As scholar work readiness stays a priority for employers – and the surge in AI-led purposes overwhelms HR groups with quantity whereas typically underdelivering in high quality – efficient graduate recruitment continues to be a major problem.
In accordance with ISE’s latest Scholar Growth Survey, round half of employers are involved that graduates (48%) and faculty and faculty leavers (52%) are misrepresenting their talents by utilizing AI in the course of the choice course of.
We’re seeing AI play an more and more central position in graduate recruitment, with organisations integrating it into processes like psychometric assessments and candidate screening. The advantages are clear: improved effectivity, higher knowledge dealing with, and enhanced productiveness. However within the rush to optimise and speed up recruitment, how will you make sure you’re nonetheless hiring the best candidates?
Begin along with your pre-application technique
Efficient expertise attraction begins effectively earlier than the applying section. ISE’s analysis reveals that over 1.2 million purposes had been submitted for fewer than 17,000 graduate roles in 2023 – a 59% enhance from the earlier yr. The widespread use of AI to hurry up and scale purposes was a significant contributor.
This makes it important to construct your employer model and set up early relationships with potential hires – lengthy earlier than purposes open.
We’ve seen actual success from employers investing in considerate, partaking on-campus activations. These embody interactive actions, promotional occasions and model collaborations. On-campus initiatives give college students the chance to ask questions, expertise your tradition, and perceive your values.
Past boosting belief and visibility, these engagements additionally scale back utility reneges. When college students really feel an actual connection to your organisation, they’re extra prone to submit real purposes and keep dedicated to the method.
Talk your employer worth proposition clearly
Slicing via the noise means having a robust employer model and a clearly outlined employer worth proposition (EVP). Visibility issues – however what issues extra is making your message significant, particularly to the expertise you wish to appeal to. Assist candidates perceive why they need to select your organisation over one other.
An efficient attraction marketing campaign shapes how your organisation is perceived past pay, work-life steadiness or workplace perks. For Gen Z particularly, components like wellbeing, ESG and goal play a giant position.
The ability of self-deselection
Encouraging candidates to self-deselect can enhance job-fit and long-term retention. It’s a pure extension of sturdy branding and pre-application engagement.
AI makes it simpler than ever for candidates to undertake a scattergun method. The place somebody may need utilized for 5 well-chosen roles up to now, they’ll now apply to 25 with minimal effort. Supporting self-deselection helps college students focus their efforts extra deliberately.
Once more, this begins on campus. Candidates typically realise rapidly – via occasions or model interactions – that an organization isn’t the best match for them. That’s not a nasty factor. When your communications platforms (on campus or on-line) clearly specific your tradition, values and expectations, mismatched candidates will naturally filter themselves out, no matter how simple AI makes making use of.
Embrace AI’s constructive potential
AI isn’t only a instrument – it’s a ability set. As you combine it into your processes, have a look at how candidates are utilizing it as a part of theirs. Check and assess their AI expertise, present that you just’re open to its acceptable use, and apply constant requirements throughout the board.
Ensure you have a formalised AI coverage in place for recruitment. It ought to information utilization, assist decision-making, guarantee compliance with affordable changes, and align along with your organisational values.
Make sure the candidate expertise stays human
Attracting dedicated, engaged graduates means getting the steadiness proper between automation and actual human interplay. Relationships matter – lengthy earlier than the provide stage.
Human touchpoints assist candidates really feel invested. Whether or not it’s a real dialog at a campus occasion or a well timed reply from a recruiter, these interactions form how graduates really feel about your organization. Whereas expertise gives scale and pace, it’s individuals who construct the relationships that result in profitable long-term hires.
