It’s tough to walk through any university campus without spotting at least some flyer, poster or even a live event demonstrating how competitive the graduate job market is at the moment. Though this isn’t ideal for the student population, it’s great news for companies; selecting top talent is obviously much easier if you’ve got a large pool to choose from and there’s definitely a self-perpetuating atmosphere of stiff competition surrounding the big recruiters.
However, until the recruitment process actually starts, the stories are little more than hearsay for students. Gauging how tough getting that job really is only starts to happen when students start to attend recruitment events and to really get a feel for the market. So, if you want to generate a competitive buzz around your business, your events need to be filled to the brim with top students…
Use Every Channel to Advertise
Even in our electronic world, the effect of a cleverly designed poster is still massive, but it’s easily forgotten. You need to back up what’s already been seem with emails, bulletins and your own social media. The Facebook event is quite possibly the most powerful reminder out there and will trigger wavering attendees into action.
Do be careful not to over-advertise, however; it’s a fine line between making your event publicised and becoming a nuisance. Constantly driving for attendees via University bulletins or through societies could also seem like you’re struggling to make the numbers.
Go Exclusive
Though most events do have some limitations on numbers, presentations, dinners and lectures are usually a case of the more; the merrier. However, a free-for-all approach won’t necessarily guarantee you good numbers; an exclusive system can work much better.
Limiting your event to ticket holders only is a good way of ensuring numbers are high. You don’t even need to operate a formal, paper ticket system. A guest list which requires an online-sign in needs little more than an iPad on the night, but remember it’s worth keeping some guest spaces available.
Exploiting Word-of-Mouth
It’s an old marketeers cliche that the ‘word-of-mouth’ is still the best tool out there, but it’s wrong to assume people will talk by themselves; give them something to shout about! Encouraging guests to bring along talented friends or incentivising Facebook attendees to invite others is a good start if it’s backed up with a good reward!
Finally, it’s worth remembering your best bet for guaranteeing good attendance is to hold a top-quality, innovative event. No amount of marketing can beat organising something that people really want to attend!
Tom started his career early; taking on an associate role at Deloitte just a few days after his eighteenth birthday, working in a technical role but with a focus on identifying and recruiting talented undergraduates. He is now entering his final year at Exeter University and he continues to work with the recruitment side of the firm and remains an active brand ambassador on campus.
Over the last few years, Tom has spent time building up a reputation as a freelance writer and has developed both a strong client base and good knowledge of social media along the way. Though there’s still plenty to learn, experience working in both the smallest and the largest of businesses has served him well and given him a feel for balancing strong corporate ideas with a personal tone.
As a student, Tom is able to offer a valuable insight into the way graduate recruitment works from the other side and how students and interns react to particular styles of marketing and recruitment. Eventually he hopes to take off his copywriting business before embarking on an MA in philosophy.
