Transparent communication between recruiters and Career Services is fundamental.
Companies eagerly search for talent, while Career Services actively strive to identify opportunities for their talent. Nonetheless, a lack of effective communication is observed between the two. In May 2019, Highered EFMD Shared Career Services held the first Global Talent Summit in Shanghai, bringing 200 Career Services and Human Resources professionals together – taking the lead to bridge the gap in communication between recruiters and Career Services. The high-profile attendees enriched the two-day event with strategic, meaningful discussions. Here we share with you the insights from the Summit to facilitate your institution’s talent recruitment and placement initiatives.
| Highered Global Talent Summit Attendee Profile | |
| Schools | Companies |
| 35 top-ranked business schools (top 1% worldwide) representing 10 countries and regions and 240,000 students. | 100 HR professionals, of which 90% are from Forbes Global 2000 Companies and 67% with a title of Manager or superior. |
Employer Branding
More than 75% of job seekers research a company’s reputation and employer brand before applying (LinkedIn, 2016). Under a climate of skills shortages in many sectors, investment in employer branding paves the way for successful attraction and retention of qualified talent. We encourage companies to enter their target schools early in order to build up the employer brand and to influence early talent by collaborating with the department of Career Services. The participating schools in the Summit indicated that they offer the following major opportunities for companies to engage with their talent: career fairs, on-campus company presentations, student company visits, company internship programs, short-term company projects, sponsorship of student activities, and company case/business challenges. Participating companies showed strong interest in career fairs and internship programs and expressed willingness to organize student visits and participate in on-campus company presentations. Upon comparison of these preferences, we suggest that schools explore virtual career fair opportunities, while companies consider conducting company case/business challenges.
Talent Attraction
The biggest obstacle that candidates experience when searching for a job is not knowing what it’s like to work for a certain organization (LinkedIn, 2015). Therefore, companies should take every opportunity to expose themselves to students, introducing their corporate culture, explaining the roles, main tasks and benefits, articulating the recruitment process and providing guidance and orientation on the selection process, including interview preparation – all from a student-centric perspective. Multiple channels such as webinars, career fairs, on-campus presentations (involve alumni from the school), company visits/student treks and social media should be leveraged, in accordance with the company’s capacity, in order to familiarize candidates with the opportunities.
Furthermore, schools should keep up with the speed of business and connect the academic curriculum with students’ career pathways by facilitating the development of the key skills that the market is seeking, and guiding students to set their career goals early on and apply to internships to gain relevant experience.
Talent Screening
Companies screen candidates and conduct assessments based on defined selection criteria. According to the corporate attendees at the Highered Global Talent Summit, students who tailor their applications to specific roles demonstrate their self-awareness, show clear motivation on “why” to apply to the position and articulate their relevant experience.
Soft skills, which are not replaceable by machines, are becoming absolutely critical with the prevalence of AI and automation of entire industries, companies, and jobs (LinkedIn, 2019). HR professionals from the leading companies in attendance at the Summit highlighted the following soft skills to be of great importance for them:
- Adaptability and agility
- Communication skills
- Collaboration and teamwork
- Critical thinking
- Curiosity and creativity
- Cultural fitness
- Leadership
- Modesty
- Self-awareness and self-reflection
- Sense of responsibility
- Resilience
At the other end of the talent supply chain, Career Services should prepare students with both hard and soft skills that will enable them to embark on a steady career path.
Highered to narrow the gap in the talent supply chain
Leveraging the established and growing global talent network, close relationships with top school Career Services and expanded partnerships with leading global organizations, Highered acts as a liaison between talent, Career Services and recruiters, empowering global talent to reach their potential by making the world of talent needs and recruitment more transparent. More specifically, Highered:
- closely monitors changes in the job market to align school Career Services with the latest trends in recruiting
- facilitates the communication and accelerates the cooperation between top schools’ Career Services and recruiters
- broadens and deepens companies’ reach to talent from diverse backgrounds on a global scale
- creates shared values for talent, companies, and Career Services
Learn more about what Highered can do for you.
References:
https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_us/c/pdfs/GRT16_GlobalRecruiting_100815.pdf
https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/trends-and-research/2019/global-recruiting-trends-2019
https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_us/c/pdfs/ultimate-list-of-employer-brand-stats.pdf
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Highered is the strategic partner of EFMD, providing shared career services to over 500 schools globally to complement campus career service initiatives. To know more about Highered, reach out to info@highered.global or visit us at https://efmdglobal.org/highered/
