Step-by-Step Plan for Employers to REACH More Right-fit Students

Hiring professionals are responsible for attracting qualified candidates, managing open positions and filling those positions with the perfect candidate who has all the necessary skills. But attracting, recruiting, hiring, and retaining top talent is a strategic process that goes beyond simply posting a job and reviewing resumes. GradLeaders has the solution to improve hiring results and attract candidates who will excel in your organization. To outline our unique formula that helps employers succeed in a competitive market, we use a simple acronym, REACH:

• RAISE Brand Awareness
• EDUCATE Students about Opportunities
• ATTRACT Interested Job Seekers
• CHOOSE Right-Fit Employees
• HIRE Students

This easy process begins with company assessments and candidate exploration, then uses tools to manage right-fit candidates, and results in hiring new employees who add value to your company. Described below is our five-step plan for employers to follow with personalized email templates to help make this process as simple as possible! 

RAISE Brand Awareness: 

The first step in the REACH process is to fully establish your company’s employment brand before attracting candidates. Creating a compelling company profile and sharing employee stories allows job seekers to see who your company is at the core and allows them to differentiate you from other employers. Schedule company events to introduce students to your team and promote your culture through multiple channels and remain top of mind to students when they begin their job search.  

Here are the 4 to-do’s in this step of the process:

1. Create company profile with mission statement and differentiators.  
2. Post career advice, employee testimonials and day-in-the-life-of stories. 
3. Schedule company events, coffee hours, and info sessions on campus. 
4. Promote employment brand via GradLeaders, email, social media, and website. 

Here are some email templates to help you Raise brand awareness:

• Employment Branding Intro 
• Why Our Company is Great 
• Career Advice for Job-Seeking Students 
• Employee Day-in-the-Life-Of with Testimonial 

EDUCATE Students About Opportunities: 

Once you’ve established your company’s brand and created an online presence, you can start educating students about the specific opportunities and career paths within your company. It’s important to define your ideal employees and values so you attract right-fit candidates. Creating job descriptions with specific requirements deters students who don’t have the necessary skills and attracts the students who do. By marketing typical roles and career paths, students learn about the various positions and opportunities your company can provide. 

Here are the next 4 to-do’s in this step of the process:

5. Define your ideal employees, values, and company culture. 
6. Write job description with skills and education requirements.  
7. Market typical roles and potential career paths to students. 
8. Post current job openings to multiple campuses including non-core schools. 

Here are some email templates to help you Educate students about your opportunities:

• More Types of Jobs Than You Think 
• All Opportunities at Our Company 
• New Job Opening for You 
• Perfect Internship for You 

ATTRACT Interested Job Seekers: 

After you have helped students understand potential careers within your business, it’s time to attract interested job seekers. By taking the time to proactively search for students based on skills, preferences and education, you’ll become more targeted with the students who are right for you. When you find students who align with your company’s values and may be interested in open positions, you can start sending out personalized messages. By informing students of the benefits of your company, they will become interested in what you have to offer as well. Invite them to connect in order to form a professional relationship and then recruit them to apply to the most fitting position. 

Here are the next 6 to-do’s in this step of the process:

9. Search for students based on skills, education, and career preferences. 
10.  Send personalized messages to right-fit students. 
11.  Explain why your company, role and location is ideal. 
12.  Invite students to connect virtually and in-person on campus. 
13.  Attend career fairs and talk to right-fit students.  
14.  Push students to applicant tracking system (ATS). 

Here are some email templates to help you Attract interested job seekers:

• Introductory Chat 
• Meet Me On Campus OCR Invite 
• Virtual Company Presentation with Meet and Greet 
• Stop by Our Booth at the Career Fair 
• Virtual Career Fair Invitation 
• Want to Grab a Coffee? 
• Pizza Party On Campus 
• Meet Our CEO 
• Come Visit Our Offices 
• Virtual Office Tour 

CHOOSE Right-Fit Employees: 

Once you’ve reviewed your candidates’ applications, it’s time to narrow down your search to the best-fit employees. This is the initial step in the hiring process. Evaluating their skills and personality allows employers to see if they have what it takes to fill this position. If they pass these assessments, then conduct virtual interviews to get to know them better. If the candidate was enthusiastic, informed and had clear communication skills they may be ready for the next round of interviews. Once you conduct all your interviews it is important to carefully select your top pick candidate and inform others that they’re not best-fit for your organization at this time.  

Here are the next 5 to-do’s in this step of the process:

15. Utilize aptitudes, skills and personality assessments.  
16. Send and review prerecorded virtual interviews. 
17. Conduct live 1-on-1 interviews with remaining candidates. 
18. Select first-choice students as number one candidate.
19. Perform necessary background checks. 

Here are some email templates to help you Choose right-fit employees:

• Background Check 
• Phone or Video Call Invite 
• In-Person Interview Invite 
• Virtual Interview Invitation 
• Rejection Letter 

HIRE Students: 

This final step is when you plan for your new hire. First, create a written job offer with important information such as start dates, salary and compensation details including benefits. Then once the offer is accepted, review the path that candidate took to become your next hire. Do your best to track “what worked” and “what didn’t work” so you can better understand ROI on specific recruitment activities. Use that data to improve in the future. End by preparing for your new hire and schedule first-day-on-the-job instructions. Be sure to stay in contact with your new employee until their start date.  

Here are the last 5 to-do’s in this step of the process:

20. Review labor market compensation data 
21. Extend competitive job offer to student 
22. Mark as “hired” and review ROI reporting. 
23. Onboard new employee. 
24.  Schedule first-day-on-the-job instructions. 

Here are some email templates to help you Hire students:

• Informal Job Offer 
• Formal Job Offer 
• Salary Negotiation 
• Congrats! First Day on Job 

In conclusion… 

After raising brand awareness, educating students about opportunities, attracting interested job seekers, choosing right-fit employees and hiring students, GradLeaders is confident you’ll be able to REACH more exceptional talent. 

Leverage the links below to follow the step-by-step REACH plan and take advantage of the canned email templates today!

Download All 27 Email Templates (zip)

Download the Complete To-Do List