International Education: Social Recruiting to Gen Z

The ancestors of #ChatGPT and #Web3 initiatives are always going to be social media platforms that began the era of social recruiting. Instagram , Meta , Twitter , and even LinkedIn were revolutionary ways for companies and organizations to reach potential clients and recruit from a global market, especially with the #Millennial generation. They allowed for people to engage with professional organizations in a highly personal way. CEOs started taking selfies, and School #Superintendents began to communicate in 140 characters or less. We changed the way we spoke to each other. And, most importantly, we changed the way we expected companies and organizations to relate to the outside world.

#International education and private schools have always been in the dual #marketing and recruiting game. We market and brand our school to develop relationships with prospective students and families in the local and regional communities. We need a voice that lives within the cultural context of our country. At the same time, as an American international school, we recruit educators from the American curricular systems. The duality of our marketing scheme needs to attract two entirely different consumer bases, while maintaining one voice of the organization. Moreover, #GenZ entirely changes the strategy as they move away from centralized social media and more into high content, short engagement platforms -- Discord , TikTok , Snap Inc. , Twitch .

This past week, American Creativity Academy engaged in a social recruiting experiment. Split into two phases, ACA targeted 3 cities in the US and leveraged social media recruiting to network with universities through Handshake , develop relationships with local voices through personal LinkedIn and TikTok accounts, and host in-person events at neutral locations. We were #recruiting; yet, we were also researching strategies to reach Gen Z applicants and educators. Phase 1 consisted of 17 days of virtual preparation for the trip, and Phase 2 was 7 days of in-person recruiting.

1. Handshake was a new platform for us to use, and very quickly revealed itself as the most powerful #career site for the Gen Z and Millennial generations. During Phase 1, we posted an international teaching position and were approved to post in 629 colleges and universities across the US; and, had 9 job applicants. In Phase 2, we posted 4 job fairs, held 1 live informational session, and had 14 job applicants. We hosted 3 #interviews from Handshake, and have 1 accepted job offer from a Gen Z applicant.
2. LinkedIn events and promotions reached 14,057 users organically, and brought in Phase 1. While we posted on our school account, we also had our international staff to repost and engage with events that delivered our content into regional audiences in the US. In Phase 1, we had 15 applicants sourced from LinkedIn; in Phase 2, we held 4 interviews and have 2 accepted job offers, both Gen Z applicants.
3. TikTok videos created by 3 ACA staff were deployed in local cities promoting international education and teaching in Kuwait. 9 US educators promoted to their authentic audiences on personal Instagram pages with a projected #engagement of approximately 3000 unique followers.
4. Emery, Autograph Collection Hotel in Minnesota, MEMPHIS DELTA PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL INC in Tennessee, and Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City in Utah hosted our in-person hiring events. We saw the least amount of engagement from Gen Z at an in-person hiring fair. While Phase 1 promotional ads had us tracking over 31,398 Facebook engagements with the live-events and 63 authentic engagements with the event invitations, we didn't physically see many Gen Z engage or attend in our Phase 2 trip.

International schools and recruiters must learn how Gen Z interacts in the job market, applies for positions, and most of all, connects with future employers. During a virtual interview in Phase 2, a Gen Z applicant said, "I saw the job on Handshake and felt like it would be so cool to apply for. And now [in the interview] I just felt a connection with you. If ACA employs someone like you, it's definitely a school I want to work for." Bottom line: Gen Z is finding jobs virtually, sourcing jobs virtually, connecting with employers virtually, and accepting positions virtually. At the same time, Gen Z also cares about who's on the other end. International recruiting is about connecting virtual platforms and opportunities with real-life, authentic voices that represent the culture of the school.

Our 24 day social recruiting experiment was insanely insightful into how we can reach targeted audiences for international educators using free social media platforms rather than expensive and often antiquated hiring agencies. In February 2023, Zippia 's research indicated that, "73% of job seekers aged 18-34 found their last job through social media. 84% of organizations are recruiting through social media. 67% of employers use social media sites to research potential job candidates. 70% of managers have had success hiring through social media."

Social recruiting is the future; it's the evolution of networking. International education and schools must create new avenues to reach Gen Z applicants so that we can continue to bring in a myriad of innovative and fresh experiences into our classrooms.