Graduate recruitment: area of work

Some employers, particularly in sectors such as banking and law, hire in-house graduate recruitment specialists to recruit graduates with the qualities they need. Others prefer to outsource some or all of the work to consultants. Whether they work in-house or for an external consultancy, graduate recruiters are responsible for sourcing candidates, managing recruitment campaigns and overseeing the selection process.

A graduate recruiter will:

• work closely with the HR team
• decide which universities and courses to target and how
• build relationships with the universities themselves
• organise events and campaigns to advertise the organisation on campuses
• attend annual recruitment fairs
• help with the assessment and selection process

What’s required

For any on-campus activity you’ll obviously need to be friendly and approachable , with a good sense of humour . But you’ll also be embodying the organisation to the graduates that meet you, so professionalism is essential. To be able to consistently find the best graduates for your organisation, you’ll need the specialist knowledge and business acumen to stay one step ahead of the competing employers.

An HR-related degree and a CIPD qualification will be advantageous. Any HR experience will be useful and assessment and selection experience would be valuable as well. Be sure to talk to any on-campus recruiters if you’re interested in the area to see how they got into it – you never know, they may be looking for graduates in that area too.