Pandemic Recruiting and the Lessons We Will Take Post COVID
Faced with having to re-engineer recruiting events and processes, the CMC staff, our employer partners, and our students learned a lot about student - employer engagement that can be applied beyond the COVID era. Many employers adapted without missing a beat, and improved some aspects of their recruiting process. Insights we learned from our students will help employers succeed in the 2021-2022 academic year, virtually and in-person.
Virtual “campus” recruiting recap
Virtual recruiting allowed employers to “visit” more campuses and attract a wider and more diverse candidate pool. While this increased competition among MBA students, Fuqua students were also exposed to more opportunities and employer events. Senior-level executives had more capacity to participate and engage virtually.
Many organizations embraced virtual events and engagements by getting creative and focusing on the student candidates. From virtual escape rooms to sending students locally-sourced PB&J ingredients for sandwiches during a “lunch and learn”, employers tried to show company culture as much as talk about it in a formal presentation. While students appreciated these virtual experiences and indicated they did a good job of modeling company culture, they were most satisfied with an employer event when they learned something new. Highlights of the best event experience according to our students include:
- Real examples of work done on a day-to-day basis
- Learning an applicable skill, such as how valuation was done in practice
- Walking through a business case
- Opportunities for small group or 1:1 interactions that allowed for more specific and relevant Q&A
The best events were structured, well organized, of appropriate length, and relevant. This may sound like a no-brainer, but to be specific:
- The formal presentation was no longer than 30 minutes
- Slides contained information not easily found online or were focused on teaching (case study or skill)
- The formal presentation was followed by small group interactions for a deep dive into content and information shared
- Employer representation was enthusiastic and authentic – not just going through the motions
Impact to hiring processes
Many companies found virtual interviews streamlined their process significantly. In some cases, the online approach increased the number of students called back for second rounds. Furthermore, because everything was virtual, students could be more efficient and productive with their time. For example, we had students attending two or three “super days” with investment banks in one day. Employers increased efficiency on their end by using products like HireVue and other software along with assessments and assignments for the initial screening of a large pool of candidates.
DEI initiatives continue to be very much top of mind and attracting a more diverse candidate pool remains a key objective. To accomplish more diverse hiring, organizations are doing a variety of different things:
- Centralizing recruiting versus focusing only on select campuses
- Requesting more access to diversity clubs and student organizations
- Introducing software and tools to reduce bias
What’s ahead
Hiring processes and interviews across the board are more complex, take more time, involve more employees, and include more demanding tasks and assessments. Many practices adapted out of necessity during the pandemic turned out to be major productivity boosters, a way to interact more intimately and reach more diverse candidates, and will be adopted for the foreseeable future. We also discovered that some things cannot replace in-person experiences and engagements. The future is hybrid -- a blend of online and offline recruiting.
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Does your organization need outstanding business talent? Email the Career Management Center or visit our web site to learn more about how Fuqua can help you fulfill early, mid, and late-stage career hiring needs.
Are you looking for a career coach or some career advice? Email the Career Management Center to be connected to an alumni career coach.
Faced with having to re-engineer recruiting events and processes, the CMC staff, our employer partners, and our students learned a lot about student - employer engagement that can be applied beyond the COVID era. Many employers adapted without missing a beat, and improved some aspects of their recruiting process. Insights we learned from our students will help employers succeed in the 2021-2022 academic year, virtually and in-person.
Virtual “campus” recruiting recap
Virtual recruiting allowed employers to “visit” more campuses and attract a wider and more diverse candidate pool. While this increased competition among MBA students, Fuqua students were also exposed to more opportunities and employer events. Senior-level executives had more capacity to participate and engage virtually.
Many organizations embraced virtual events and engagements by getting creative and focusing on the student candidates. From virtual escape rooms to sending students locally-sourced PB&J ingredients for sandwiches during a “lunch and learn”, employers tried to show company culture as much as talk about it in a formal presentation. While students appreciated these virtual experiences and indicated they did a good job of modeling company culture, they were most satisfied with an employer event when they learned something new. Highlights of the best event experience according to our students include:
- Real examples of work done on a day-to-day basis
- Learning an applicable skill, such as how valuation was done in practice
- Walking through a business case
- Opportunities for small group or 1:1 interactions that allowed for more specific and relevant Q&A
The best events were structured, well organized, of appropriate length, and relevant. This may sound like a no-brainer, but to be specific:
- The formal presentation was no longer than 30 minutes
- Slides contained information not easily found online or were focused on teaching (case study or skill)
- The formal presentation was followed by small group interactions for a deep dive into content and information shared
- Employer representation was enthusiastic and authentic – not just going through the motions
Impact to hiring processes
Many companies found virtual interviews streamlined their process significantly. In some cases, the online approach increased the number of students called back for second rounds. Furthermore, because everything was virtual, students could be more efficient and productive with their time. For example, we had students attending two or three “super days” with investment banks in one day. Employers increased efficiency on their end by using products like HireVue and other software along with assessments and assignments for the initial screening of a large pool of candidates.
DEI initiatives continue to be very much top of mind and attracting a more diverse candidate pool remains a key objective. To accomplish more diverse hiring, organizations are doing a variety of different things:
- Centralizing recruiting versus focusing only on select campuses
- Requesting more access to diversity clubs and student organizations
- Introducing software and tools to reduce bias
What’s ahead
Hiring processes and interviews across the board are more complex, take more time, involve more employees, and include more demanding tasks and assessments. Many practices adapted out of necessity during the pandemic turned out to be major productivity boosters, a way to interact more intimately and reach more diverse candidates, and will be adopted for the foreseeable future. We also discovered that some things cannot replace in-person experiences and engagements. The future is hybrid -- a blend of online and offline recruiting.
---
Does your organization need outstanding business talent? Email the Career Management Center or visit our web site to learn more about how Fuqua can help you fulfill early, mid, and late-stage career hiring needs.
Are you looking for a career coach or some career advice? Email the Career Management Center to be connected to an alumni career coach.