How Students Can Successfully Work With a Recruiter

By Kaitlin Hurtado on November 28, 2017

Being a recruiter isn’t the easiest job and working with students isn’t any easier when it comes to dealing with ‘fresh into the job market’ expectations that they may have when it comes to looking for their first position. Despite the difficulty that recruiting college students may bring, they are often what many employers are looking for and it is your job to recruit these students into being a company’s next round of hires. Keep reading to find out on how you can make your recruitment of students successful.

via Pixabay

Be clear and concise when it comes to describing the position

Start off on a clear, sturdy base for your recruitment rather than one that is built off of miscommunication. Your first move as a recruiter may vary. You can choose to post a job listing on multiple sites, including Uloop, or choose to personally reach out to potential employees.

When it comes to posting job listings, you want to make the listing as clear as possible in order to catch potential employees’ eyes. If the company you are working for is rather well-known, be sure to make it a highlight of the listing as companies with a powerful brand name are more likely to attract students browsing through job listings. If the company you are recruiting for is smaller (like a start-up), put points of interest in the listing. Students are more likely to be attracted to companies that appear stable or are gaining traction in the industry at a steady space.

Make sure your job listings have all the essentials. Put the job position’s location so that you don’t put effort into inquiries that are limited to defining the job location and having students leave you hanging when they realize the location isn’t a place where they are willing to work. In your job listing, be sure to relay the role’s responsibilities and the skills and experience that you and your employer will expect applicants to have. By listing out the required experience, you will eliminate possible applicants that are nowhere near the type of applicant that you are expected to recruit and in turn spend more time on applicants that meet the expectations of the company you are recruiting for.

Work with their expectations 

Regardless of age, everyone has certain expectations when it comes to their job. These can range from fairly easygoing expectations, like their pay being above minimum wage or having a full-time position, to far more demanding expectations that you would normally expect from a veteran in the career field. These demands can often deal with vacation time, full-time benefits like insurance, or the promise of future promotions.

You can’t always predict what every student will expect of the position you are recruiting for, but it’s best to be upfront and transparent when it comes to describing the job position and asking them what they expect of the position in return.

Never promise something that you cannot give in the future in order to ‘successfully’ recruit a student by giving them false hope on something you do not have power over as a recruiter (pay raises, possible benefits, etc.). If you do have power to negotiate or at least bring things to the attention of a future employer, be sure to communicate with both parties in a timely fashion to keep the recruitment process going and keep both parties involved.

Be patient 

While you may want to end the recruitment possible as soon as possible and secure the student you are working on recruiting, life doesn’t always work in your favor  when it comes to recruiting. You may be putting plenty of focus on a particular student, but that particular student still has their own life going on and may even be in the middle of looking at a variety of job opportunities.

Understand that the student(s) you are recruiting also have to manage their own schedules and won’t always respond to you in a timely fashion. Instead of giving up on recruiting them entirely over one missed call, persevere in the recruiting process. Send a follow-up email or leave them a voicemail to relay that you are still interesting in recruiting them and to keep their attention on you and the job opportunity.

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