Big data and story telling
Attracting the right graduate talent, particularly when
they are considering relocating to a country they are not native
to, requires the employer to have developed skills in interpreting achievements and development in relation to their current business needs and specific project challenges.
of a graduate story, and a graduate’s willingness to personalise this to particular opportunities will reveal lots about a student’s real knowledge of the positions that really suit, or the companies and locations that they really fit with. Emerging into the right company, location and challenging position is not usually a lucky accident for the right student.
relation to their current business needs and specific project challenges. Candidates will face other challenges, adapting culturally, as well as any incurred recruitment expenses. At Coventry University, we provide work experience projects for international students, enabling them to demonstrate abilities to adapt to different employer expectations. The story behind the student application or approach to that employer needs to make total sense and show ambition and credibility. Students need to show they are ‘emerging talent’ that the recruiter would be willing to invest in! Students showing evidence of exploring new areas, demonstrating a comprehensive knowledge of skills and personality fit, with evidence of spending time or conducing projects in or related to a new country, business sector or job role, have an attractive story to tell. The employer may need support to evaluate those newly educated ideas, fresh graduate perspectives and sense of adventure that demonstrate the ability
to embrace the challenges a new job and location could throw at them. It can be difficult to judge the ability to ‘hit the ground running’ and deliver quickly, unless the recruiter can quickly interpret the personal development journey the student has been on. Readily available evidence and data will almost certainly be exploited to back up student claims to have the skills, personal qualities and mind-set that is needed in challenging new positions.
In assessing student readiness to secure such positions, it is fascinating to explore how stories are expressed within CVs created, or structured in meaningful paragraphs that use the appropriate language to appeal to the recruiter. Further to this, is the willingness of the graduate to confidently express ideas through a supporting LinkedIn profile with uploaded documents, project reports, portfolio pieces and recommendations from key people. The keenness to reveal the episodes
Having the right mind set Exploring opportunities outside of a graduate’s native country requires interpreting what is needed within the country they are considering moving to, as well as the company they are working for. Recruiters we have worked with look for students to demonstrate their ideas for overcoming potential obstacles, such as visa issues, travel and relocation, as well as being prepared to learn enough language to professionally operate or cope in a new location. Tools such as Situational Judgement Tests, online problem solving tasks, as well as established psychometric and ability testing provide efficient ways to screen candidates. However, they do not provide the additional evidence of the candidate’s mind-set and related story. If a student is an emerging talent though, it is likely they would have the resourcefulness, resilience and appropriate attitude to demonstrate how they have already overcome barriers and proved their worth in different situations. Key to this is also how well the new recruit will settle in a role. Other recruitment articles highlight, particularly in global recruitment, the key is the quality of the hire, both in terms of the technical skills they bring and the level of experience and education. Big data will now allow employers to better examine the other key aspect of mind- set, which will determine the extent to which evidence shows that the graduate has met these challenges meaningfully within previous occasions. Of course, after all, there is nothing like meeting the candidate in real life though!
www.agr.org.uk | Graduate Recruiter 17
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