No matter where you go in the world, the dynamic between Talent Acquisition and Marketing is firmly in the spotlight. And yet, judging by the questions we field from industry practitioners, the relationship between the two is just as likely to be classified ‘odd couple’ as ‘power couple’.
It’s easy to explain the spike in attention in two words: talent brand.
It is apparent to most that the U.S. labor market continues to slowly recover from the depths of the recent Great Recession. As employers find it increasingly hard to secure qualified talent for professional positions, more and more of those employers are hiring college and university students for internships, part-time jobs, and seasonal positions. They’re also turning to recent graduates for entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.
But is that the best course of action for these employers? In short, is there a net benefit to recruiting college students and recent graduates?
Yesterday we shared seven sample goals you can set to drive your employer brand to new heights. But how can you know where you want to go if you don’t know where you are? Your employer brand research – if done correctly – will set you up to:
1) Define problem areas quantitatively. This sets a baseline against which you can measure progress.
Think you’re ready to start promoting your employer brand? WAIT!
Hold off on that website re-design for now. Don’t go on a social media blitz just yet. Before you even test your messaging, you need to have the right goals in place.
When it comes to attracting new university graduates, traditional marketing techniques such as college fair booths don’t resonate with students the way they used to. In fact, less than half of college seniors plan to attend campus fairs, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.[1] But that doesn’t mean that students don’t want that personal connection with you!
While students may not be thinking about career options in their early years, the tides turn very quickly to internships and jobs, especially for those in sought-after fields of study. The ratio of graduates to opportunity necessitates that employers start marketing their brand early and often.