Volume 35 - College Recruiting Part 1

As alluded to yesterday, the next few editions of Cobblestones will feature my thoughts on college recruiting from the perspective of an experienced HR professional. So, let’s start with some details that frame the situation. In total, we made 13 official visits to 7 different institutions. Those institutions consisted of 2 large public universities, 2 large private universities, 2 mid-sized public universities, and 1 small private university.

His chosen field of study (professional pilot) significantly pared down his choices as it’s only offered by a limited number of schools. This made the initial list significantly easier to determine. We began the process the summer after his freshman year, but most visits were conducted during the spring semester of his junior year.

My first observation as a parent is to start the process early. If you are waiting until the junior year, you will feel “behind” and catching up can add stress to an already stressful process. Also, remember that both you and the schools are simultaneously determining fit. You are both evaluating the other throughout the process. This will be easily identifiable if you have a recruiting background.

My first observation as a HR professional is schools are casting wide nets to get the widest pool of candidates possible. They are constantly taking advantage of multiple touchpoints (email, text, mail, digital ads, etc.). School admissions departments have embraced updated contact formats, especially texting, as a preferred method. Secondly, the good ones utilize video. I read yesterday that video makes up about 80% of consumed content. When you think of utilizing embedded videos on your website, along with YouTube channels, TikTok, and other social media video formats, video is king. HR professionals would be wise to embrace changing and evolving preferred communication and content methods. If the About Us section of your website doesn’t include video content, you are likely missing a great opportunity to connect.

In Part 2, we’ll begin to review and evaluate the in-person visits, and what Talent Acquisition can learn, and teach. Until then keep laying those Cobblestones along your personal development path.