Building relationships with the student and graduate communities is changing on-campus recruitment activities and generating a buzz around online social media. Combining all on- and offline activities into an integrated relationship development strategy, however, is still some way off for most graduate recruiters, although one of the benefits of joined-up thinking could be to impress and attract the new generation of high flyers.

Each year’s graduate recruits have spent more of their lives as natives of a digital world and gaining the attention of the best and brightest requires a less traditional, more innovative approach if it is to appeal to today’s media and web savvy university-leavers. Looking at the Deloitte’s work on Generation ‘Y’, and last year’s AGR/Barker National Media Audit results, we’ve examined the issue from both perspectives.

Building the relationship with Generation Y

Generation Y has grown up with information at its fingertips and the smartest amongst them know exactly what it takes to get ahead.  Deloitte has been keeping tabs on what it terms ‘Yers’, seeking the positive transformative opportunities that they bring as well as their well-publicised downside. Optimistic, future-oriented and ready to contribute are all traits Deloitte has observed that, if harnessed well, could certainly contribute to organisations’ need for innovation. Put these characteristics alongside restless, demanding, an expectation of rapid advancement and desire to work abroad and you begin to realise that these are people who are hard to keep up with, never mind lead.

According to Deloitte, generation Y is fully engaged in society. They have a real sense of a global community and have grown accustomed to sharing their views and building relationships on and offline. They trust people over 30 who they are keen to learn from, bringing opportunities for mentoring but also opportunities for strong engagement through online channels.

First steps in social networking

Recruitment campaigns may feel more open and responsive than the push of traditional product or corporate advertising campaigns, but the tendency is still to control the information flow and manage campaigns in tried and tested territory.  As the results of last year’s AGR/Barkers National Graduate Media Audit show, specialist recruitment sites are the main online focus of recruitment campaigns and rightly so as students recognise them as a first resource for career information.

However, recruiters gain little opportunity to build relationships on these sites since content is managed and anything beyond the dry basics has to be paid for. At the time of writing it is not the high season for graduate promotion, but there was barely a video or day in the life presentation available. Links to corporate recruitment sites were being relied on to bring a richer experience, but while recruitment websites offer a valuable resource for candidates, they are on company territory rather than the student’s and seldom offer the opportunity to engage in conversation and build relationships.

Sites such as You Tube have gained popularity since they allow content to be taken out into the community and are a popular resource for users as the 20,000 views of one video on internships from PriceWaterhouseCoopers shows.

Facebook offers an excellent social hub with great opportunities to interact, inform and bring the reality of work to life.  Yet few companies make the most of this opportunity by effectively managing their Facebook presence and integrating it into their recruitment activities.

Those who feel Facebook is insufficiently serious may take heart from The Actuaries Facebook page. Launched in May 2009 as a component in their online graduate recruitment campaign, Actuaries was immediately successful in connecting members of the profession as well as building relationships with graduates.  This is an elite profession with just over 20,000 members in the UK, yet the Facebook page has continued to grow over the year, with follower numbers now at 5,800. Membership to the profession is growing rapidly and it’s not impossible that Facebook has played a part.

Deloitte too, perhaps inspired by its work on Generation Y, has developed an effective Facebook Page although it’s ‘Wall’ focus is more on internal connection than recruitment.

Online relationship building requires management of multiple strands of activity and a carefully planned content strategy. You need to be interactive and responsive, but by all accounts of Generation Y that’s the least they’ll be expecting.

AGR/Barker National Media Audit, 2009

Published in May 2009 the AGR/Barker National Media Audit gave recruiters a great insight into which media fellow professionals were finding most effective in their graduate recruitment activities. Over 120 graduate recruiters, who collectively employed over 11,000 graduates over the past 12 months prior to the survey ranked for effectiveness the media they used they used in their campaigns.

Not surprisingly, the deepest relationship building activity, work experience and internships, came top.  With both sides benefiting from getting to know each other better, students are now seeing internships as the first step in their career ladder.

Following the effectiveness of job listings and campus fairs, online sites Graduate Prospects and Milkround were the favoured online recruitment sites. These are the natural social hubs for students and graduates focused on their careers and they provide recruiters with an excellent opportunity to create a rich experience for audiences that is compelling and connected.

Direct e-mailing to students just made it into the top 10 in 10th place.   This is a more surprising finding perhaps reflecting the resistance of new generations to intrusive marketing.