With Graduate season around the corner the next generation of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed recruits are busy hammering keyboards for what they’re going to do next once our endless summer finally draws to a close.
Working with a couple of Bath University recent graduates we’ve put together a Grads eye view of what people are looking for in graduate recruitment media in 2022. That means “slice of life”, “office experience”, “recent graduates” type videos and podcasts that you might post on YouTube or your company’s website.
Context
Let’s start with the context. We are recruiting the YouTube / TikTok / Snapchat generation. Video is truth. They want to see and judge for themselves what the companies they apply for are like. From a production point of you that means giving as much consideration and planning to what viewers of videos see on screen as to what they hear interviewees say. For example “we have totally re-designed the office environment post-Covid”, “we have an equal gender split staff”, “we have vibrant after work activities and sports teams” (all real examples by the way) all need backing up with corresponding visual examples. This is how to use video to best advantage to reach the current generation of graduates. Traditional graduate recruitment talking head videos about how many days holiday you get and how long the graduate program is from someone in a nice suit sat in a nice office have had their day.
Who to feature
Senior leaders (for about one quarter of the screen time)
This is a two way street, a chance for leaders to frame the company and the important work it does and explain the part graduates play in the organisation. It’s also the opportunity for would-be graduates to look their boss in the eye and make a judgement for themselves if they feel the company is well led, has something to offer them, is authentic.
Peers / recent graduates / mentors for newcomers (half of the screen time)
Role models for the incoming cohort. Interviews with these graduates illustrate the work activities and lifestyle the newcomers will have. They allow the graduate viewer to assess the all important questions “Will I fit in?”, “Are they like me here?”, “Do they seem fulfilled?”
Graduate program leaders (one quarter of the screen time)
These are the day to day managers and career influencers the graduates will be most in contact with. “How we support you”, “what is our culture”, “opportunities for your future”, “career and professional development” are all the sorts of issues these managers are expected to cover.
What to feature
Social cohesion: Team sports, regular after hours social activities, clubs/groups, CSR charity activities, bake sales etc. Company culture: You can tell a lot about people from how they look, dress, interact with each other. Is there a chatting at desks culture, or a lot of formal meetings? Is there flexible working and how does it work in practice? What will I be doing? Cover what your company is famous for not just at a corporate level, but also the specialisms of respective offices. Career development: What’s going to keep me there after I finish my graduate year? Show opportunities at other offices around the nations and regions – what will I experience differently if I can move around? Company leadership and authenticity: Is there a vision for the company / my development that connects with me? Policies and practices: Society marches on, is there evidence the company is aware of current social issues and is engaging with staff. Authenticity: Do the people and events filmed in the video seem genuine? Sponsoring ten people to sit on a pride float is not cutting edge diversity in 2022. Do the employees believe in the community they are helping to create?
Video or Podcast?
Podcasts are quite obviously a thing, across all age groups too. As of April 2022, Apple Podcasts hosts 65 million episodes of the things. Given that the average video is under 5 minutes long and the average podcast is about 30 minutes they’re obviously two completely different beasts, with much different budgets to match. Our advice is to use the video to show the things that need to be seen, rather than described and to introduce the key participants. Podcasts are an excellent follow-up to further explore the issues in much more detail once you’ve become familiar with the faces. So a podcast series after a graduate recruitment video could use a number of different formats such as one on one interviews, panels or ask-me-anything’s to explore the recruitment process, lived experiences as a graduate, social activities, career travel opportunities – you name it. All done in a much more informal and conversational way which is suitable for consumption in a much wider variety of settings than the more focussed requirements of watching a video. A follow-up podcast also provides an additional prod and touch point of collateral for graduates who are still uncertain about applying after what they’ve discovered about you thus far.
Taking the idea further
Good news for recyclers in these environmentally conscious times, there is a lot of shared DNA between a graduate recruitment video and an induction video. Typically the same senior leaders appear across both productions and the core messaging “Why you should join us” for the recruitment video and “Well done for joining us, this is what we do” for the induction video come from the same value proposition. It is a very quick win to plan for an induction video edit at the outset and simply ask a couple of supplementary questions to the senior leaders when they are in front of the camera for their graduate video interview.
Mahne Creative Media www.mahne.com is an independent specialist media production agency operating. We pride ourselves on the quality of our storytelling. We unlock the heart of the story to connect and engage target audiences through video, podcasts and training. Mahne Creative Media has created graduate recruitment video series for Wells Fargo, the Financial Conduct Authority and ING as well as stand alone single recruitment / induction videos for several small and medium sized enterprises.
