Many people have a strong sense of pride regarding the school they graduated from. It is nearly impossible to get through the day without seeing college stickers affixed to cars or people wearing clothing with a school logo emblazoned on the front. For your staff, reminiscing with former and current students at their alma mater will likely bring back many positive memories. It is important for organizations to recognize their employees' school spirit and leverage it as part of their entry-level recruitment strategy.
Employees are a great resource to tap into when attending on-campus networking events and for connecting with various alumni groups. If your organization is embarking upon a campus recruitment strategy, continue reading to learn how you can take advantage of your employees' high regard for their alma mater to help attract the best and brightest entry-level hires.
It is important for organizations to engage employees in supporting their entry-level recruitment initiatives. There are a few reasons for this, including the fact that employee involvement in any type of organizational decision-making leads to increased engagement and morale. Employees can relate to students at schools they have graduated from, as they were once in their shoes. From the moment your employees show up at an on-campus event at their alma mater, they will be able to build rapport with students. Students will also be able to get a glimpse into their future prospective careers at your organization by chatting with staff and learning about their career progressions post-graduation.
It is important to first decide which target schools you will be recruiting from, then determine if you have employees who graduated from these schools. You can ask employees if they would consider helping recruit candidates from their former schools and if they would be willing to participate in recruiting activities. These activities can include:
There are many benefits to leveraging employees to help recruit on campus beyond just channeling their passion for their alma mater.
Entry-level referral incentives are one way to encourage employees to actively leverage their campus network to help identify candidates. An employee referral program typically offers a monetary reward to an employee who refers a new hire. Usually, anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 is offered depending on the level of expertise and niche skillsets a candidate brings with them. Alternatively, some organizations offer additional vacation days as an incentive for employees to suggest quality hires from within their network. Whatever type of reward an organization decides to go with, employees will have the incentive to dig deep within their networks to bring forward potential hires.
In summary, your employees are likely passionate about the schools and programs they graduated from. It is important to leverage this passion and utilize your staff as much as possible as a part of your entry-level recruiting strategy.
For additional support throughout your entry-level recruitment process, consider using Symplicity Recruit to simplify your posting and resume selection process.
Sources:
Cornett, J.E. (2017, July 5). The Advantages of Including Employees In Decision Making. Retrieved from https://careertrend.com/advantages-including-employees-decision-making-12238.html
Duke, S. (2015, March 31). 10 Employee Referral Program Fast Facts. Retrieved from https://www.recruiter.com/i/10-employee-referral-program-fast-facts/