Gradconsult founder and managing director, Rebecca Fielding, looks back at the past 12 months in graduate recruitment. How accurate did her predictions prove to be?
At the start of this year I made some predictions about what to expect in the graduate recruitment market in 2019. So, as the year draws to a close, I wanted to come full circle and reflect on the 'year that was' and which predictions held true. After all, 2019 has not always been kind to forecasters.
1. Graduate hires have increased
Despite relatively stagnant economic growth and the spectre of Brexit looming over employers in 2019, we haven't seen any drop-off in hire numbers in the UK graduate recruitment market. In fact the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) reported the number of graduates recruited by their members has increased by around 10% since 2018. This is testament to the huge demand for graduate-level skills within the UK economy and can only be good news for students and universities alike.
And while 2020 will now no doubt be the 'year of Brexit', most graduate hire numbers and campaigns are already set and in motion. So, will it now be 2021 before we start to see a dip in graduate hires and a more demand rather than supply-led market? I suspect so. For now, however, the competition for graduate talent remains high and candidate experience is king.
2. Recruitment technology is king
Whether it's using virtual reality, psychometric tests, chat bots, situational simulations or games, there has been a significant shift this year towards integrating more recruitment technology into the process. The benefits of this approach are clear:
- removing unconscious bias and driving diversity
- reducing costs
- decreasing time to hire
- increasing predictive validity and candidate face validity of assessment
- improving candidate experience and providing candidates 24-hour support.
There have been some very interesting and perhaps unintended consequences of this change - not least the student demand to meet with and talk to 'real human beings'. The faceless nature of technology is no doubt disenfranchising some candidates and dehumanising the process.
Students are also savvy enough to spot the same popular platforms or approaches being adopted by multiple employers (without understanding the specific tailoring or nuance from one employer to another), generating a degree of, often unwarranted, cynicism among candidates.
Not only has the number of employer interactions on campus increased but the nature, complexity and ambition of these events has also changed
3. 'On campus' is back with a bang
Hot on the heels of technology generating more time for recruiters and more demand from applicants to meet real people - visiting campus has been back in a big way in 2019. 91% of ISE employers used visits to campus for graduate attraction and these visits topped the table of most effective attraction methods too. You only need to speak with a small number of university careers teams to get the sense of their 'biggest autumn semester ever', with many reporting record number of employer events taking place.
This has been music to the ears of many experienced graduate recruiters and university careers teams who have listened to the 'are careers fairs dead?' debate roll on since the early 2000s. But interestingly I do think there is a notable difference between the term 'visits on campus' and 'careers fairs'. Because not only has the number of employer interactions on campus increased but the nature, complexity and ambition of these events has also changed.
More and more are taking place embedded in curricula, working with academic colleagues, collaborating with other employers and linked to meaningful employability, work experience and diversity long-term strategies on both sides (universities and employers). So, while being on campus is back (hurrah!) the age-old generic careers fair format might perhaps be lessening in popularity.
4. There's still a long road to radical honesty
2019 has been a year of greater visibility and honesty - with more employers putting their current graduates and employees front and centre in their attraction strategies. From photos on the website or in the brochure, to hosting social media takeovers, AMA threads, Facebook live streams or DILO (day in the life of) blogs and videos - all of these methods are helping candidates to make more informed and better researched career decisions and job applications.
But it's fair to say that most of this still tends to present employers, careers and opportunities in a more positive light. In the context of WikiJob, LinkedIn, Rate my Placement and Glassdoor, it's fair to say 'the truth is out there' already (a little X-Files reference there for all my fellow sci-fi geeks of a certain age) and much could still be done to introduce 'radical honesty' into graduate attraction and marketing.
Informing applicants about the disadvantages, downsides and challenges of your graduate roles and who the business/opportunity is not for, as much as who it is for can only be a good thing - leading to fewer, better suited applicants and better long-term retention.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on 2019, the year that was. Have I missed any big themes or topics that stood out for you? You can connect with me on LinkedIn.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of HECSU/Prospects
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