Graduates and recruiters struggle to find the right fit

Students and graduates are not making the right workplace choices and employers are struggling to identify the right ‘fit’ for their businesses.

These are the findings of research conducted by Magnet.me, an online network for students, graduates and recruiters. Analysis of the research suggests that businesses looking to recruit students and graduates are sending out generic, mass messages resulting in large numbers of irrelevant applications. This is leading to a flawed recruitment process with higher costs for recruiters, as well as a negative impact on the employer brand with recruiters having to reject high numbers of applicants.

Furthermore, the research indicates that students are aware of only 27% of graduate opportunities available to them, meaning 73% of their potential employers are failing to reach them.

Moreover, students and graduates (74%) are making universal job applications, while not really knowing what the company or role is like. This is possibly an effect of the generic, mass messaging from recruiters, Magnet.me’s findings suggest. Of those that get hired, it leaves a disaffected workforce (68% of graduates admit joining the wrong employer) and high churn rates (28% leave within 12 months).

Vincent Karremans, Founder of Magnet.me, commented: “Today’s graduate recruitment market finds itself stuck in a terrible place. Young people are struggling to wade through generic company messaging to find their way to the right job while businesses are wasting millions chasing and eventually investing in high numbers of graduates who leave within the first year.

“Looking at the research it feels as though young people and employers are on completely different planets. Both sides are essentially using an out-of-date scattergun approach that is not working. We are calling for a radical overhaul to this approach that refocuses the attention to the candidate.”

Magnet.me is calling for a “re-focus on young people” where employers lead on targeting select groups of candidates and engage them with better personal and authentic means. These measures should showcase their industry, their workplace, their culture and their people to potential hires.

“It’s time to move beyond having generic videos of businesses on social media to more of an authentic storytelling approach to your business, if you want the right calibre of candidates coming to you who will impact your business and its culture,” added Vincent Karremans.

Young people, on the whole, are buoyant of securing a job (69%) but highlight a lack of workplace skills (48%) and Brexit (47%) as the top reasons of that could prevent them securing employment in the next 12 months.