Hiring Recent College Grads? 10 Best Recruiting Tips

10 sales and talent leaders share their best recruiting tips to attract college graduates to join their sales team.

In 2017, CareerBuilder released a report stating that 74% of employers planned to hire college graduates last year. We can assume that the need to recruit this next wave of talent will continue to be in demand this year since unemployment is at 4% (the lowest it’s been in 10 years).

In a job seeker’s market, it’s not enough to post a job, and expect an overwhelming amount of qualified candidates to apply to your open position. Recent college grads are entering the workforce as educated, technology-enabled, and ambitious professionals. Technology is an integrated part of their every-day lives, and with access to more information than ever before, you better believe they are doing their research on your company before they even apply.

So how can employers recruit, engage, and hire recent college grads? We asked 10 sales and talent leaders to share their best tip on how they have successfully recruited and hired recent college grads.

Phil Strazzulla, Founder at NextWave Hire

The best recent college grads are thinking long-term about their careers. You want to position your business as a place where they can learn new skills and progress quickly in their careers. It’s tough to do this in a job description, and so I’d recommend a dedicated microsite on your careers page that focuses on recent college grads and the employee value propositions that relate to them.

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Colby Mariano, Social Recruiting Specialist at Treeline, Inc.

When hiring recent grads, talk to everyone. While sports and internships are important on a resume, the true value of a candidate lies in their intangible traits, and you will miss out on strong candidates if you put all of your focus into what’s on paper. When you talk to candidates, focus on the things that recent grads are looking for like substantial training with a clear path for growth within your company; a strong leadership team to guide them, coworkers they can relate to, and a positive work environment. Lastly, move quickly on these candidates. Everyone is looking for the same things that you are, and you should presume that these candidates have a number of options in front of them.

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Kyle Smith, Inside Sales Consultant at The Bridge Group, Inc.

If you want to hire the best recent college grad talent, it is critical to articulate the plan and vision for their professional development! How will we as employers take the raw talent and personality profiles that make the applicant so appealing (intelligence, grit, communication skills, etc.) and turn them into polished sales professionals? That is the answer recent college grads are looking for. Collaborative, work hard/play hard cultures with trendy office environments are table stakes at this point. Recent college grads care less about what they’ll show on their W2 for this year and much more about how this first year or two of employment will exponentially increase their earning potential 3-4 years from now.

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Jim Brown, Sales Coach & Podcast Host at SalesTuners