Are you looking for tips on how to design a Campus Recruitment Program?
Below, are 15 easy steps to design an attractive and effective Campus Recruitment Program. These steps will help you walk out of the college/university campuses with accepted copies of appointment letters of the desired candidates.
The steps to design a Campus Recruitment program can be bucketed into three major set of activities (process). There are activities during:
Pre-recruitment process
Recruitment process
Post Recruitment process
Let me share with you the set of key activities during each of these bucketed processes to help you understand this better:
Pre-recruitment process: There is a great degree of preparedness required to get an effective campus recruitment program grounded, good preparations ensures great results.
1. Get the business heads to share the number of people required from the campuses as a part of the Management/Graduate Training Program. It is useful to get the locations of posting mentioned along with the manpower numbers to be recruited. If the number of manpower to be recruited is consolidated at a function/department level, it is recommended to get the details of which team/sub function the manpower is required. This brings in more objectivity while hiring and boosts accuracy of hiring.
2. Identify the roles that befit the management /graduate trainees in terms of skills and competencies. It is important to keep in mind that most of these potential hires will be towards the beginning of the learning curve of their professional journey. Hence it is imperative to take adequate measures before they are handed over the set of responsibilities/targets in the organization. Remember, The Campus Recruitment Program is to hire the best fit and help the recruits to succeed in their jobs.
3. Identify internal champions within the organization who can manage this pool of young recruits and familiarize them with the organization. These champions also act as endorsers for the Campus recruitment program internally and ensure the program is managed well and is a success
4. Have a designated person/people to interface with the colleges/campuses well in advance to build relationships with key people e,g. placement coordinators, professors, key influencers. Also design a Campus engagement program with the targeted campuses/colleges for higher recall and turnout ratio during the placement process.
5. It is imperative to define the Employee Value Proposition of the organization that works best in the colleges/campuses. What is the unique proposition that the organization is offering? Is it the role, compensation, career growth opportunities, learning opportunities, off shore assignments, or is it a bouquet of attractive propositions? The sharper the value proposition definition, the better it will be to attract and recruit the desired candidates
Recruitment process:
1. The recruitment process begins with the campus calendar. There could be multiple colleges/campuses whose dates could be on the same day hence it is imperative to have a pool of interviewers in advance tagged to different places, travel schedules firmed up and logistics in place. Remember, most of the interviewers take this assignment as a call beyond their regular duty hence a hassle free experience for them is the HR managers’ responsibility.
2. It is preferable to have the information ahead of the placement day about the other companies visiting the campus on the same day as yours. It helps one to have the sense of the competition around and the Interview and other related processes can be tweaked to make it more attractive and compulsive in the competitive environment. It also helps to sharpen the recruitment pitch that day to attract the desired profile of candidates.
3. If the Pre placement talks are scheduled on the same day, it is imperative that an alumni from the institute accompanies the pool of interviewers for experience sharing as an ambassador of the organization
4. The interview process itself makes a lasting impression and is often a factor of consideration amongst the students. The team needs to wisely use the discretion while choosing the interview pattern, stages, rounds etc. If a group discussion is conducted, the forms, methods, topics etc used are very important factors. Also, it is important to have Meritocratic process of short listing/rejecting candidates.
5. It is important to ensure the closure of Candidates Selection process right at the campus. The offers should be rolled out to the selected candidates on the spot. If pre printed appointment letters can be handed over to the candidates, it is worth the effort. Getting candidates to accept the offer/appointment letter restricts them to appear for other interview and in more than one way ensure they have made their final choice and is likely to come on board
Post Recruitment process:
1. Many organizations face the challenge of candidates dropping the offers even after accepting it during the Campus Recruitment program. Since there is a time lag between the offers made at the campus and their possible joining date, a lot of these candidates scout for other opportunities and of ten do not show up on the agreed date of joining. Continuous efforts need to be made to ensure the offered candidates are not dropping out and this can be done through a “structured Post recruitment engagement program” to keep the offered candidates engaged with the organization.
2. It is worth the effort to keep candidates engaged with the organization during the post offer period by regularly updating them with Company news, newsletters proactively, a SPOC (Single Point Of Contact) should be identified who can keep interacting with the candidates and keep them interested in their choice of the employer
3. Closer to the date of joining, proactive communication kit about the logistics and other details should be sent to the candidates. It is a wonderful way to reach out to them with desired information and not wait for the queries to flow in the mail box. It creates a winning impression about the organizations’ readiness to welcome the new joiners
4. Adequate preparation needs to be undertaken to give the campus/college recruits a delightful first day experience in the organization in the form of a robust On boarding experience.
5. A great Management/graduate trainee program architecture is mandatory to reap the benefits of an attractive campus recruitment program
These are some basic and easy steps an HR Manager can follow to design a Campus Recruitment Program.