College recruiters play a big role in landing new talent for their companies. They are the liaisons between companies and students, and it’s up to them to weed out the unqualified and grab hold of the eligible workers who will help their companies succeed. While I’m not an expert on recruiting myself, I have collected tips from a variety of professional sources that will show you how to take your company to the top by getting the best results from your on-campus recruiting efforts. So let’s get started.
How to Succeed as a College Recruiter: Getting the Best Results
According to an article on workforce.com:
''Shell, like many other large companies, is concentrating its college recruitment efforts on the schools that provide the best ROI. In turn, Shell is expanding its programs at those target schools, trying to develop closer ties in order to identify the most talented students as early as their sophomore year. Shell has found that if it waits until students are juniors or seniors, it might already be too late. Competitors may have already wooed them and in some cases extended an offer of employment upon graduation.
''Shell is not alone. Rather than try to visit 20 campuses and recruit one student from each, most firms have realized that they get a better payoff — and land better talent — by going to four campuses and hiring five students from each, says Steven Rothberg, president and founder of Minneapolis-based CollegeRecruiter.com.''
How to Succeed as a College Recruiter: Know Your Audience
Know the schools you’re recruiting at. Know the type of students who are there. Know the strongest majors and what kinds of jobs most of the students are looking for. According to the aforementioned article:
''The best companies re-evaluate their target schools on an ongoing basis, using objective factors. The Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore recruits at 78 target schools. Every year, Johns Hopkins evaluates the schools and ranks them in three tiers to determine where to put resources. The key to this approach, Gray says, is selecting recruitment criteria that are important to the organization. Johns Hopkins, like many companies, tries to determine specifically whether students are a good cultural fit.''
What’s It Like Working as a College Recruiter? Tips from a Raytheon Recruiter
A good friend of mine, let’s call her Michelle, has worked as a university recruiter for her company, Raytheon, at Pepperdine University. She says that ''Recruiting is your chance to share what your experience at your workplace has been like — [a] positive experience, I would hope!''
How should college recruiters prepare for on-campus recruiting?
''For university/college recruiting, it's good to place yourself in the students’ shoes (maybe you were in those shoes not that long ago yourself) and think about the things they would want to know and the things they would ask,'' Michelle says. ''They're interested about the opportunities/benefits available to them at the workplace and the type of work they would be doing.''
How do college recruiters recruit?
''I did career sessions, internship sessions, info sessions, and in-class recruiting. The in-class recruiting and info sessions were a little different because we put together video sessions and small presentations to share with the classes/students. Career/internship sessions were more Q&A sessions with individual students.''
What should college recruiters know before setting foot on a campus?
''Make sure to read up on the recruiting policies of the company that you're recruiting for — each has their own policies about collecting resumes, on-campus interviews, and interview processes.
Know more than just your specific experience, too. Take some time to read the facts about your company, the overall mission, and various products and services that your company provides. How big is your company? How many employees does the company have? Where are its locations? What career and growth opportunities are there?''
And Michelle’s final thoughts on college recruiting?
''Have your business cards ready to hand out to potential candidates and/or anyone that asks for [one]. And hand out the free stuff!''
