Marketing your Employment Opportunities to International Graduates 8 th March 2010 AGCAS Conference

2 Agenda GTI Recruiting Solutions Graduate Recruitment in an International Landscape What to consider when Marketing to International Students Attraction and Recruitment of International Graduates - those who are studying in the UK looking to return to their home country - those who are studying overseas to work in the UK

3 SingaporeChinaMalaysiaGermanyUKIrelandSwitzerlandFrance

4 Graduate Recruitment in an International Landscape The political, economic and cultural environment in which organisations recruit and develop graduates is becoming increasingly global Rapid increase in mobility of graduates - education and career - international exposure on a graduate programme is ranked very highly Business requirement for skills that cannot be easily identified in UK graduates Demand for international students to return home to pursue their careers Opportunity to grow UK and overseas operations through recruiting graduates with the right skills and cultural traits

5 International Recruiting Strategy – marketing considerations Demands associated with countries “being different”: Different expectations Different local economies Different job markets Different university systems Different cultures Demands associated with a multinational company: One voice One vision One brand One set of principles One employer, one overview Different approaches

6 Employer Brand lifecycle – Where are you in each market? Rebranding? known but unattractive Pioneer Unknown and unattractive Established Brand Known and attractive Awareness Attractiveness No Brand

7 Different cultures – Best comunication channels 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Europe Finland France Czech Republic Switzerland Germany Greece Slovakia Belgium Austria United Kingdom Netherlands Portugal Poland Sweden Italy Denmark Hungary Ireland Spain Norway Company internet site Career fairs/events at the university or externally The company's products

8 Different cultures - Important Employer Characteristics Attractive work tasks Promotion opportunities Helpful/cooperative colleagues Professional development/training Personal responsibility Work-Life balance Leadership style Job security Starting salary Europe France Germany Hungary Italy Spain Sweden

9 Ensure marketing is bespoke and targeted: Relevant societies, courses, international networks Bespoke campaign; ensure recruitment timelines are relevant to the UK Use of alumni to ‘sell’ the opportunity Specific careers fairs in country to promote roles Consider the potential of sponsoring candidates through university degrees Graduate Expectations: Understand expected compensation and attractiveness of returning home Attractiveness of graduate programme – potential to start in the UK and then return home Understand graduate expectations specifically around learning and development Use local graduates and business to attract prospective candidates: They will have knowledge of local market Similar experiences They will be able to highlight the benefits of returning home Attraction and Recruitment of international graduates studying in the UK

10 Know your local market position: Understand why you are recruiting overseas Familiarity and attractiveness Employer brand Know the local market: Best universities and description of the university education system Number of students in that market with desired skills Most suitable graduate recruitment process Target your HR communication: General and specific communication channels Campus communication channels Know the local students better: Important employer characteristics, career goals and mobility Expected income and desired working hours Experience, language skills Attraction and Recruitment of graduates studying overseas

11 Europe Company brand and specific graduate opportunities will dictate which universities you target Important to invest time building relationships with careers services Targeted marketing is crucial to avoid a high number of poor applications CV books are produced by universities and distributed to prospective employers Tradition to recruit through careers fairs run by Universities – companies will hold presentations followed by first round interviews at the events More importance placed on academia and work experience than extra curricular activities – several internships through a longer degree is very common

12 Students studying outside of the UK place more emphasis on internships and work experience than extra curricular activities Students from France and Germany study for longer – different cohort of candidates from those who you would see in the UK Online numerical and verbal reasoning tests – research the best norm group to use and expected percentile as well as testing in mother tongue Internships, Graduate programmes, direct roles – ensure that these are clearly and properly explained Europe – Anecdotal Recruitment Tips Keljob, Direct Emploi, University Careers guides Staufenbiel, Unicum.de, Berufsstart.de, AbsolventenKongres.de Exposurejobs.com, Primeremploe, multilingualvacancies.com Careers in Europe.com Europe – recommended marketing channels

13 Asia Clear benefits in recruiting graduates from Asia: language, technical universities, culture, increase relationships with Asia for business expansion High level of interest from Asia students to study and work in Europe. Especially the UK Targeted advertising through universities is essential to attract students that have the right skills – relationship with university very important Important to build brand in Asian market if organisation is not already known Logistics of attraction and recruitment from Asia – UK Universities hold careers fairs in Beijing and Shanghai specifically for this purpose Language is important to assess early on in the recruitment process

14 Tiptopjob.com Careers in Asia – Global Career Company GradAsia.com Monster – Asia University Placement Offices eg. Indian Institute of Management, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Asia – Recommended Marketing Channels Different parts of Asia have very different cultures – expect this! Language – conduct phone screens to check language Anecdotal Recruitment Tips

15 USA Need to consider rationale to recruit from the US Careers service play a vital role in the recruitment of any student – building solid relationships over a period of time is key to success Branding of programme and use of alumni networks is very important to attract the best students Ensuring the application process is recognised amongst students and easy to follow Interviewing on campus is very common both at 1st round and final round

16 Monster – jobsearch.monster.com University job boards and careers services USA – Recommended Marketing Channels Ivy League universities are extremely competitive and highly over recruited Students are not used to using online application systems Interviews are the most common way to recruit graduates – not assessment centres Anecdotal Recruitment Tips

17 Associations and Networks for international recruitment AIESEC & CEMS – International Student Association Careers in Europe – Organise employer fairs across Europe ESN - Erasmus Student Network Global Career Company – Careers in Asia Linked In Networks – EMEA Recruiters

18 In Summary - international recruiting strategy Where How Why Why are you recruiting international students - Is there a skills gap, are you looking to grow operations overseas? Are the local teams bought in to the recruitment activity? How – find out how best to communicate with your target students and what will make your offering attractive. Consider your brand in the market you are entering, what graduates prioritise in that market and therefore what your most effective marketing and recruitment strategy will be. Where are you going to find the individuals you need? Research local market, universities, graduate skills in that market, are they happy to relocate to the UK? If they are going back home what societies do you need to be in touch with, international networks, alumni groups

19 Any Questions?