My wife and I have two kids under the age of 10. When the time comes for them to land their first job out of college, the process by which they apply, interview and land a job will look nothing like how their old man found work.
I didn’t go to college, so campus job fairs weren’t an option for me. I accrued a wide variety of skills by working in the restaurant industry, touring in a rock band, and a host of other jobs. I’m not the first to eschew a traditional career path, and studies show I won’t be the last.
In fact, employers are shifting toward more skills-based hiring. Research indicates that nearly two-thirds of employers now prioritize skills when recruiting entry-level talent, with many leveraging tools to assess candidates’ technical and problem-solving abilities rather than relying solely on academic credentials. (In my podcast with Lavonne Monroe of HPE, she discusses making it to the top of the HR profession based on skills alone.)
This shift ideally should have happened decades ago, but the adherence to only hiring people with a degree proved too hard to shake. Better late than never.
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The benefits are clear: Hiring for skills can help expand your talent pool, reduce hiring bias and ensure better job matches. In turn, that often means lower turnover-related costs and higher employee engagement.
GET ‘EM BEFORE THE COMPETITION DOES
Anecdotally, and in conversations with senior HR leaders, campus recruiting is emerging as a critical strategy for organizations to secure talent in a rapidly evolving job market. The transformative impact of AI on workforce dynamics and the unique advantages that university students bring to modern roles are largely driving the shift.
Hosting campus events provides a direct pipeline to graduates equipped with modern technical skills and human-centric capabilities like creativity, problem-solving and collaboration. As AI reshapes industries, students are better prepared to fill roles that require a blend of technical expertise and soft skills. For instance, many academic programs now integrate AI literacy into their curricula.
EMPLOYERS WANT AI-READY TALENT
Roles such as AI engineers, data scientists, and machine learning specialists are experiencing explosive growth, with demand for AI-related skills increasing substantially. University students are at the forefront of this transformation, as they are often trained in emerging technologies like AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
Another plus: Hiring entry-level talent allows organizations to train employees according to their specific needs while benefiting from lower initial salary costs compared to experienced hires.
One in four U.S. tech job postings is looking for people with AI skills—as clear a sign as any that the tech is embedded in pretty much every nook and cranny of the economy. Particularly, banks and consulting firms are looking for people who know how to build AI algorithms.
CAMPUS EVENTS AS A JOB POSTING TACTIC
Are you curious about attracting tech-ready young professionals? Then take a cue from the experiences of the following large department store company, as well as a popular data networking technology provider.
The department store chain’s early talent team leaned into the use of automations for three main situations:
1. Using events as a job posting tactic.
When candidates complete the lead generation form, an automation is set up to feed anyone who enters the event to the associated job. This allows recruiters to work completely on the job instead of the event, and the candidates’ experience remains unchanged.
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In early talent, there are many scenarios where students aren’t eligible for an open opportunity but could be in the future or are a fit for another recruitment team. The company created projects for these specific scenarios and set up automations to drive the appropriate candidates to them based on their status.
The company has an automated communications list for most events and job statuses, freeing up the recruiter’s time from sending emails manually and ensuring candidates receive accurate information quickly.
The retailer achieved its early talent recruitment goal by elevating the candidate experience while driving efficiencies to save time for recruiters and business partners. Given the complexity of early talent recruitment, where candidates enter through various channels, including career fairs, campus events, programs, the career site, job boards, internal pipelines, and referrals, the company delivered a seamless and consistent experience regardless of entry point.
In a similar vein, the information technology company’s top priority last year was building strong, diverse early talent candidate pipelines. They developed an efficient recruitment process and fostered a positive candidate experience to ensure the best talent for hiring managers across the globe. The international university recruiting team focused on several key initiatives to meet business objectives and improve the quality of hire, time to fill, and overall efficiency of the program.
But the organization encountered several significant challenges, including the fact that its technology wasn’t tailored to meet the unique needs of campus recruiting. After revamping its tech systems and other strategy changes, the company saw a huge jump in completed job applications and exceeded global diversity goals. New leads are also up sharply.
A NEW WAY OF REACHING YOUR FUTURE WORKFORCE
I fully expect that by the time my sons are of age, technology will be the onlyway to recruit them. The convergence of skills-based hiring practices and the transformative impact of AI underscores the importance of university recruiting as a go-to source for talent acquisition.
By focusing on skills rather than experience, organizations can tap into a dynamic pool of young professionals who are not only job-ready but also equipped to thrive in an era defined by rapid technological advancements. Investing in university recruiting is not just a strategy for filling roles—it’s a forward-looking approach to building a workforce capable of navigating the complexities of the future economy.