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Between attending graduation parties and sending money to fresh grads, you are probably wondering how to start attracting college graduates to those entry-level job openings you have.
Unfortunately, you have some competition. When May rolls around, every company looking for eager Gen Y talent is blasting out their “Now Hiring” banners, unsolicited LinkedIn messages, and Facebook posts.
What’s a company to do but compete for the talent? Here’s 10 ways to attract millennial candidates to your position quickly before your competitor nabs them.
10. Show them the future
56% of millennials expect a promotion within a year so if you are trying to attract college graduates, you have to show them the future. This means highlighting your promotion process, the amount the applicant can move up in the ranks, and the potential for a management title.
9. Record a video job description
Lately, video-fying any part of the hiring process is considered trendy. However video-taping your job descriptions is one way to grab candidates. Applicants will see the faces of their co-workers, the office they will be working in, and also understand the job.
Check out this article by Dr. John Sullivan titled How to Successfully Implement Video Job Descriptions to learn more about this trendy approach to job descriptions.
8. Highlight your culture
It’s proven that millennials want a workplace with a good culture, however you don’t have to be Google in order to have a good culture.
In the job description or on your career site, highlight the aspects of your culture that are unique. This could be wine on Wednesdays, birthday celebrations, monthly happy hours, or summer hours – whatever makes you stand out from the corporate giants.
7. Give them opportunities to earn stock options
Are you a startup competing for talent? Make sure to mention there is a potential for your employees to receive equity in the company or stock options.
Every college student has heard the Facebook story or seen Silicon Valley on HBO to know that this means money!
6. Offer a student loan payment plan
These graduates are not only graduating with mounds of ambition, they are also carrying around mounds of debt. The best way to attract a few candidates is to offer assistance with student loans, a payback plan, or even student loan forgiveness.
5. Location matters
Is your office in the middle of a city? By a cool restaurant? Near the ocean? Highlight your company’s location (if it’s decent). Candidates are excited by the idea of working somewhere new, and any location that is somewhat unique will source candidates.
Hireology always mentions that we are located in River North which is a trendy part of Chicago. Employees love telling people they work downtown in the coolest neighborhood in the city.
4. Keep the job description brief
Millennials spend less time reading, and more time looking (See #9). If you want to grab their attention, keep the job description brief. You can tell them everything once you have them on the phone for a phone interview.
Grab our job description builder here.
3. Focus on the title
The job title is important to millennials because they can’t wait to tell their friends, family, and teachers what they do. We recommend staying away from “Software Ninja” and other quirky titles because they are difficult to get SEO for on job board aggregators like Indeed.com.
Instead stick with job specific titles like Inbound Marketing Coordinator or Inside Sales Representative. They describe what the job entails and are easily found through search sites.
2. Include benefits information
Not only can parents not wait to get their graduates off their insurance, millennials can’t wait to become more independent. The key to attracting more graduates is highlighting the benefits that your company provides, especially if they are unique – ie: monthly massages.
Other benefits to include: No time-off policy, health/fitness, dental, vision, cell phone retainer, etc
1. Display awards on career site and around office
Ever won “Best Company to Work For” or something similar? Graduates and millennials love applying to companies like this, especially if they think the company is well known. Put the badge on your career site, include it in your job description, and display awards around the office.
Ready to start hiring graduates? Make sure you have your interview guides up-to-date! Grab our phone interview guide ebook and start calling…
