Build your graduate talent pool – with ‘Register your interest’

Do you currently operate a register your interest function for early talent recruitment and graduate talent pool? If your answer is no, then our question for you is… why not?

One of the actions we often discuss with our clients is how to develop a “register your interest” (RYI) option, which has the ability to create a pool of candidates in advance, for a later future talent requirement. Below are listed tasks that require a low cost investment, but will help to build momentum during your campaign.

Task One: Ensure your website is up-to-date

Employers can often make the mistake of not updating their information from previous years. How will candidates know what they are applying for if the correct details are not displayed? You want to attract the best quality candidates, and they are expecting the same quality in return.

An example attraction statement would be:

“Interested in joining *company name*? Register your interest here for 2016 graduate, industrial placement and summer placement jobs.”

Task Two:  LinkedIn       

Utilise social media! Did you know that more and more graduates are now taking to LinkedIn searching not only for company profiles but also job opportunities? We suggest that you post in relevant groups detailing about live RYI function for 2016 Graduate/ SP and IP recruitment; and include the link. Posting to your news feed will also raise awareness for passive candidates.

Task Three: Twitter            

Tweet to raise awareness, use consistent hashtags to create trends for searches– We recommend that this is done in mid-September to inform candidates that the RYI function is open for 2016. Reaching out to graduates in the places where they hang out shows that you are going a step further than your competition.

Task Four: Universities

Contact between 1-3 local target universities to find out what opportunities exist around engaging with target students. This workload can be divided between the HR and Operational team and can be extended to running a session about the realities of working within your specific industry.  An added positive by doing this is that it  helps to build employer brand loyalty ready for when you’re next recruiting.

Also, you should ask Universities to promote the RYI Link to their students so that you can get in touch when future recruitment goes live. Word of mouth is a free form of advertising – use this to your advantage!

Task Five: Internal Communications

Including a link to the RYI form will allow any internal stakeholders to signpost interested parties to the right location.

By following these steps, you will be closer to creating a graduate talent pool that can be utilised for future need. And let’s face it, being one step ahead head in the Graduate recruitment game never did anyone any harm!