A recent study was conducted by recruitment advertising agency TMP Worldwide (in conjunction with their partner GTI Media) that analyzed how graduates use recruitment sites. The study surveyed an even mix of undergraduate and graduate students (over 1,400 participants) to gain insight into what these students like and dislike when it comes to recruitment sites, as well as how they interact with them.
Notable findings of the survey included:
- Personalized content is king – these students respond to content that is tailored to them/their target audience, and aren’t as attracted to content such as the social media gaming phenomenon that this age group is stereotyped as loving.
- Branding – survey respondents shared that they feel the content shared on a recruitment site reflects upon the employer and its culture and values.
- Despite the current bleak job outlook for this audience, more than two-thirds (69%) of the survey respondents said that they spend less than an hour a day on recruitment websites.
- However, they also shared that this time accounts for a quarter of the time they spend on line each day (out of the 4+ hours they spend online daily).
- The information they want most is regarding the application process and college/graduate opportunities.
This data is extremely important to keep in mind when utilizing job boards in your college recruitment marketing mix. Make sure that the content within your job postings is tailored to the college audience. Generic content will likely generate a negative response and potentially cause you to miss out on recruiting top talent in this group. Keep in mind that the tone and imagery you use reflects upon your employer brand, and this audience responds strongly to it.
Taking advantage of branding opportunities such as job posting templates, and utilizing different templates for your various target audiences, will give you the advantage of strengthening the promotion of your brand and well as personalizing each posting for the audience you’re trying to reach. Many job boards offer cost-effective enhanced branding solutions, enabling to measure the success of your messaging via the number of applications submitted.
For tips on how to write a successful job posting, make sure to check out Mitch Kocen’s Employer Corner post, How to Write a Job Posting.
