It’s easily forgotten that the recruitment process is a two sided affair. Though it’s primarily a way of attracting appropriate people into your business, it’s also your chance to make a good first impression. Many graduates will have had only a taste of the sort of workplace they’re applying for, and the type of application form or interview experience they receive will really set their expectations.

If thought is given to the recruitment process, the benefits can be twofold: not only are your applicants given a positive impression of your company at the outset, but you’re more likely to appeal to creative and thoughtful graduates. Here are a few tricks that market leaders are already using to appeal to the top talent in the country:

Allow your Recruits to Flourish

Most people are familiar with the form of an ‘open question’, but even they generate rigid and homogenous answers. Anything can be done with the right technology, so why not request your applicants to upload a portfolio to a Tumblr feed, post a trial blog article on WordPress or just show off their organisational abilities using a spreadsheet master.

Don’t be afraid of Flash

Flash elements in web pages can get incredibly complex and be a great hindrance to an interviewee, but when done well, an interview process that integrates Flash can work wonders. Consider using Flash to simulate the sort of tasks your recruits might be doing and to test cognitive ability. Always make sure anything you use is well designed and compatible for all users.

Try Twitter

It might sound mad, but creative graduates will pick up a call for applications on Twitter and they will respond quickly. Even in 140 characters you can ask applicants to send through a CV or portfolio and provide an email address. This both encourages applicants to act quickly and it shows that your business is dynamic and a little bit bold.

Keeping the application process creative demonstrates from the off to your recruits that you’re prepared to invest time and thought in finding the right people for your organisation. At the same time, it’s possible to tailor a task that allows you to see through the CVs and get a feel of the individual behind the application.

It’s no secret that top businesses who want top graduates invest seriously in careers events. Fairs, presentations and promotions are one of the most direct ways to get the right candidates thinking about the positions you have to offer. However much investment these events receive, though, you’re never guaranteed an audience, and even the best names in the business have trouble getting a hundred undergraduates in the same room at the same time.

In the past a flyer or marketing posters might have sufficed, but now the smart recruiters are getting stuck in to social media as a way of promoting an event. There’s no perfect combination of the tools, and finding a way of interacting with candidates that suits your marketing model of course requires a bit of experimentation, but below are a few ideas to get you thinking:

• Most students will open their laptop before even opening their eyes in the morning: so make your event easily visible on Facebook as soon as it’s organised. A flyer is easily forgotten, but a Facebook feed will be seen a hundred times a day.
• The beauty of using social media is that it’s open: you don’t need to restrict your audience to a single school or university. Even smaller cities in the UK tend to have more than one university, so why not use a Facebook event to broaden up your audience?
• Use social media as a tool to measure expected attendance at the same time as promoting it. Ask applicants to confirm their attendance with a retweet for maximum exposure on Twitter.
• It’s possible to give an air of exclusivity via social media and you can be creative with how you use details. Using secret locations and limited availability can make events seem more desirable, particularly if you’re looking for candidates with a little bit of flair.
• Social media also works two ways: by advertising online either exclusively or in tandem with printed material you ensure you get the applicants who are competent and regular users of social media.

It’s important to remember that your social media campaign has to compliment your campaign, but you’re almost certain to attract sustained interest solely online. Experiment with the combination of tools you want to use and don’t forget to keep them updated with the latest information: the first port of call for an interested applicant is your social media platform.