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Rethinking College Recruiting

By Kathy Barton, October 25, 2007

College recruiting, like all recruiting, continues to evolve as the demographics in the US shift. Generation Y, also known as "Millenniums," have some distinct preferences in the way they look for work and the way they approach their careers. Even those companies that don't recruit entry-level people need to pay attention to these preferences. Gen Y, those folks born after 1980, make up close to 25% of the current and potential workforce. As the Baby Boomers begin to retire, this group and their attitudes toward employment will increase in importance to employers.

Read more articles by this author.

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Demand for college graduates continues to rise. College recruiting is projected to increase by 4-6% in 2007 after two years of double digit growth. Large companies in the manufacturing, utilities, and professional services sectors are stepping up hiring in the face of Baby Boomer retirements, while construction and retail organizations are cutting back in response to a cooling economy and housing industry woes. MBAs, who have faced two years of sluggish growth, should see a hiring increase from 8-10%. Companies that are entering the college recruiting market, and those that wish to increase their college hires, are facing competition from a large number of brand-name companies with long histories on campus and established relationships with college career centers.

So if you're not one of those brand-name companies (or even if you are), how do you go about establishing a college recruiting program, or improving one that is less than stellar? College recruiting isn't cheap - according to a recent NACE survey, the average overall budget for campus relations and recruiting was $386,634. Responses from survey participants ranged from $1,000 to $4,000,000 - an enormous range. The same survey showed that the average cost-per-hire was $5,417 with a range from $87 to $43,000 - again, a huge differential. You've got to believe that any company spending $43,000 to hire one college graduate should be re-evaluating their recruiting program. Whatever your budget, the more effective your program is, the lower your cost-per-hire will be. Here are some tips for building an effective college recruiting program.

1. Understand your audience. This generation, more than any other, grew up with technology. Not only are they comfortable with it, they are dependent on it. Almost 100% of today's college students own a cell phone, and according to a Pew study, 82% of those 18-29 go online to get their primary news updates. They email, blog, instant message, and text throughout the day, and reveal a depth and breadth of personal information on social networking sites that is astonishing (and sometimes horrifying) to older generations. Take advantage of this by building a dedicated "talent hub" for college graduates that includes videos of recent college hires, recent employee blogs, FAQs on the recruitment process, information on benefits (especially if you include tuition reimbursement), statements about community involvement, and the option to IM a recruiter. Keep in mind that Gen Y expects an immediate response to any communication, and want lots of feedback and reassurance. Make sure you manage their expectations around your recruiting process, and timing and frequency of feedback. Potential college hires are going to spend a lot of time on your career site - make sure that it shows your organization in the best possible light.
2. Choose your schools carefully. Look at the appropriateness of academic programs, geographic proximity, and the strength of college career centers. Don't get hung up on the prestige factor - you may do much better being a big fish in a small pond at a lesser known school than competing with larger organizations at a top ten university. Don't neglect community colleges - are you sure your position requires a four-year degree? There are a number of two-year programs with bright and motivated students who aren't currently being heavily recruited. Always start with the career center, but don't stop there. Look at schools where you have a large number of alumni on staff that you can leverage at recruiting events. Become a featured employer at the school, and ensure that you are on the invitation list for university events.
3. Make the most of your on-campus events. Hire a student at the college to set-up the event for you. A student will know the most desirable sites, and may come up with some innovative and unusual ways to generate buzz for your event. Make sure you provide food, and lots of it. Make it informal. Host a poker tournament with a resume for the entry fee. Sponsor a reception to congratulate the inductees into the Chemistry or Marketing honor societies. Have lots of representatives from your company, and be as approachable as possible.
4. Leverage student and society events. Every college has events and competitions that you can leverage to increase your presence. Participate in student-led conferences, especially those around social issues. For example, Boston College has a Center for Corporate Citizenship that promotes events, Stanford has a Social Innovation Review, and the Social Enterprise Alliance provides resources for any non-profit, for-profit, or hybrid corporate form that utilizes market-based strategies to advance a social mission. If college departments run competitions, volunteer as a judge. Look for events that have a strong academic or business focus, not just social events, and choose the ones that are most closely related to your business.
5. Develop an internship program. Internship programs are rated as one of the most effective college recruiting methods you can use. Respondents to the NACE Job Outlook 2006 survey rated the effectiveness of college recruiting methods. Here is the list below:

   (5-point scale, where 1 = not at all effective, and 5 = extremely effective)

   Effectiveness of Recruiting Methods

   • On-campus recruiting 4.4
   • Organization's internship program 4.3
   • Employee referrals 4.1
   • Organization's co-op program 3.9
   • Career/job fairs 3.8
   • Faculty contacts 3.7
   • Internet job postings (campus website) 3.7
   • Internet job postings (own company website) 3.6
   • Student organizations/clubs 3.5
   • Internet job postings (commercial career website) 3.4
   • Job postings to career offices 3.2
   • Request resumes from career offices (print) 3.2
   • Internet resume databases 2.9
   • Recruitment advertising (print) 2.6
   • Newspaper advertising (campus and/or local newspapers) 2.5
   • Career/job fairs (virtual) 2.4
   • Internet banners 2.3
   • Video interviewing 2.0

Make sure that if you are going to offer internships, however, that the work is meaningful and challenging.

A point on social networking: at a recent event in Boston, a career center executive from Harvard stated that students are offended by corporate MySpace accounts and YouTube videos. They consider these to be their province, and don't want to see corporations taking over. Although I've heard opinions to the contrary, this jives with other things I've heard, and I would be sensitive to this point of view.

Finally, companies are already dealing with the differences in the way different generations approach the workplace. Don't bring your Director of Engineering if he thinks this new generation is "high maintenance and spoiled" (yes, a direct quote from a recruiting event). Bring people to your recruiting events who genuinely like the energy, social awareness, and technological savvy of college students. Students will pick up on this, and will want to work at a place that values what they have to offer.