College graduation season is officially upon us and a new wave of young, motivated candidates are about to enter the workforce, which is great for talent acquisition teams looking to fill entry-level roles.
These college grads are part of Gen Z, also known as the iGen. We recently shared that 54% of Gen Z won’t complete an application if a company’s recruiting methods are outdated. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it is incredibly important to keep in mind when you are coming up with a strategy to attract this group of candidates.
Here are three great suggestions from a recent HR Morning article:
- Start promotional efforts as soon as possible–if you haven’t already
- Establish a solid brand presence online
- Include language the specifically targets college graduates
- Embrace talent pool diversity by targeting various schools, not just the same ones you target year after year
Now, let’s talk execution. The easiest way to attract talent is to meet candidates where they already are. As we mentioned before, this graduate cohort is part of the iGen and they spend a lot of their day online.
That is exactly why you need to leverage organic social recruiting.
How to attract recent college graduate candidates on social media
Posting your jobs and complementary employer brand content to your company, recruiter, and employee social media pages can help you stand out and get in front of the class of 2023. So, what are some tips?
1. Post to channels that are popular for college students
With so many social media channels out there it’s important to focus on the ones where college students are mostly on. According to the Kanasas State Collegian, the top four social media platforms for college students are TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Of course, if you are hiring for corporate roles you may also want to consider adding LinkedIn into the mix.
2. Turbocharge your efforts with personalized organic social recruiting
Over 60% of Gen Z prefers and relies upon referrals from an employer’s current or former employees as the most trusted job source. Your recruiting efforts need to go beyond your brand–they need to include your people. Having your people post jobs and employer brand content is like employee referrals, but at a much larger scale. BCD Meetings and events likes to refer to their social recruiting platform as “personable automation.”
Schedule a demo!
College graduation season is officially upon us and a new wave of young, motivated candidates are about to enter the workforce, which is great for talent acquisition teams looking to fill entry-level roles.
These college grads are part of Gen Z, also known as the iGen. We recently shared that 54% of Gen Z won’t complete an application if a company’s recruiting methods are outdated. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it is incredibly important to keep in mind when you are coming up with a strategy to attract this group of candidates.
Here are three great suggestions from a recent HR Morning article:
- Start promotional efforts as soon as possible–if you haven’t already
- Establish a solid brand presence online
- Include language the specifically targets college graduates
- Embrace talent pool diversity by targeting various schools, not just the same ones you target year after year
Now, let’s talk execution. The easiest way to attract talent is to meet candidates where they already are. As we mentioned before, this graduate cohort is part of the iGen and they spend a lot of their day online.
That is exactly why you need to leverage organic social recruiting.
How to attract recent college graduate candidates on social media
Posting your jobs and complementary employer brand content to your company, recruiter, and employee social media pages can help you stand out and get in front of the class of 2023. So, what are some tips?
1. Post to channels that are popular for college students
With so many social media channels out there it’s important to focus on the ones where college students are mostly on. According to the Kanasas State Collegian, the top four social media platforms for college students are TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Of course, if you are hiring for corporate roles you may also want to consider adding LinkedIn into the mix.
2. Turbocharge your efforts with personalized organic social recruiting
Over 60% of Gen Z prefers and relies upon referrals from an employer’s current or former employees as the most trusted job source. Your recruiting efforts need to go beyond your brand–they need to include your people. Having your people post jobs and employer brand content is like employee referrals, but at a much larger scale. BCD Meetings and events likes to refer to their social recruiting platform as “personable automation.”
3. Leverage hashtags that specifically target college graduates for entry-level roles
Hashtags are a great way to make sure your job and employer brand posts are getting seen by the right audience. It also lets candidates know if they are qualified for the position!
Here are some hashtags that we recommend: #NewGrads, #EntryLevelJobs, #PaidInternships, #GenZJobs, or anything similar!
Content ideas to fuel your organic social recruiting strategy
With each post you will want to use attention-grabbing images. Why? Because it helps stop the scroll! Once you stop the scroll you will want to make sure the image and captions include good content that makes candidates want to apply. So, what are some ideas?
1. Embrace your company values and culture in your social media posts
Gen Z wants to work for companies that align with their personal values, including taking a stance on environmental issues and sustainability, and those that are committed to social causes. Does your company do things to make a difference for the environment or DE&I initiatives? Let candidates know!
2. Show how you support your employees
If you want to attract college graduates, then you need to showcase how your employees feel about working for your company. 76% of Gen Zers say a great place to work is one with caring, friendly, and socially conscious people. Share things like employee spotlights and testimonials!
3. Highlight benefits that they want to hear about
It’s not all about the foosball tables and snacks anymore for Gen Z. They have different values, for example, mental health. 82% of Gen Z employees find it important to have mental health days and/or mental health training. Do you offer something unique like this? Make sure you are promoting it on social media!
The only social recruiting platform built for talent acquisition teams
CareerArc turns social media into your recruiting engine. By activating your two most influential recruiting resources—your employer brand and your employee networks—CareerArc quickly scales your recruiting reach through automation so you attract more qualified candidates for any, and every, role.
Finally reach the top candidates you’ve been missing—faster, more efficiently, and more easily than ever before.
Auto-sync
CareerArc auto-syncs with your ATS inventory to connect your jobs with multiple social media platforms via our all-in-one social recruiting dashboard. Always be up-to-date without lifting a finger!
Auto-create
Our engine intelligently matches your content and graphics with related jobs to create high-quality, attention-grabbing posts at scale with minimal effort. Say goodbye to manual social media post creation!
Auto-publish
Reach more candidates with automated posting to unlimited company, recruiter, and employee social media profiles. Recruiting on autopilot? I’m in. Sit back, relax and watch your candidates flow in!
