manage unsuccessful candidates correctly

Another element to consider when creating an effective recruitment campaign is, how you manage unsuccessful candidates. As a rule, you should never dishearten unsuitable candidates. Offering feedback as to why they were unsuccessful can go a long way. It can help prospects understand where they need to improve whilst supporting their motivation to continue their job search.

This is a feature integrated across all Tazio tools.  It allows candidates to acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses and is used by many of our clients including Jisc, Grad Consult and TTI.

Look beyond experience

Early career candidate skills do not necessarily need to evolve from an academic background. It can be clearly visible through the candidate's involvement in part-time or voluntary work. For example, complex problem solving, communication, and teamwork skills are identifiable within many customer-facing roles.

Another factor to consider is a candidate's interests and hobbies. Providing your prospects with the opportunity to showcase their passions is an effective way of understanding whether they would be a good fit for you. Minor details about hobbies and interests can help you to determine what type of character they are and what value they could bring to your business.

It is also important to evaluate how candidates fit into your business's culture. A report authored by the Robert Walters Group offers great insight into why organisational culture should be a significant consideration in your early-careers recruitment campaign.

Implement effective assessment tools

A recent study by the Institute of Student Employers found that early-career employers received 91 applications per vacancy on average. This many applications can make for plenty of wasted time sifting through forms and CVs. Fortunately for you, incorporating digital assessment tools can solve all these problems. Ultimately, saving your business time and money by automating many of the processes usually conducted by people.

For example, digital-based psychometric tests can evaluate candidates based on the criteria and variables your business values most. Furthermore, you can also manage all the elements of the test. Including how long candidates can spend on each question, whether you'd prefer a written or verbal response, and much more.

In essence, digital assessment tools can improve the quality of your early-career hires whilst significantly reducing your time spent hiring.

Tazio offers a variety of tailored digital assessment packages that can assist in the delivery of high quality and impactful early-career prospects. Get in touch  to schedule a 20 minute call with our friendly team.