…there are 5,700 tweets
every second, 1 million links shared on Facebook
every 20 minutes, and it’s estimated that 74% of internet traffic in 2017 will be video.
Alex Parkes Future Talent Strategist at AIA Worldwide
Alex has been in the attraction and marketing industry for nine years, and in the graduate side of the market for almost five of those. Leading AIA Worldwide’s insight into the ever-changing world of future talent, she has driven research projects to enhance understanding of student behaviour with partners such as Milkround, Rate My Placement and The Student Room. Alex has also supported strategic planning for myriad clients, from Centrica and Simmons & Simmons to Citi and Thales.
O
ver the years I’ve seen the industry’s approach to attracting top talent
transform as trends have shifted and technology has opened up new doors and opportunities. Rewind a few years and we were measuring column widths of adverts in local press; now we’re trying to measure the impact of emerging technologies like Oculus Rift, Hololens and the latest coding hacks as we seek new mind- blowing solutions for our clients. Young people are at the heart of the technological revolution, and it’s our job to keep up.
For us at AIA, our approach centres on a few key elements:
Innovation – Doing something different Students recognise that an innovative company will aim to stay ahead of the game and secure their future. Claudia Tattanelli, Chairman for the Strategic Board at Universum said: “Innovation is the key driver of employer reputation and image for Engineering and IT students, and they only want to work for the best. The perceived market leaders have the pick of top talent.”
32 Graduate Recruiter |
www.agr.org.uk
It’s only natural then that we look for new ideas and technologies to help the employers that we work with stand out on campus – be that Arduino workshops for Thales’ engineering attraction, or an oxygen bar for Accenture. Sometimes this method is risky – it deviates from the norm - but to be a market leader you need a bold approach.
Digital The students of today are digital natives. The stats are staggering: there are 5,700 tweets every second, 1 million links shared on Facebook every 20 minutes, and it’s estimated that 74% of internet traffic in 2017 will be video. It’s little wonder that all our attraction strategies now include digital components.
Whilst face-to-face contact is still imperative to the success of a campaign, it’s not possible for employers to be omnipresent, whether due to resource or budget restrictions. Online campaigns can help alleviate some of that pressure whilst also supporting innovation. Take Linklaters for example: the recent social campaign we worked
on with them had a reach of 6.4 million – an impossible number of eyeballs to reach with manpower alone, and it also succeeded in positioning them as social experts.
Win hearts and minds We’ve spoken about a lot of things that have changed, but there are some things that haven’t. Winning over the hearts and minds of your candidates is a vital objective in any successful attraction strategy. Students are wise to traditional marketing tactics; your brand alone is often not enough You need to invest in understanding your target audience: get under their skin; find out what their interests and behaviours are, and tailor your campaign accordingly rather than just focusing on the
hard sell. If you can demonstrate you understand them and can give something back, your campaign will be more memorable and your brand more respected.
To sum up, we’ve come a long way in the last 10 years and I can’t begin to imagine where we’ll be in another 10: mood altering wearable technology, time travel - who knows… What I do know is that if we rest on our laurels, we’ll get left behind. We need to continually innovate and find new ways to attract talent, and that’s what makes this job and industry all the more exciting. n
A series of interviews with industry figures
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