How to attract graduates to your business to develop your own future talent

Are you thinking about bringing graduates into your business? We’re rapidly heading towards May and June, which is a great time to attract new graduates who have just completed their studies and are now focusing on their next step. And for many, that will be their first step into the world of full-time employment.

New graduates can be a real asset for any company, coming in with new perspectives and an enthusiasm to really make their mark. But in the current market, companies will need to put some thought into how they go about attracting great candidates. What can you do to encourage new graduates to decide that your company is where they want to start their working life?

Get your advert title right

This is such a simple point – and yet it’s amazing how often it can be overlooked! You need to make sure that your job advert is being seen by the right people – who in this case are new graduates. And that means you need to make sure the word “Graduate” is included in the job title.

That way, not only will it clearly stand out to the right audience, but it’ll also ensure it’s found in the search results so anyone looking for graduate opportunities will find it quickly and easily.

Make your advert copy really appealing to graduates

Focus on what you’re putting in your job advert. Create really positive and engaging content and think about all the things you’ve got going on that could attract a graduate. What’s your culture like? Are you using technology in new and innovative ways that might appeal to the demographic you’re targeting? What about company growth – are you on a positive trajectory right now or perhaps you have big plans for the future? These are all points to highlight as they’re likely to be very appealing to new graduates.

Some of the other important factors that graduates are looking for include the level of flexible working on offer. And training and development’s hugely important too. Graduates are just setting out on their careers – and the majority of them will want to know what kind of career development and training will be available to help make the most of their potential.

Use visual social media campaigns to catch graduates’ attention

The use of social media is well established in recruitment these days. Not all companies are making the most of the opportunities it offers however. Social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are places where you’re likely to find graduates looking for their first opportunity. So ensure you have a presence on all of these sites if you don’t already and make those recruitment campaigns as visual as you can (e.g. with photos, videos, infographics, memes…) to really stand out and catch graduates’ attention.

Reach out to universities

Even if you don’t currently have well-established relationships with particular universities, there’s nothing stopping you reaching out to them to share your opportunities. They’ll often run careers days on campuses, and it’s a great way to raise your company’s profile and get your vacancies noticed.

Longer term, you might want to consider building relationships with universities and undergraduates. By offering summer placements for instance, you’ll get to know each other and many graduates will then be keen to join you at the end of their studies. Identify some universities and colleges that run degrees that align well with your company, along with those in your immediate vicinity, to explore whether they’d be interested in establishing closer links with your company.

Encourage your current employees to share what it’s like working for you

Graduates are very likely to check out your company in a number of ways, including looking at what your employees are saying. So encourage them to share their experiences of what it’s like working for you, perhaps on their own LinkedIn profiles or on videos on your company website.

It’s also worth checking whether any comments have been made on sites like Glassdoor too – if there are positive reviews then they could form part of your social media campaign. If they’re not positive, then address them – if it looks like you’re taking feedback seriously and responding to it on the site, that will put your company in a far better light.

Could you do with some help?

Hopefully these ideas will help you but they will need time dedicating to them. If you’re struggling to find enough time to create a comprehensive graduate recruitment campaign, or you’re not really sure where to start, please do get in touch with the team here at JVP Group. We’ve successfully helped many employers attract the graduates they need through our comprehensive job advertising services - and we’d love to help you too!