Tag: #earlycareers

Delivering Cost Savings and a Healthy Return on Investment for a Rural Healthcare System

Posted on by nfuqua
Delivering Cost Savings and a Healthy Return on Investment for a Rural Healthcare System

Delivering Cost Savings and a Healthy Return on Investment for a Rural Healthcare System

A major rural healthcare system turned to PeopleScout for technology-powered healthcare RPO enhanced by a recruitment marketing campaign, resulting in a $4+ million cost savings.

77 % reduction in nursing recruitment spend, totaling $4+ million in savings to date
97 % new hire retention
98 % hiring leader satisfaction score

Situation

This healthcare provider was having trouble sourcing and hiring for nursing roles in North Dakota, a rural state heavily impacted by ongoing nursing shortages, forcing the client to rely on travel nurse staffing providers to deliver talent to support rural healthcare recruitment. The reliance on these staffing providers proved expensive, with the client paying an average of $73 an hour per locum nurse in contrast to paying $34 an hour on average per full-time nurse. Traveling nurses also work on 13-week contracts, meaning that the client receives temporary talent and less value for their recruitment spend.

To improve talent acquisition costs and attract hard-to-hire candidates, the client needed a full-cycle healthcare RPO partner that could streamline the hiring process and build a strong recruitment marketing program. PeopleScout’s RPO program started with nursing hires and now spans 90% of the client’s clinical and non-clinical hiring, including aides, clerical workers, interns, leadership positions, RNs, LPNs, professional services, technical roles and therapists.

Solution

Build a Local Recruiting Team

PeopleScout built a local recruiting team balanced with virtual support. This enables PeopleScout to work directly with the client on-site with the increased efficiency of a virtual team.

Develop Improved Employer Branding and Location Branding

PeopleScout partnered with the client to understand their employer value proposition and employer brand and then built out recruitment marketing materials to showcase the strong culture and cutting-edge medical facility. The recruitment marketing campaign also included messaging on the benefits of working in the rural area, like the strong university presence, short commute, low crime and sense of community.

Target Recent Graduates

The client partnered with PeopleScout to focus their efforts on hiring recent graduates from local universities. This helped the client get ahead of the competition and train new employees in their RN Residency Program.

Implementing Hiring Bonuses

PeopleScout advised the client to implement a $10,000 hiring bonus for new nurses to ensure their employment offers were competitive based on industry data and research.

Implementation of Affinix and Streamlining Recruiting Processes

PeopleScout implemented our proprietary total talent suite, Affinix® which helped the client streamline recruiting processes through tools that supported management of direct sourcing, panel interviewing and an expedited offer process—decreasing time-to-fill rates.

Results

Cost Savings

After implementing PeopleScout’s full-cycle healthcare talent acquisition solution, the client reduced its nursing recruitment spend by 77%, totaling $4+ million in savings to date. 

Lowest Nurse Vacancy Rate

PeopleScout helped the client achieve their lowest nurse vacancy rate ever — 1.3%. The client also achieved a 136% increase in hiring new graduate registered nurses. The client reduced its use of traveling nurses by 68%, and for the first time, was able to hire nurses willing to relocate for the position.

Process Improvement

With PeopleScout’s expertise, the client achieved 97% new hire retention and 98% hiring leader satisfaction scores for exceptional performance. The client was so impressed with PeopleScout’s results hiring nurses that the client now outsources 90% of their hiring to PeopleScout.

Enhanced Employer Branding

PeopleScout leveraged the client’s strong employer value proposition and was able to partner with the healthcare provider to create an enhanced suite of employer branding materials that feature real employees. PeopleScout also used a comprehensive approach to reach candidates, including social media, campus recruiting and paid search ads.

Client Feedback

“We are so impressed with this partnership, and it’s a significant improvement from our past recruitment practices. We feel so confident working with a partner who ‘gets it,’ and we are excited about the quality of our candidate pool.”

Client Feedback

“Out of the three nursing jobs I have obtained in the past, this was by far the most professional and friendly hiring process that I have been through. It was a pleasant change.”

New Hire Feedback

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Rural healthcare system
  • INDUSTRY
    Healthcare
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Advisory, Affinix
  • ABOUT THE CLIENT
    This American nonprofit healthcare system has served portions of the Midwest for more than 130 years. It employs over 3,500 health professionals and support staff.
Let’s Connect

Vodafone: Overcoming a Powerful Consumer Brand in Graduate Recruitment

Posted on by jpatel
Vodafone: Overcoming a Powerful Consumer Brand in Graduate Recruitment

Vodafone: Overcoming a Powerful Consumer Brand in Graduate Recruitment

To overcome misperceptions about their mission, Vodafone engaged PeopleScout for employer branding and a recruitment marketing campaign to support its early careers recruitment program.

16,000 Applications Received, Beating our Target by 60%
23 % Increase in the Numbers of Female Candidates
27 Places Jumped on the Times Top 100 Rankings

Counterintuitive as it sounds, strong consumer brands can hinder recruitment. Applicants can get an idea of what to expect that doesn’t match the reality of the careers experience being offered. This was the case with Vodafone. For consumers, the organization is a high-profile mobile phone retailer. But, behind that perception sits a multifaceted tech innovator with a mission to make the future world a better place.

In order to achieve this, Vodafone turned to PeopleScout to help it become a youth employer of choice, because changing the future meant gaining the buy-in of those who would be influential within it for years to come.

Research

As part of our research phase, we took a deep dive into Vodafone’s future jobs strategy. The client wanted to overcome high levels of youth unemployment by providing up to 100,000 young people with a digital workplace experience at Vodafone. Plus, given that one-in-five young people say they feel under-prepared for the digital economy, the business set another ambitious goal to support 10 million young people with access to digital skills, learning and employment opportunities.

So, how could Vodafone attract Millennials, Gen Z and beyond? These generations are big achievers whose ambitions soar higher than working in mobile phone retail. We needed an attraction strategy and recruitment marketing campaign that changed their audience’s perceptions about Vodafone and all the different kinds of careers—and impacts—they could make there.

The Brief

Vodafone asked us to create a campaign that would spark conversations and stand out as part of their instantly recognizable brand. They needed to generate 10,000 applications to fill 150 graduate roles and 100 intern/industrial student placements across the business. Plus, the overarching goal was to change misperceptions of Vodafone, showing it as a major tech company, not a retailer, and build its reputation as a youth employer of choice. Importantly, we were asked to reach a more diverse audience and increase female applications.

Audience Insights

Of our target audience, 90.4% regularly used social media. On top of this, 91% of all social media users access channels via mobile. So, we developed a mobile-first, social media friendly campaign. Further research revealed that many students with the right background and personal qualifications were put off from applying due to a lack of confidence. So, we needed a message that was bold, relatable and empowering.

Just as important as the audience insights were the strategic considerations. Candidates are also customers. When buying products, they expect a streamlined, user-friendly, friction-free process, and they had the same expectation when making career decisions. So, we made every touchpoint (especially the application) as slick and easy as possible.

No contemporary attraction approach can be just about advertising. Long-term connections are far more powerful. So, central to our strategy was to set Vodafone up to engage in conversations and initiatives with high-potential university students throughout their full university lifecycle. In short, the strategy was to start on day one, not year three.

The Core Message

Our message, #GenerationPossible, aimed to capture the spirit of change and possibility and draw on the opportunity young people have to make an impact on the world for the better. Our visual approach used photography that reflected our target audience combined with bold headline statements.

Social media and career site content featured current grads and interns sharing their advice for the next generation of Vodafone employees, with a #GenerationPossible video at the heart of this campaign. Our six-month social media strategy for mobile consisted of 104 social posts with 20 mini-videos/GIFs. We posted, tracked and analyzed this content on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Get to Know Us Videos

Our research had identified that our target audience felt like they weren’t good enough or lacked the skills to take on these roles. So, we created a series of videos featuring current Vodafone graduate recruits and interns. Filmed in and around Vodafone’s main campus, these videos gave real-life insights into what they could expect when it came to work, wellbeing, social responsibility, innovation, the assessment center and the interview process.

Campus Events

Away from social media, we built a series of 41 on-campus events to connect students directly with Vodafone employees. We carefully chose our campuses based on those with the highest female-to-male ratios for tech degrees, as a way to help us drive up female applications.

Results

The campaign comfortably exceeded Vodafone’s expectations.

  • We generated over 16,000 applications – beating our target by 60%.
  • We increased the number of female candidates by 23%.
  • We increased Instagram impressions by 89.3% (post-campaign vs. pre-campaign).
  • We saw 1.5 million Facebook impressions.
  • We gained 6.8 million impressions on organic posts on LinkedIn.
  • We created a hyper-targeted paid Facebook campaign which produced 390,510 impressions and 2,541 clicks – all from the target audience.

These numbers are backed up by audience sentiment. We improved Vodafone’s reputation as an employer significantly, jumping 27 places in the Times Top 100 rankings. As a result of its success, Vodafone asked us to develop the concept for their apprentice campaign audience and roll it out through a new assessment process design.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Vodafone
  • INDUSTRY
    Telecomms
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Talent Advisory
  • ABOUT VODAFONE
    Vodafone is a British multinational telecommunications company. They provide connectivity and digital services for over 300 million people to work, learn, stay in touch with friends and family, access healthcare and more.
Let’s Connect

The Future of Graduate Recruitment is Digital

Posted on by nfuqua

The graduate recruitment process has grown increasingly digital in the past few years, but the entire process for 2020 was held online due to the pandemic. However, the virus didn’t create this change; it simply sped up a process that was already happening.

As a graduate resourcing consultant, 2020 is my fourth graduate recruitment cycle. I currently work on the Lendlease team at PeopleScout, supporting our client by sourcing bright minded graduates who will help to shape and deliver the future of the construction and property industry.

And, despite the uncertainty in the world right now, I am confident that this move to digital graduate recruitment will stick.

Graduate Roles are Still Important

Graduates are the future of every business. Lendlease has a two-year graduate program, and the people hired for those roles use that program to grow their skills and experience before moving on to other roles within the business. We have even seen some of those graduate hires grow to become senior leaders at Lendlease.

Furthermore, it is critically important to continue recruiting for graduate roles during this uncertain time. Graduates futureproof the business by bringing in diverse, new talent with different perspectives, new ideas and an understanding of current trends. By actively filling these roles, we are preparing for the future beyond COVID-19.

But, the Graduate Recruitment Process Needs to Change

Normally, the planning for a graduate recruitment cycle begins in the previous year. For 2020, we started planning in November and December of 2019. We prepare through January and February, and then the campaign goes live in March. In previous years, we would attend career fairs, flying to different universities and presenting information about Lendlease in person. Throughout the next few months, candidates would apply and interview online, and finally attend an in-person assessment center.

But, in 2020, we needed to adapt rapidly. We stuck with our normal timeframes, but moved the entire process online – career fairs and assessment centers included. Earlier this year, I attended one of the virtual career fairs.

The fair was run by a university, and nearly 1,500 students registered. We advertised on social media to get students excited to speak with Lendlease. On the day of the fair, about 300 students visited the digital booth – making it one of the most popular. I was able to present to larger groups of students at once – something that isn’t possible at a traditional booth. Students also came with questions, which I was able to answer and talk with them about one-on-one.

The virtual fair I attended was held using Zoom video technology, along with the help of a third-party provider to ensure everything ran smoothly on the day of the event. Each employer had a unique booth and logo, so students could easily identify them and talk with employer representatives. Many graduates registered to come talk with us, allowing us to target hundreds of students in just three hours without having to travel.

Best Practices to Make the Transition Smooth

For the process to be successful, consider the types of technology you use. For virtual career fairs, the university may already have a preferred platform. However, you will still need to consider virtual interviews and virtual assessments. At PeopleScout, we use Affinix™, our proprietary talent technology. With Affinix, we can schedule and conduct virtual interviews – live or recorded – on a candidate’s own time.

Likewise, it is important to focus on communication. Graduates want to hear from you. Something as simple as a message to check in can be powerful. Communicating with candidates, even if it means admitting you don’t have all the answers, builds trust in an uncertain time.

Graduate Recruitment Won’t Go Back

With the COVID-19 crisis, we are always facing new surprises. However, with graduate recruitment, the surprise was how well the process worked – even with changes taking place under a tight timeline. We had to adapt quickly, but we saw that the digital process works. Students responded well to online career fairs. We saved money by avoiding air travel and lodging. We communicated with and assessed candidates in ways that kept everyone safe.

Based on our experience, 2020 won’t be a one-off year in which graduate recruitment looks different than normal. It will be the first year where digital graduate recruitment is normal.

High-Speed Hiring for Key Professional Roles

Posted on by Kate
High-Speed Hiring for Key Professional Roles

Travel & Leisure Recruitment

High-Speed Hiring for Key Professional Roles

A major international airline faced time-to-fill challenges in key professional roles within the organization including finance, purchasing, legal, IT, technical operations and human resources. PeopleScout partnered with the client to implement a full-cycle, end-to-end RPO program focused on hiring speed and agility to improve time-to-fill metrics for professional hiring across multiple key positions.

44 % reduction in the time between offer acceptance and clear-for-hire
OFCCP compliance standards maintained in the heavily regulated airline industry
OFCCP compliance standards maintained in the heavily regulated airline industry
100 % class fill rates for customer service hires

Scope and Scale

A major international airline faced time-to-fill challenges in key professional roles within the organization including finance, purchasing, legal, IT, technical operations and human resources. PeopleScout partnered with the client to implement a full-cycle, end-to-end RPO program focused on hiring speed and agility to improve time-to-fill metrics for professional hiring across multiple key positions.

PeopleScout’s solution provides additional hiring support for union roles and manages airport frontline hiring at all airport stations, above and below the wing, including conducting in-person interview events, making hiring decisions, onboarding and campus hiring.

Situation

PeopleScout partners with a major international airline to manage the airline’s multifaceted and unique hiring needs. PeopleScout supports the hiring of all professional hires in the U.S. and conducts on-site hiring events that include interviewing, selection and onboarding to meet the client’s hiring requirements in short timeframes.

Solution

STREAMLINED RECRUITMENT PROCESS

PeopleScout’s full lifecycle RPO program streamlines the recruiting process to meet the client’s needs.

FULL-SERVICE EXECUTION

PeopleScout executes each phase of the recruitment process from screening candidates, candidate notification, scheduling and submitting written offers to onboarding new hires.

CAMPUS HIRING PROGRAM

PeopleScout manages the client’s campus hiring program. PeopleScout oversees event coordination, travel arrangements, relationship building and brand positioning to recruit undergraduate and MBA students.

OFCCP COMPLIANT

To help the client remain compliant in the heavily regulated airline industry, PeopleScout maintains OFCCP compliance standards.

PROGRAM DATA ANALYSIS

PeopleScout sends regularly updated status reports and analyses of program data to deliver insights into performance metrics and identify areas for improvement.

Results

Optimized Screening Process

PeopleScout optimized the initial candidate screening process, resulting in improvements in the interview-to-offer ratio, time-to-fill and overall quality of hire.

Reduced Acceptance Time

As a result of PeopleScout’s RPO program, there was a 44% reduction in the time between offer acceptance and clear-for-hire for union frontline positions.

Engaging Onboarding Experience

PeopleScout’s delivery team enhances the client’s candidate experience and provides the company’s new hires with an engaging and thoughtful onboarding experience. This resulted in the client’s Candidate Experience Awards wins from 2016 to 2018.

100% fill rates

PeopleScout delivers 100% class fill rates for customer service hires.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Major international airline
  • INDUSTRY
    Travel & Tourism
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing
Let’s Connect

How to Effectively Recruit Recent Graduates

Posted on by epadmin

How to recruit college graduates is a question many talent leaders are wondering. According to UCLA’s Trends in Executive Development report, “experienced leaders of the Baby Boomer generation continue to retire at a pace of 10,000 per day.” The mass exodus of Baby Boomers from the labor market leaves a sizable workforce gap void of seasoned and experienced talent.

When Generation Xers and Millennials ascend into leadership positions to replace Baby Boomers, mid and entry-level positions are left vacant. To fill these positions, organizations are increasingly turning to recent college graduates. In fact, according to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder, 74 percent of employers say they plan to hire recent college graduates.

For organizations looking to fill the gap left by retiring Baby Boomers, recruiting and hiring talent from universities is a significant first step. In this post, we examine some of the best practices and strategies for attracting, recruiting and hiring recent graduates.

The Benefits of Recruiting Recent Graduates

how to recruit college graduates

Most recent graduates do not have years of experience. However, what recent graduates lack in professional experience can be made up elsewhere. Many students participated in volunteer activities, performed leadership roles in student government or clubs and completed internships, all of which can help develop critical workplace skills. From technical aptitude to adaptability, recent grads have characteristics that can be additions to an organization. Below, we list some of the main benefits of hiring recent graduates.

Recent Graduates are Ambitious and Enthusiastic

After graduation, many students are eager to begin their professional careers; they want to make a good impression, and they want to succeed. A sense of gratitude may also accompany a new hire’s desire to do well in their role. This can lead to a strong commitment to the job from the beginning, not to mention enthusiasm to learn, succeed and make leadership proud.

How to Recruit College Graduates: Recent Graduates are Tech-Savvy

Recent graduates have more than likely spent time learning and mastering new technologies, making their ability to navigate technology capabilities and functionalities second nature. What’s more, according to an Accenture Strategy Survey, nearly three-quarters of Generation Z graduates have taken digital, coding or computer science-related courses in college. These skills can give newly hired graduates the opportunity to share their knowledge across an organization.

Greater Diversity Outcomes

With graduating classes becoming more and more diverse, organizations have a prime opportunity to recruit talent from all walks of life. Pew Research projects that both colleges and workplaces can expect to see diversity numbers climb, with the class of 2025 expected to be the most diverse in history. Embracing diversity and incorporating it into overall corporate culture has many benefits. According to a survey conducted by McKinsey and Company, businesses with a diverse workforce are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above industry averages.

Long-Term Talent Development

Hiring graduates with a focus on developing their skills affords organizations the opportunity to recruit the leaders of the future. Organizations can groom recent graduates and equip them with the knowledge and skills needed for leadership. By thinking about the long-term needs of the organization, hiring managers can proactively fill forecasted skill, workforce and leadership gaps with fresh, ready-to-learn talent.

Sourcing Strategies for Graduate Recruitment

When recruiting recent graduates, organizations need a strong presence where they work, live and go to school, and on the platforms and technologies they use the most. The majority of today’s job seekers are Millennial and Gen Z graduates. To reach young talent, it’s critical for organizations to connect with them in the ways they can relate to – namely through technology. Below we list digital sourcing strategies for recruiting the best talent among recent graduates.

How to Recruit College Graduates on Social Media

Social media’s ubiquitous nature makes it one of the most effective recruiting tools for Generation Z and Millennials. To reach a large pool of recent college graduates, organizations should establish recruiting-focused Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook pages that highlight entry–level jobs. Social media recruiting tips include:

  • Organizations should utilize Facebook’s Graph Search option to find graduates with the specific skills and educational background they are looking for in candidates.
  • On LinkedIn, organizations should use keywords relevant to open entry-level positions to attract the right candidates as well as posting jobs in alumni groups and university pages.
  • Although Twitter only permits 280 characters in posts, organizations can add videos about their company and photos to gain the attention of recent graduate candidates.

How to Recruit College Graduates with Mobile Recruiting

Mobile recruiting is growing in popularity as more and more applicants initiate their job searches on their mobile devices. What’s more, 86 percent of recent graduates feel positive about text messages being used in the hiring process. Organizations can use SMS messages to alert candidates of new opportunities and coordinate interviews. While sending job opportunities via text can be valuable, organizations should be careful not to overdo it. Mobile-first talent technology like PeopleScout’s Affinixtm can help organizations leverage mobile recruiting tools to attract candidates to entry-level positions.

How to Recruit College Graduates with your Career Page

Members of Generation Z are always online, so investing in a well-designed, content-rich career page for students to learn about job openings is well worth the effort. If possible, organizations should personalize a graduate career page to highlight alumni hires, experiences of recent graduates and employer messaging tailored to engage potential hires. Graduate career pages should be optimized for search engines and contain relevant keywords so job seekers can easily find it. Links to the page should also be included in communications with prospective candidates.

Building and Maintaining Campus Relationships

Establishing strong relationships with universities is a key element to successful campus recruiting.

To start, organizations should reach out to a university’s career center. When communicating with the career center’s team, focus on communicating what your organization can do for the university. Once a relationship is established with the career center, organizations should leverage that connection to start nurturing relationships with faculty.

Organizations should become active in different campus activities, even if those activities are not directly associated with recruiting. For example, organizations can identify student groups related to their industry and offer sponsorship programs for activities and events. This is a great way to create a positive brand image on campus. Below, are other strategies for building relationships with universities and students:

  • Organizations should participate in networking events hosted by the university to get to know potential candidates, faculty members and administrators who can help in campus recruiting efforts.
  • Sponsoring academic conferences and events on campus is a good way to illustrate that an organization is a committed partner in supporting the educational mission of the university.
  • To boost their profile on campus and connect better with faculty, organizations should enlist the help of campus ambassadors, former employees who attended that university.
  • Organizations should offer university staff and students on-site visits to their offices to share their company culture and give students a real-world view of the workplace.

Engaging Students at Campus Career Fairs

College job fairs have been a mainstay of on-campus recruiting for years. To make the most of career fairs, organizations should carefully tailor their approach. In this section, we outline ways organizations can better engage students at campus career fairs.

Bring the A-Team

Companies should bring employees who will best reflect the experiences and values most important to students. Often, these individuals will be recent graduates, members of the leadership team or employees currently holding positions candidates may be particularly interested in.

When selecting a team, identify employees who have a passion for what they do and an interest in building relationships with students. Also, organizations should be sure to have a diverse range of culture, ethnicities, age, and gender reflected in the recruiters at their booth.

Follow Up

After the career fair has wrapped up, organizations need to quickly follow up with interested candidates to refresh their memories and keep the organization “top-of-mind” as a future potential employer.

Tips for post-career fair follow up include:

  • Collect as much information from students as possible and use that information to send targeted emails. For example, you could notify them of upcoming hiring events in their area.
  • Provide candidates with specific, tangible options for engaging with your organization after the career fair, such as the contact information of employees they met with at the fair, links to career pages and invitations to in-house meet and greets.

Timely, professional and tailored correspondence to candidates immediately after a career fair can help improve employer branding.

Outsource College Recruiting

When recruiting recent graduates, organizations can leverage the technology of outside resources to maximize their reach and improve recruiting outcomes. From sourcing and screening to interviewing and hiring recent graduates, a Recruitment Process Outsourcing partner can effectively deploy technology to assist organizations with campus talent acquisition.

As the business landscape becomes more complicated and organizations look to adapt to changes, hiring young forward-thinking graduates will continue to be important for remaining competitive. Learning how to recruit college graduates and implementing an RPO solution to help recruit students can imbue an organization with expertise, tools and technologies to create the talent pipeline needed to find tomorrow’s talent today.

Prospects for the Class of 2018

Posted on by epadmin

The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that approximately 1.9 million bachelor’s degrees will be awarded in the 2017-2018 academic year in the United States. These graduates will be among the millions worldwide who will be entering the job market with a degree for the first time.

A strong economy with low unemployment and robust growth projections should indicate that the graduates of the Class of 2018 have bright prospects for finding their first job after graduation. And while it is true that many graduates will benefit from the current strong demand for talent, others may face unexpected challenges. NACE, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, reports that employers plan to hire 1.3 percent fewer graduates from the Class of 2018 for U.S. positions than they did from the Class of 2017.

The study notes that volatility in just a few industries will impact the overall hiring outlook. Two industries, in particular, are driving this overall decrease: insurance firms and retail employers. Insurance firms responding to the survey projected a decrease in hires by 42 percent due to the recent natural disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which led to high payment amounts for catastrophic losses. Retail employers plan to decrease their hires by almost 33 percent, citing the changing landscape of the industry and a lack of job openings as the key factors. 2018 marks the first decrease in this hiring projection since the Class of 2010.

Despite the obstacles that some new graduates may face, the members of the Class of 2018 in the U.S. will be entering the workforce at a time of record high job openings. Yet a study released earlier this month notes that three-quarters of this year’s graduating class do not have jobs lined up after graduation. In the current extremely competitive job market, employers hoping to attract these first-time job seekers need to understand their concerns and expectations.

Wage Pressures for 2018 Graduates

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, approximately 70 percent of college students borrow money to pay for their tuition. The average debt to a student borrower is $27,975. A significant number of candidates from the Class of 2018 will be entering the job market with student loan debts that they will seek to pay off as soon as possible. This makes compensation a major factor in choosing a job. In addition, many of the most attractive employers are located in large cities with a high cost of living. The Class of 2018 job seekers may find themselves balancing their need for a sizable paycheck with other attributes employers have to offer.

Which Majors Pay the Most?

While many students choose their field of study based on interest and applicability to their future careers, graduates of the Class of 2018 can evaluate their choices based on projections of their future earnings. In the NACE Winter 2018 Salary Report for the Class of 2018, students with engineering, computer science and math and sciences degrees are the top-paid graduates at the bachelor’s degree level.

The average starting salary for a 2018 graduate in engineering is $66,521 followed closely by those majoring in computer science at $66,005. Math and sciences majors will average $61,867. While an undergraduate degree in business was once thought of as a ticket to a high starting salary compared to a degree in social sciences and humanities, the initial average earning for business is only slightly higher for the Class of 2018. A business major can expect an average income of $56,720 while a social sciences major can plan to earn an average of $56,689 and a humanities major will average $56,688.

Global Outlook

For much of the world’s largest economies, the strong demand for talent provides a good environment for first-time job seekers. The notable exception is in much of southern and eastern Europe where youth unemployment remains high. Due to the uncertainties related to Brexit, especially regarding the free movement of labor, the Class of 2018 is potentially facing fewer options of work locations than their predecessors.

In Canada, new college graduates can use data from the recent BMO’s Regional Labour Market Report Card to help determine the best locations in which to search for jobs. Moncton, New Brunswick topped the City Labour Market Performance Rankings, increasing from a six-year low. British Columbia and Ontario are showing the strongest results for overall job market conditions by province. Local unemployment, job growth and business investment are some of the elements that contribute to the ratings provided by the report.

Australian college graduates are increasingly turning to part-time work for employment. The Guardian reported earlier this year that there is a pronounced trend towards part-time employment among graduates. Between 2008 and 2017, the proportion of employed graduates working part time increased by 17 percentage points to 38 percent of all graduates. And part-time employment is growing in Australia. In the March 2018 Australian Employment Report, part-time jobs grew while full-time jobs decreased.

UK Study with Global Implications

A study from Universities UK found that one in three graduates are mismatched to the jobs they find after leaving their university studies. While universities and students themselves can take steps to address this issue, employers need to attract the right people at the right time for the right positions. Given the amount of early attrition in much of the world’s major economies, this problem is not limited to the UK.

Finding the Perfect Match

A key element in solving this “graduate to job mismatch” is in the recruitment process itself.  Take a moment to consider what attributes a new graduate should have to be an ideal candidate for your company. How can you know if these ideal candidates exist? And if they do exist, how can you successfully compete with other companies to attract them?

What steps do you need to take to increase the chances that it will be your job offer that is accepted and not one of your competitors? If the answers to these questions are not addressed in your current recruitment process, it may be time to turn to an expert. Enterprises that have shown success in the delivery of products and services should consider turning to a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) company to provide the needed expertise to attract the millions of new graduates coming into the job market this year. And with many graduates receiving their degrees this month and job markets tighter than they have been in years, the time to act is now.