A 2020 article by Business Insider introduces a troubling revelation: that the damage brought upon by the global pandemic can be as devastating toward gen Zs as the financial disaster from 2008 to 2009. To attract and retain an entire cautious and risk-averse generation, campus recruitment needs an innovative strategy that strongly leverages technology as early as possible. A holistic approach empowered by campus recruiting technology will guarantee recruitment efficiency from employer branding to final onboarding.

Let us go through some of the technologies being employed by modern recruiters in the ever-present talent hunt.

COVID-19 Impact on the Way We Recruit & Work

The global response in the form of social distancing has irrevocably changed the way we work and recruit. The global talent acquisition and management firm Alexander Mann Solutions, in partnership with Aptitude Research – conducted surveys across North America, EMEA, and APAC during the pandemic to establish the impact of Covid-19 on talent acquisition:

• 38% of companies had put talent acquisition on hold
• 17% of companies reduce the numbers of hires planned
• 60% of companies want to fill opening positions fast
• Earlier in 2020, 8% of companies used an outsourced model, but as the pandemic ensued, this number doubled.

Peculiarly, although the number of hires drops, the speed of recruitment is still a priority. Enforced quarantine measures also play a significant hand in how companies acquire their talents. As physical interviews or traditional career fair events no longer an option, recruiting teams now focus their attention on the internet and various campus recruiting techs.

Flexibility Is the Top Priority

Before Covid 19, the flexibility of working from home or a remote location can be a very enticing perk. However, the pandemic has turned this work model into a commonality. Some employees even expected it as a standard option for a position when job hunting.

According to Future Forum research of 4,700 global knowledge workers, the majority never want to go back to the old way of working. Only 12% want to return to full-time office work, and 72% want a hybrid remote-office model moving forward.

As the writing of this post, global businesses of all sizes employ the “work-from-home” format. Companies like Twitter have decided that their employees can work from home forever if they wish to. Any company that offers flexible working modes can potentially win over young talents in Generation Z. You are looking at a generation with a very different view regarding the traditional 9 to 5 work schedule.

Virtual First Approach - Increase in Campus Recruiting Technology Usage

According to a 2020 Forbes article, global internet usage saw a drastic surge up to 70% compared to the pre-pandemic period. In social distancing times, the Internet’s role as ‘The great Connectors’ became even more apparent.

Now that employees can easily choose to work remotely or face-to-face as the workplace is now distributed across homes, offices, and satellite offices. On LinkedIn, Job inquiries with the tag “Remote” applied have increased more than double since the beginning of March 2020. Managers, in return, learn how to manage, coach, collaborate, evaluate performance and motivate their team remotely to adapt to this work model.

Campus recruiting was also heavily affected in this first quarter of 2020. The National Association of Colleges and Employers sent out a poll on March 9, 2020, amongst its members regarding how the pandemic has changed their respective campus recruiting plan. By the end of March, the number of NACE members planning to attend a career fair has dropped from 43.60% to 19.60%. With physical events out of the option, recruiters also turn to the internet. Technologies such as video interviewing or virtual career fairs now play a pivotal role in reaching out to candidates.

Campus Recruiting Technologies to Win the Virtual Recruitment Battle

Virtual Career Fairs - Host Your Dream Event With This Campus Recruiting Technology

Overview

The recruitment industry, especially campus recruitment, remains in a perpetual freezing state throughout the first months of 2021. With schools and career events closed or canceled, reaching potential candidates seems like a very challenging task.

However, the pandemic is also pushing recruiters to innovate the way they approach Campus recruitment. Holding a physical career fair is no longer the centerpiece of the campus recruitment strategy. Companies can now recruit young talents in the comfort of their office using a virtual event platform. In a 2021 survey by Markletic, out of 3851 respondents in the B2B market segment, 55% want to invest more into this campus recruiting technology in 2021. Virtual event platforms employ various tools, from chat programs and telecommunication functions such as video call to visual tools like video or graphic editing tools to plan, market, and host virtual events. The tool’s primary mission is to allow users to deliver the experience of in-person physical events through a digital format. vFairs, for example, allows an entire event, including individual booths, to be displayed in a positive, 3D-styled visual experience.

Common Features

Here are some standard features that any business should take into account when choosing a virtual event platform. Most providers have multiple users plans to accommodate a wide range of companies. Depending on your budget and type of event, consider checking user plans for one that fits your budget and purpose:

• Customization: A virtual event platform’s main draw is its ability to be customized to fit any event or organization that uses it. You usually found standard customizable features in a virtual event platform like branded event site, branded landing page, or branded registration form or email template. Some advanced virtual event solutions can even let users edit and add brand elements to videos.

• Online registration tool: Say goodbye to paper pamphlets and forms and hello to digital sign-up forms with this campus recruiting technology. This form is how both recruiters and candidates sign up for your events, submitting their resumes or business agendas. A virtual sign-up form is a potential information and branding source for any organization. You can gain crucial metrics such as age groups or industries that show interest in your event.

• Event management software: Managing a virtual career fair comes with its difficulties. However, an excellent virtual event platform can offer solutions in the form of event management software. For example, a chatbot to help recruiters collect information from attendees, answering queries, or event registration support.

• Different space styles: For the best in-person experience for a virtual career fair, a virtual platform can create multiple types of spaces for different activities for attendees to socialize: Lobby, Exhibit Hall, Auditorium/Theater, and even group or private virtual rooms.

• Communication features: Communicating with your attendees across all phases of the event is an excellent way to keep them engaged and a perfect outlet for information valuable to the recruiters. To this end, a virtual event platform can have different features to engage with your attendees. You can expect common functions such as creating feedback surveys and polls, private and public chat, video calls, etc.

Video Interviewing - Interviews Any Time, Anywhere With This Recruiting Technology

Overview

Even before the Covid 19 pandemic, global businesses were already very familiar with the term “Video interviewing.” The 2018 annual survey by the Institute of Student Employers introduces a surprising discovery. Up to 49% of their respondents employed video interviewing as part of the recruitment process. However, the Global Pandemic has turned this campus recruiting technology into a vital tool in a modern recruiter’s arsenal. According to Handshake, out of 192 businesses interviewed in 2020, 89% of employers adopted video interviewing.

As the name suggested, video interviewing is when two parties interview via the connection of the internet. There are two types of video interviewing. Live video interviewing is when the conversation takes place in real-time, like a regular session. An asynchronous interview is when the interviewee records themselves answering the questions and then sending it to you for review.

Common Features

Benefits such as reducing cost-to-hire and time-to-hire, connecting with talents from all over the world, and eliminating biases through structured interviews draw recruiters to this novel interview technology. Consider these features when picking your video interviewing solution:

• Live or asynchronous interviews: Most video interview platforms such as Vidcruiter can either conduct your interview in either the live or asynchronous template. With live interviews, you can expect the experience somewhat similar to a video call. For asynchronous or one-way interviews, the platform will act as a mailbox for candidates to send back their videos. With one-way interviews, you can review submissions wherever and whenever you please.

• Team sync-up: With video interviews, you have the option to include your hiring team in the hiring process. With each interview’s content accessible, your teammates can contribute a new perspective regarding a candidate.

• ATS integration: An integration between your chosen video interview platform and ATS has a lot of benefits. Optimize your recruitment process by instantly accessing your interview recordings, candidates’ resumes, evaluation notes on the same application. Additionally, a video interview attached to a candidate’s profile is convenient if you want to go back to the said candidate if another job becomes available.

Automated Interview Scheduling - Scheduling Made Easy With This Recruiting Technology

Overview

Logistical tasks such as scheduling multiple interviews can be challenging for small-scale recruiting teams. Back and forth email exchanges can take away the team’s valuable time. Keen-eyed recruiters understand that candidates can form opinions about a business from everything, even from an interview invitation. A delayed invitation can mean that the company is not 100% invested in a candidate or just incompetent.

Common Features

The use of interview scheduling tools is a game-changer, enabling small recruiting groups to achieve big results. This campus recruiting technology helps optimize, automate and synchronize the entire scheduling process, freeing recruiters from time-consuming manual jobs. Here are some features that can transform your way of interviewing:

• • Can hold diverse types of interviews: Scheduling a one-on-one session is very simple. However, organizing multiple individuals for a session like a panel interview can be a challenge. Some scheduling solutions can help users host various forms of interviews. For example, Rakuna's interview scheduling solution can help users host 1-1, panel, phone, video, in-person, back-to-back, all-day interviews - all according to your needs.

• • Task automation: Some applications can send reminder and confirmation emails in your place. Manually handling these tasks means you can forget to inform a candidate or recruiter of changes. By ensuring each individual received logistical details such as interview time, an interview scheduling tool can help reduce the no-show rate.

• • Calendar management: Recruiters and candidates alike are spoiled with calendar apps choices; most commonly seen are iCal, Google Calendar, or Microsoft Outlook. An interview scheduling tool allows users to synchronize different calendar types. Time management will feel like a breeze when you can access all your schedule on a single platform. Advanced solutions also can display time zones to enhance international scheduling.

• Customization: Branding is always part of the employer’s chief concerns. A good branding strategy can instill confidence in candidates by making them feel they have invested in a strong brand with proper a system and enough care. Most scheduling solutions allow users to showcase their brand, whether through the profile, email templates, or visual aspects such as letter font.

Text Recruiting - Recruiting Technology to Simplify Mass SMS Campaign

Overview

In a recent report by DataReportal, it is estimated that up to 5.22 billion individuals worldwide own a mobile phone. A 2019 article published by the BBC revealed that out of 3200 young respondents aged 3 to 15 and their parents, 50% of 10-year-old respondents have their mobile phone.

For young millennials and Gen Z who have grown up with technology, text recruiting seems to be the smartest and most sensible way of reaching potential talents. Text recruiting is the act of advertising job positions, communicating, and attracting prospective talents through text messages. This recruiting tech streamlines the recruiting process by tackling logistical-heavy tasks such as running SMS campaigns and enabling task automation.

Common Features

With almost every individual worldwide owning a phone, it has become easier to reach out using this campus recruiting technology. Here are some features of a text recruiting tool you should consider before you start blasting text messages to your prospects:

• Text messages management and virtual phone book: The main point of a text recruiting app is sending and receiving messages. Users can create, customize, and send personalized messages to candidates directly through the text recruiting software.

• Information management for both single or bulk messages makes this technology so useful for a modern recruiter. Users can create and store and import dozens of contacts of their prospective candidates.

• Process automation: Some text recruiting apps can also automate specific tasks for users. For example, Recruiters can reach out to a particular group of audiences through automated SMS campaigns or generate instant answers for frequently asked questions.

• Integration with other recruiting applications: Users can integrate most text recruiting apps with other recruiting software, such as an interview scheduling solution. A tech-savvy recruiter can automatically arrange multiple interviews through the scheduling tool and have the text messaging app remind both parties of the scheduled date.

Virtual Onboarding - Campus Recruiting Technology to Ensures Your Candidates Has the Best Onboarding Experience

Overview

Interviewing is not the only recruiting process one can do virtually. Thanks to the internet, virtual candidate onboarding is also possible. Even with a different approach, the core idea of candidate onboarding is still the same. It is to make sure new employees have adequate knowledge to perform their duty confidently and make them feel excited to be part of your team.

The key to successful onboarding is the synergy between the onboarding solution and its user. Here are some features you could utilize to enhance the candidate onboarding experience.

Common Features

• Workflow planning and monitoring: Most recruits will usually be disoriented during the induction process. Planning should be the foreground of your onboarding strategy. A virtual onboarding solution can simplify the planning process. Preppio Virtual Onboarding Solution, for example, allows for a drag and drop design to help both users and their candidates to visualize the onboarding process better. For any HR staff inducting multiple candidates, tracking the individual onboarding process can be a hassle. You can now leave the tracking for an onboarding tool.

• Onboarding analytics: onboarding data are priceless for organizations that want to improve their onboarding strategy. Which parts resonate well with candidates, which parts they struggle to get through? For this reason, look for solutions that allow you to collect information to improve your future sessions.

• Branding: virtual onboarding shares a crucial drawback to other virtualized recruiting processes - the lack of physical interaction. It is undeniable that meeting your co-workers or touring your future office is the best way to experience your company’s culture. Similar to virtual event solutions, most virtual onboarding solutions let users customize various aspects, both visual and text, to help users convey their business’s culture. You can also look for solutions that offer live interaction, such as live chat or video calls, to let your candidate interact with your team.

Conclusion

The nature of campus recruiting is one of change and improvement. To better find and attract tech-savvy candidates, recruiters constantly adapt game plans that incorporate campus recruiting technologies to optimize their hiring process. By reading this article, we hope recruiters can identify their strategy and pick out the perfect technology solution to enhance their campaign. Those who want to better prepare their campus hiring campaign during and after Covid-19, check out this informative article.

Images used in this post: Freepik

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