by Jasmine Clark
CEO & Millennial Strategist at Yvolve (e’valv)
Millennial Recruitment Strategies and Consulting
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Freshman year was the first time I experienced the hustle and bustle of company recruiting season at NYU Stern. While my friends from high school had plans that summer to come home and relax, us Sternies were busy making road maps to that dream internship — which would eventually lead to that dream job. Mock interviews. Peer resume reviews. Asking upperclassmen and alumni about this or that company.
And then the information sessions began.
As students, we dreaded the info sessions. Companies would come in with a presentation on information about their company that we already knew (due to our extensive prep work). And sometimes an executive would make an appearance and share their experience at the company (making us feel important, as intended).
Even still, we attended. We wanted to ensure that the recruiter could match our faces with our resumes, and we could get selected for an interview.
And quite frankly, that was it. Getting a job was our only intention. However, as companies who are losing millennial talent left and right know, that motivation is never enough to retain us. We eventually get tired of saying, “Well, I’ll do this for a few years until I get this type of experience. Then I’ll go after what I really want.”
With large corporations running on slimmer teams and employees having more of an individual workload, the burnout is quick. And suddenly the reasoning that millennial employee had during their senior year no longer sustains.
I see this reality as an opportunity to re-envision this recruiting experience.
How many students show up to info sessions so sure of what they want (or have been told what to want) that they don’t further explore various functions and positions within the company or discover if this particular role is an actual good fit? Not to mention the number of students who don’t show up because they have no clue what they want to do. (Since the info session has become synonymous with the step you take once you’re sure.)
That’s where creative approaches to redesign this formal and traditional tactic of recruiting come in.
What if the information sessions were engaging events that students looked forward to attending to leave with more information about themselves and about the company?
See the chart below.
Students not knowing this information is literally costing your organization money.
I’ll repeat.
Your company is paying when students don’t fully explore their interests and correlating professional opportunities before they sign the dotted line. Millennial hires end up exploring when they get to your organization — which increases the risk that the money you spend to further engage and develop them is not doing a darn thing. Because at the end of the day, no great program or work perks can replace the fact that if they’re not feeling it, they’re not feeling it. And will end up using work time and energy searching for the next opportunity.
Yvolve (e’valv) focuses on creating recruiting strategies and opportunities as the like to help companies ensure their efforts on campus are effective in attracting and retaining the right talent.
We know the workforce is changing, but the bigger question is “are you?”
Yvolve (e’valv) believes that in the quest to retain your valuable millennial employees, waiting until you’ve hired them is already too late.
Interested in sprucing up your employer recruiting presence and differentiating from the other employers on campus? Or just learning more information about what we do and/or understanding the effectiveness of your current efforts? Reach out to me at jasmine@yvolve.co.
