Category: Marketing, Personal

How to recruit college grads

The following post is brought to you by me, Devin Reams. Noah and I plan, podcast and poke fun at each other all the time. That makes me qualified to write on his site.

It’s that time of year where taxes are done (hopefully), classes are wrapping up and many are graduating. It’s scary, it’s exciting, it’s fun. Some of us graduates are still searching for a job, though.

It’s what you do after college right? You don’t take time off, you don’t take a break, you jump right into the next life routine!

Ehh… not quite.

I’ve though about it a little, if you’re an employer this is what I think you should do to recruit me:

• Recruit year-round: Don’t rush the campus in the fall/winter and expect the best talent to come out then and only then. I almost missed these deadlines and wouldn’t have a job right now because you’re limiting yourself. The top talent isn’t always on your time table. What else is HR doing the rest of the year anyway?
• Set start dates far in advance: Be flexible and let us schedule our lives around you. If I know I’m graduating in May maybe I want to travel for three months. Can we set a date for September? Perhaps I want to get started right away, let’s do May 15!
• Help me do what I want: I’m a millenial, I’m picky, I want to learn and I’m not simply here to climb “the ladder.” Let me know you can work for me, too. Profiles and cases on recent hires and their developments are always fun to read. I want to know how you guys have developed your talent!
• Interact with me: I love E&Y’s Facebook group. Actual employees show up and answer questions. I can search for information, I can get interview tips, etc. The easier you make it for me, the better.
• Make alumni available: Like the Facebook group, you should let people know there are alumni in town that can answer questions and spend a few minutes helping me make a decision. I know I have the cell phone number of a guy who’s been with my company for three years. He remembers what it’s like, he knows what classes I should take to be prepared.

That’s just a few of my ideas. What would have been (or will be) helpful when you were looking to get started out of college?