Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals

When examined against employers’ self-described satisfaction with their current recruiting efforts, an analysis of the factors contributing to their decisions to conduct the bulk of their college interviews during the fall semester revealed some key advantages and disadvantages.

Research reported in Effectiveness of Recruiting Timing and Techniques: Qualitative Research and Analysis found that among employers pleased with their current results, the advantages of early interviewing coalesced around:

• Access to, and competition for, top talent;
• Congruence with the organization’s budgeting and headcount process; and
• The energy of the students themselves, who are ostensibly more focused on their job search during the fall semester.

Interestingly, those less satisfied with their college hiring results were more likely to note their lack of ability to synch the academic calendar with their staffing demands, not only for full-time positions, but for intern positions as well.

There were a number of disadvantages cited to the current pattern of fall recruiting and interviewing. A few employers in the satisfied cohort expressed concerns about extending internship offers before they were able to evaluate performance in upper-level classes, and some trepidation about potential reneges among those students who had a lot of time to consider other options. Another issue mentioned by these employers focused on the need to return to campus in the spring to reinforce their brand among targeted talent.

Among those employers not content with their current college hiring results, a different set of disadvantages surfaced with regards to fall recruiting. Most acknowledged that their inability to access targeted talent during the first semester cost them access to top talent, but noted that there was an organizational resistance to realigning their timeframes. Key reasons for not shifting to fall recruiting focused on:

• Their requisition timing process; and
• The limitations of time (staffing resources) and expense (budget considerations).

Effectiveness of Recruiting Timing and Techniques: Qualitative Research and Analysis is the result of research conducted by Mary Scott, president of the Scott Resource Group, in partnership with the NACE Center for Career Development and Talent Acquisition. The study is a companion to the quantitative research conducted through the NACE 2017 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey. Fifty employers were invited to participate in the qualitative research; they were selected to represent the organizational demographics of the NACE membership. Twenty-four organizations responded affirmatively and were interviewed during August 2017. For more information, see Effectiveness of Recruiting Timing and Techniques: Qualitative Research and Analysis.