A hybrid college recruiting strategy is the best practice for most employers these days, with a balance of virtual and in-person touch points.
The pandemic paused in-person engagement for a while, but now that it's back in your playbook: have you updated your traditional campus recruiting tactics to engage students based on Gen Z preferences?
Here are four ways to prepare for on-campus recruiting this fall.
Strategy #1: Have fun with swag that makes your brand stand out
A recent Handshake survey found that 58% of students prefer swag that’s unique to an employer1, so challenge yourself to think of clever items that are a play on your brand.
For example, global potato product supplier, Lamb Weston, hands out squishy French Fry boxes featuring QR codes that direct students to the company’s career site. This swag is branded, action-oriented, and memorable.
In this same survey, students also gave high scores to practical items like pens, water bottles, and notebooks that they can use at school—while keeping your company top of mind.
Only 6% of students dislike swag2—which means you have the opportunity to make an impression of your brand that lasts way past the career fair.
Strategy #2: Proactively invite top talent to meet your team
Criss-crossing the country to attend on-campus career fairs can take an immense amount of planning and energy. But since it’s challenging to budget for every on-campus fair or event, savvy recruiters use Handshake as an extension of their college recruiting teams virtually and in-person.
For example, proactive sourcing and outreach to students means you're inviting top talent to your fair or event before you show up on-campus. Send a message with information about your company and your open roles, highlight your benefits and values, and then ask the student to stop by your table at the career fair to meet you and learn more.
According to Handshake data, attaching a campaign message to an event invite can lead to a 141% increase in event RSVPs. For follow up messages and reminders, try tweaking your subject lines!
Worried you’ll come on too strong? Three out of four students say that interactions with employers at career events make them more likely to apply to jobs and keep in contact through career platforms.3 With proactive messaging and wraparound brand exposure through a student's career center and through Handshake, career fairs can be more about relationship building and making meaningful connections.
Strategy #3: Think outside the box to attract students to your booth
When you do enough of them, on-campus events can feel pretty rinse and repeat. But these fairs aren’t just Groundhog Day for you—students are also experiencing the same thing table after table, booth after booth.
One of the best ways to make an impression is to do something different. For example:
- Gen Z wants to connect with current employees in roles that interest them. Invite employees from outside the talent acquisition team to honestly answer questions and authentically speak about their experience with your company.
- Switching up your event formats—such as hands-on learning workshops, competitions, or interviewing tips—can help you stand out with students.
- Swag isn't the only way to grab students’ attention. Set up an experiential activity—like games, giveaways, or even a headshot booth—to draw more students to your table and strike up a conversation.
A student’s experience with your brand at a fair or event is an indicator of what they can expect out of your candidate experience, so make it as smooth as possible. Handshake Events provides an easy QR code to check-in students and track attendance, follow up after the fair, and measure the ROI of your investment on-campus.
Strategy #4: Remember to capture content
On-campus events are an opportunity to connect with talent—but they’re also an opportunity to grow your employer brand and scale your reach virtually through content once you leave campus. When you’re attending fairs and events, it’s a great opportunity to capture content that you can share to the Handshake feed to show students what you’re about! For example:
- Take photos of your booth setup and location
- Take photos or videos of your swag or snacks
- Record video clips of your team traveling or exploring campus
- Record video clips of your team sharing tips to help students get the most out of the fair or event
- Take photos of your team interacting with the school mascot
Post that content to the Handshake feed to not only generate awareness that you’re attending the fair or event on-campus, but also to build familiarity with your company and brand for any students who couldn't make it in-person.
Get more tips for posting content to the Handshake feed on the creator hub.
How you show up on-campus is part of the candidate experience
There’s so much energy and excitement with the return of on-campus career fairs and events, and so much opportunity for building brand awareness and engaging early talent in what you have to offer.
Campus recruiting has been reimagined post-pandemic to compliment always-on virtual recruiting—and create a more streamlined, immersive, and efficient candidate experience.
These suggestions can help you prepare to make a meaningful and memorable impression on-campus this fall.
Your back to school checklist
Get ready for back to school with this checklist—including fresh data on swag that students want!
Get the checklist