Virtual Campus Recruitment will save the day for students in the days to come!

Everything, I repeat, everything was seemingly working fine until a pandemic blew things up. In the matter of a few days, the world hustled indoors, offices and colleges went online, and the existing medium of in-person communication came to a standstill. The implications were sudden, so much that a number of sectors suffered major losses, and many had to change the course to save their sinking ship. In this race of adapting to virtual means to stay afloat, one sector that witnessed a radical change was that of Campus Recruitment.    

Campus Recruitment in the past

Campus Recruitment, since time immemorial, has held a crucial role in the hiring space. This essentially means that recruiters when looking for prospective candidates often turn towards public and private universities and colleges.

As a matter of fact, the conventional recruitment system of hiring students on campus requires huge sums of money along with a well-thought-of strategy that takes care of logistics, travel and the time invested. Earlier, the campus recruitment strategies of organisations were built in accordance with the colleges and universities that they would like to tap into. Campus engagements conducted by companies in the form of competitions, quizzes, hackathons, etc. occupied the mindshare of students and later helped them recruit the best candidates. 

Despite the cost, executing these campaigns on-campus was, logistically, a nightmare. Organizations set goals, pick campuses they’d like to recruit from and put together a team that would pull off the on-ground event. And this is not all. Companies then promote their campaign in order to gain the mindshare of the best talents on campus and even follow up with prospective candidates. 

In addition, the technology put in place to ensure a smooth hiring process was complicated too. Companies had to be really particular when creating their careers page, keeping in mind the fact that the application process must be relatively simpler. And even when the primary measures were in place, recruiters had a tough time looking for the candidate amongst an ocean of applicants. Along with this, came another exhausting job for recruiters where they would be required to take notes in real-time and remember which candidate was supposedly a good fit for the job; a process that is exclusively based on first impressions and academic performances. And these aren’t even proper predictors of assessing a candidate’s calibre! 

Even after putting the relevant checks in place, campus recruitment processes do not guarantee success. If truth be told, there often are times when nobody gets hired. 

Campus recruitment takes the virtual route

In the midst of a global pandemic topped with an economic downturn, this year hiring managers will modify their campus recruitment strategies. This goes to say that if organizations are looking at recruiting students from campuses or fresh graduates for internships and full-time opportunities, they will have to take the virtual route. And this is where virtual career fairs come into the frame. 

What are virtual career fairs?

In a time when access to campuses and universities is off the charts, employers are busy building virtual spaces to connect students and alumni with recruiters. They host online events, called “Virtual Career Fairs” with an aim to bring employers and job seekers on a common platform where they can communicate and learn more about each other. 

These virtual career fairs also help organizations host virtual interviews, allowing them to leverage video conferencing apps and chat rooms as well as virtual booths that address students’ concerns about available jobs, career opportunities and the pros and cons of working at a particular company. Students can even upload their resumes that eventually get reviewed by the employer during the course of the event. 

Virtual campus recruitment and technology

When the usage of technology comes into the picture, there a number of techniques that can ease the virtual campus recruitment process. Where virtual job fairs connect companies with potential candidates via teleconferencing and private chats, video interviews and pre-hire assessments come in handy when organizations need to hire on the spot.

In contrast with the common notion, live video interviews give employers the opportunity to meet and interact with candidates face-to-face even in a virtual setting. Similarly, pre-recorded interviews allow candidates to record their answers on camera and send them at a later stage (within a stipulated time). Moreover, the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enabled software that send detailed reports to recruiters, helping hiring managers better understand a candidate’s soft skills. 

Furthermore, gamified assessments and online assessment tools have turned out to be great measures for screening candidates at virtual career fairs. Such tools ensure a systematic and scientific screening process, allowing only the candidates with desired competencies and skills to move forward in the recruitment process. These methods and tools have redefined the existing hiring system and have made it possible to efficiently conduct interviews and screen potential candidates anywhere, anytime. 

Employer Branding in the virtual campus recruitment setup

A crucial part of campus engagements is to help students connect with an organization’s employer brand. Likewise, in a virtual campus recruitment setup too, prospective candidates must essentially relate to the company’s employer brand. And so, companies must keep this pertinent aspect in mind when reaching out to students, especially in this time of crisis. They must wrap their message of empathy with care to let prospective employees know that their wellbeing matters for the company.  

In the coming months, the industry is all set to witness the winds of change. And as virtual recruitment systems gain momentum, it is of paramount importance, for companies, to hold their stance firm in addition to improving the way they communicate with prospective candidates. It is about time to make the best use of technology and take charge of the recruitment process while things rearrange in due course.