Campus Recruitment: 7 Essentials

There is real competition for top graduate talent. You can no longer get away with gathering applications and having the only communication with applicants be the yes/no letter (could you ever really get away with that?). On top of this, you cannot simply use the same assessments as every other company that is hiring. This doesn't differentiate you and 'assessment fatigue' will kick in. 

Make your organization the top choice by making the time candidates spend with you as engaging as possible. What does this mean? It’s about finding a way to interact with your applicants, treating them as individuals and including recruitment tests that keep them interested – and avoid the weariness of “here we go again!”

You’ll need to take a look at the design of your entire campus recruitment program, paying special attention to the assessments you include. Ask yourself: will it engage or disengage potential candidates?

When selecting the assessments to use:

• Make sure the application can be completed on a mobile device. After all, that’s where candidates spend their time!
• Use a modern, contemporary look and feel. Reject traditional, somewhat staid visuals, but don’t fall into the trap of making it a 'game' (we’ll come to that later).
• Use quick-to-complete tests. Modern psychometrics now enable tests and questionnaires to generate a reliable score quickly.
• Design an application process that reflects your company. Nothing engages graduates more than seeing what working with you would be like.
• Include assessments that look like they measure what they are meant to measure. Face validity and robust psychometrics are essential (more about this further on).

Good quality numerical and verbal reasoning tests can highlight which applicants have the abilities you need. And that’s important. However, if you add in an element of behavior or personality, you get a more complete picture of how they’ll fit in and approach work in your particular business.

To find out what your business needs, think about your values, your culture, the people you want working with you. Understand what makes for success in the graduate program – and success beyond the program. When you know what’s needed, work to identify this in your graduate applicants. 

As an example, you may have worked hard to identify the corporate values and competencies for your organization and are encouraging these to filter across the work you do.

Think of the upside of hiring new graduates who understand and align with these values; they’ll be more likely to establish themselves quickly and be promoted rapidly.

You want to stand out from the crowd — and be remembered for giving your candidates a positive experience. That’s a tough thing to do when all college recruiters are doing the same thing!

Think about what can make your selection process different. Competency-based video interviewing? A test that uses the instant messaging style of WhatsApp? A virtual assessment center?

In fact, research with an international consumer brands organization using gamified tests reported that 90% of applicants say that gamified assessments reflected the hiring company as well as, or better than, other assessments they experienced.

Real-life examples: 

• A Multinational Engineering Company deployed a gamified assessment based around typical situations or scenarios in its business. Candidates were asked to make judgments about what to do via a messaging app style of communication via their mobile. It gave the company a robust situational judgment score and provided the candidates with a strong insight into the role.

• Nationwide commissioned the design and development of an escape room-type of assessment, helping it to stand out from its competitors, providing an innovative experience for its candidates and delivering efficiencies to its internal teams. 
  
  

  90% of graduate candidates think gamified tests give as good as or a better reflection of the hiring company*

  *Research with international consumer brands organization

Valid and robust psychometric assessments are an essential component of graduate selection.

Below are 10 questions to ask of your assessment to spot high quality psychometrics.

Is your campus recruiting:

1. Objective in how it is administered, scored and interpreted?

2. Reliable, accurate and consistent over time – and does it offer dependable results?

3. Valid? Does it measure what it is designed to measure?

4. Differentiating? Does a stronger candidate receive a higher test score than a weaker candidate?

5. Providing value for money? Are the costs relatable to a benefit?

6. Standardized? Does it offer comparison with normative or benchmark groups?

7. Useful? Does the psychometric assessment add clear value to the talent process?

8. Accepted by candidates?

9. Cheat-resistant? Candidates must not be able to distort or fake test scores.

10. Transparent and fair? Is the test and testing process clear and fair to all and do the candidates get appropriate feedback?