Most companies are fully aware of the importance of graduate recruitment. According to a 2017 report by the Rockefeller Foundation, 97 per cent of the U.S. employers say entry-level jobs are crucial to their success. Yet many do not handle entry-level hiring well.

Some of the most common entry-level recruitment challenges facing companies today are the lack of qualified candidates, high turnover rate, and generational differences in the workplace.

Read more: Some latest trends in today's recruitment market

7 best practices for successful entry-level recruitment

Graduate recruitment presents some unique challenges. Recruiters and hiring managers alike need to stay on top of their game in order to attract and retain the best talent from such a big crop of potential future employees. The following best practices will help you hire the entry-level graduates that are a good fit for your business.

You need employer branding

An effective entry-level recruitment process starts with a strong employer brand. A Gen Z candidate will search for your company’s information from multiple sources and on multiple devices. Make sure your brand presence is maximised and consistent across all channels, especially social media platforms.

Read more: Why employer brand matters to your organisations now more than ever

Additionally, recruiters need to stay on top of the changing trends in order to meet the candidate where they can usually be found. This is not an easy task because the social media landscape is an ever-changing one. Facebook used to have the supremacy but is losing its popularity among young users to other platforms like Snapchat or Instagram. Recruiters, therefore, must be aware of such changing trends in order to better tap into the graduate talent pool.

Read more: What it looks like to recruit in the digital age

For Gen Z, the company’s brand is a big factor in determining their career choice. Therefore, your ads should showcase your company’s core values, vision and mission in addition to the position’s descriptions and requirements. These ads should focus more on skills required for the job than on experience. Emphasise how employees can grow at your company.

Another noteworthy aspect of Gen Z is their remarkably short attention span, averaged at eight seconds only, compared to the 12- second span of Millennials. Visual cues are more appealing to Gen Z candidates. Recruiters should opt to use videos and photos more than just long, text-heavy job ads.

Read more: The importance of having a company culture

Videos are worth trying

It makes perfect sense that companies are turning to technology to attract the generation of digital natives. “According to the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), 53% of its member employers now use video interviews, compared to 42% in the previous year and just 6% five years ago.”

Traditional video interviews involve using video applications like Skype or FaceTime. Another option is to let candidates watch videos of work scenarios and ask them how they would behave in such situations.

Read more: Why Google says no to job interviews

Videos can also be used to boost your entry-level recruitment in a different way. Companies are using recruitment videos to showcase their office, people and culture. Grads love to have a realistic look at their future workplace.

Some are even using VR (virtual reality) to immerse candidates in their roles to see how they would react in certain situations.

Avoid lengthy recruitment processes

Few things can drive young candidates away more than a lengthy and dreadful hiring process. Grads will definitely go on a lot of interviews, and they will turn down an offer if you do not act fast enough.

Avoid excessively formal and long interviews. They can make the young candidates feel confused and mentally exhausted. Instead, use the interviews as a chance to communicate your company’s culture and values. For many candidates, this probably is the first time they go through a hiring process, so they have not yet learned how best to present themselves. So it could be a big mistake if you dismiss a candidate too early based on just some first impressions. Give them some time to shine.

Infographic: The pros and cons of pre-hire assessments

Download the complete whitepaper to learn more about the remaining best practices.