Insights

As colleges have welcomed students back to campus, graduating seniors are already gearing up for their job search. In fact, our recent State of the Gen Z Job Search report found that 51% of Gen Z students begin looking for entry-level jobs in or prior to the October before they graduate. With Gen Z candidates already job-hunting, employers who want to attract top talent will not only need to get started early, but also maintain a positive experience throughout every aspect of the candidate journey, from the information-gathering stage, the application process, the job interview and the final offer. While there are standard components of any great candidate experience, data collected for our report Understanding the Gen Z Candidate Experience reveals some important information about creating a positive hiring experience for today’s entry-level job seekers. Whether it’s your first time recruiting Gen Z candidates or you are looking to get ahead of your competition, here are some actionable steps you can take during this year’s hiring season to create a Gen Z -friendly candidate experience.

For companies located in a big city or companies that recruit from local colleges, hosting an onsite recruitment event can be a great way to get candidates excited about the office and offer the opportunity to meet potential future coworkers. A well-organized event can propel your company to the top of college graduates’ preferred list of employers. Conversely, a poorly-run event can backfire for an employer’s brand and keep the best candidates away. So how can your company put together a successful onsite recruitment event, from planning, to marketing, to execution? Follow these important steps.

Hiring any new team member is an investment. But hiring entry-level employees who often require additional training and adjustment periods is its own category, and there are specific entry-level hiring metrics that every talent team should be tracking.

Professional development is one of the major perks and benefits that today’s young employees are looking for when searching for a job. In fact, Gen Z employees value professional development opportunities even more than other factors like compensation and company prestige, making learning & development programs an essential component to attracting and retaining Gen Z talent. But with so many types of programs to choose from, where do you begin? We recommend implementing a variety of professional development programs that combine formal and informal learning, as well as options that can be completed on the employees’ own time or as part of the regular workday. Take your professional development programs to the next level with these six suggestions, tailored to the needs of Gen Z.

Summer may be coming to an end, but peak campus recruitment season for most companies is just beginning. There is a lot of advice out there about how to recruit new employees on college campuses, including career fairs, coffee chats, and student referrals. But what about some fresh ideas for finding standout entry-level talent? Here are some new strategies you might want to incorporate into your fall recruitment plan for college students and recent graduates.

With the job market more competitive than ever, many companies are working extra hard to recruit the most talented candidates for their entry-level positions. While much of this has to do with campus recruiting strategies and creating a positive candidate experience, companies with a certain slate of perks and benefits have the added advantage of attracting top Gen Z talent.

Regardless of a candidate’s experience level, the interview is an important part of the hiring process. But when hiring entry-level candidates with little to no professional experience, the interview becomes a driving factor in determining if a candidate is right for the job, especially if it’s a non-technical position. While many candidates will have internship experience, an academic track record, and extracurricular involvement at their college or university, the lack of full-time experience makes it tricky to use the standard slate of interview questions. Instead of relying on questions that probe a candidate’s work experience to predict how they will perform in a role, the interviewer has to get creative with questions to assess a candidate’s motivations, communication skills, approach to problem-solving, and potential.

Despite the growing prevalence of campus recruiting technology and innovative campus events, career fairs are not going away any time soon. For employers that hire large numbers of entry-level employees, careers fairs can be a great way to meet and engage with hundreds of potential candidates in the span of just a few hours. But with travel, accommodations, and physical materials, committing to career fairs at a dozen campuses can be costly and time-intensive. That means it’s essential to make the most of your time at campus career fairs, from preparing high-impact handouts to investing in efficient processes. To maximize the value of a career fair and stand out to talented candidates, check out these best practices before heading to campus.

You’ve read through a candidate’s resume and cover letter. You may have even conducted the first (or second) interview to get an idea of whether they would be a good fit for the team. But how do you gain a more holistic view of their qualifications for the job? Using a pre-employment assessment in the hiring process could be the best solution for your company, especially when hiring in the early-career space.