How campus engagement benefit companies even before the recruitment process?

MBA campuses host a variety of campus engagement for people from different academic backgrounds and expose them to a world of brands from a different perspective. MBA campuses are places where students first start looking at a brand as something much more than a product and its story. It is where they stop looking at companies as consumers and start looking at them as communities where they picture themselves flourishing, competitors they want to supersede and hierarchical Bermuda they want to avoid falling into.

The First Impression

The first touch point of MBA Grads with the companies as future employees is very important, both for the students as well as the companies. It creates a specific mindset, outshining a few companies from the rest, thus, making them desirable. Other than reviews and reports on various feedback sites, online students also bank on the quality of presence of companies on the campus to understand the company culture. The dedication and interest of companies to create the first impression sometimes results in making it the most coveted company. On the other hand, it is also not uncommon for students to “Tank the Interview” for Corporates whose first impression leave little to be desired.

Creating The Initial Touchpoint

In essence, creating the initial touchpoint is as difficult as forming a new relationship. The first few interactions seem to set the most appropriate and accepted behavior between the parties involved. The same is in the case of companies. This makes the campus engagement the key source in creating that essence.

Google's Example

Google introduced its Case study Competition for the very first time in 2018. It portrayed Google as a company which hires talent irrespective of their background. The competition was in 4 rounds and the diligence of the company reflected in the instructions of each. They invited the top 5 finalists to their Headquarters and gave them a tour of the office. This helped the students in gaining hands-on experience with respect to the work culture and attributed to the word of mouth publicity prevalent amongst B-School students. Thus, unconsciously branding is already done by the company in the minds of graduates. Other similar endeavors by different corporates would be ABG Stratos, GEP Techathon, Mahindra War Room, among many others.

What Do Companies Gain Out Of Campus Engagement?

• Campus engagement creates several touchpoints with students that enable the company to understand the students and vice-versa. This also opens up opportunities for a two-way conversation.

• Creating a substantial Employer Brand Recall in the minds of graduates.

• Increased desirability of probable employees.

• Companies can gain a fresh perspective on real-life problems the business may be currently tackling. A third person’s perspective is unparalleled and unmatched. The ideas submitted are out of the box solutions. These ideas can very well be implemented.

• Many time companies have pre-requisite conditions for applying. Like a certain number of years of work experience, which is not applicable when students of a particular institute apply for a competition or quiz. Thus, the company receives a list of students who may be qualified and suitable enough for employing. These students would otherwise not be eligible to apply via the placement route.

These are the factors that ensure that the company has a good return on investment in being present on the educational campuses and in creating employer branding. Which has a long-lasting effect on the minds of the students resulting in a sustained mind-share that is otherwise difficult to establish.

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