One of the most critical tasks of an IT recruiter is finding the right talent. This often involves going through various hiring sources such as social media, job boards, internal recruitment, and more. Unfortunately, finding fresh talent with the skills and motivation needed to make the most of a position is not always easy. Therefore, campus recruitment is one field that can solve this problem effectively.
This article will see how to hire via campus recruitment successfully.
Why Is Campus Recruitment Beneficial?
Campus recruitment refers to hiring young and eligible students directly from educational institutions like colleges. These students are most often nearing the completion of their courses and are ready for job initiation right after their graduation.
While it may seem like any other recruitment method, campus recruitment has various advantages, especially in the IT sector.
Some of which are:
Motivated students Â
College students are often confident and motivated to build their careers; hence, they can utilise their knowledge effectively and learn new skills quickly. Thanks to this, you can rely on such hires being consistent in their work and giving their best.
Apt candidatesÂ
You can specifically look for candidates who match your role requirements through campus recruitment. So, instead of sifting through hundreds of applications, you can hire from a specific course or college that teaches skills needed for the role.
Room for growth Â
Probably the best part about hiring fresh talent from college is their ability to grow. These students have their whole lives and career ahead of them. Thanks to this, bagging the right employee can help you forge long term beneficial relationships for both the firm and the student.
Also Read:Â Tech Interview Skills 101: Questions All Tech Recruiters Must Ask
That being said, campus recruitment is becoming an increasingly competitive space, and it is not always easy to find the right students. So, to make it easier, let’s cover some ways you can make your campus recruitment successful.
5 Methods You Can Use For Successful Campus Recruitment
1) Understand the students
Due to the progressing technological environment, society has been changing rapidly. Thus, there is a vast difference in the mentality and personality between Gen-Z students and other age groups.
Specifically, the newer Gen-Z can understand technical concepts and implement them more quickly.
So, unlike other recruitment methods, an IT recruiter must understand how to interact with students. Instead of following the primary route, recruiters should understand that these students are much more confident and driven to make a difference than others. This is an essential part of planning a good hiring strategy.
2) Plan out a clear hiring strategy
Coming from the last step, it is important to have a clear plan for campus recruitment before you start hiring. This is very important and can be the difference between successful recruitment and spending unnecessary time and money at a college.
Also Read:Â Seven Hiring Strategies to Close Tech Roles Quickly
Specifically, make sure your strategy is designed for campus recruitment and not normal hiring. Both of these processes are very different, and using a common strategy will make finding the right candidate much more difficult.
3) Make sure you have the right people for the job
When designing your hiring strategy, you have to keep in mind the person or people who’ll be involved in the hiring. This is because interviewing students is quite different from other hires.
For example, instead of focusing on the past as you might for older recruits, for students, questions about their goal and future will always be more sensible.
If you don’t have the right interviewer, you might not find a talented candidate, and many essential aspects will be unanswered. For example, if a student has the skills you need but plans on leaving the company in a year, the person might not be the best hire for a long-term role.
A capable interviewer will probe on a candidate professionally and derive their long-term visions to assess their candidacy for a role. Thus, you or the people hiring must know what to ask and how to interact with students.
4) Internships are great for identifying talent
One of the best ways to find out if candidates are suitable before hiring them is by taking them through internships. Intern roles do not share the same responsibilities as full-time and will allow both your firm and the student to work together and understand the environment.
According to research, new college hires who had previously interned at a company are more likely to stay with that company in the long run.
Internship is especially applicable for students as, unlike experienced individuals, they are much more likely to enter into an internship. So, if you are having difficulty finalising hires, try shifting to an internship cum job offer role instead.
However, if you decide on this, make sure you still offer a lucrative position. For example, if you open up an unpaid internship with 10 hours of work a day, it is unlikely that many students will be interested. So, make sure your internship is similar to the job’s requirements and attracts the candidates you are looking for.
5) Onboard talent quickly
One of the largest hurdles with hiring students is that most are looking for jobs. While this is a good thing, it also means that they can quickly shift from one offer to the other depending on their preferences.
As a recruiter, it is imperative to onboard the right candidate quickly. However, taking too much time can lead to them finding a better offer or route to accept.
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These tips and strategies should make your campus recruiting process much more successful. That being said, each role is different, so be sure to try out different methods and techniques to find out what works best for your hiring process!
If you are looking for more helpful information as a tech recruiter, check out our CodeQuotient blog to stay up-to-date on the latest news, tips, and more. Moreover, if you want to learn more about hiring fresh tech talent, get in touch with us.
