ARU have produced a guide which aims to help businesses access the immense potential of students and graduates. Drawing on years of industry expertise, it can empower you with insights and initiatives to thrive in a competitive recruitment landscape. Use it to enhance hiring strategies, inform best practice and inspire meaningful partnerships with ARU to connect with the brightest emerging talent.

Below is a snippet of the first few pages, you can view the full guide here. 

STUDENT & GRADUATE RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING
According to Get Hired by LinkedIn News UK it takes new recruits just over 6 weeks to decide if their new job is right for them. Therefore employers must invest in an effective recruitment, onboarding and induction process to deliver positive employee experiences from the outset. 

Inspiring Recruitment:

1. The first thing you must do to assess your current recruitment process is to experience if for yourself. Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes and try to apply for your organisation’s vacancies. Take note of the ease and efficiency of the process - does it leave you motivated to pursue the application?
2. If you use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), monitor the number of abandoned applications – high figures indicate an issue with the process. 
3. What can you remove from the application process to reduce barriers for candidates? Focus on just the essential information at this stage so you can decide which applicants will proceed to the next stage of recruitment.
4. Consider using peer role models – include videos from staff members of differing levels, explaining the recruitment process from their own experience. Such colleagues could also be in attendance at recruitment events and/or at interview stage to provide applicants with a tangible link to current employees. This practice is great for promoting company culture early on and adding value to the recruitment process for applicants. Choose your ambassadors wisely! 

Aspirational Onboarding

1. Implement a considered induction programme – forward thinking employers have utilised a dedicated intranet system for employee inductions where new recruits can easily gain access to all elements of the induction process including key information e.g. staff handbook (leave entitlement, sickness, pay process/info etc.), benefits package, mandatory training, available support, social enterprise, HR forms etc.
2. Utilise your peer role models again – include a video from different levels of employees to give their accounts of when they first joined the business.  This practice helps new recruits identify with current colleagues, feel welcomed and understood.
3. Establish your organisational culture through effective branding and live this culture through every aspect of the recruitment and onboarding process.
4. Assign specific responsibility of new recruits by demographic to key HR staff ensuring a supportive process throughout their initial starting period (suggest 3-6 months min).
5. Assign appropriate peer mentors from the start of the employee journey – encourage these staff members to establish a trusted relationship and ‘open door’ for their mentee.
6. Ask for feedback and close the loop to make sure it is used for positive change and to celebrate success.