Ten ways to be on it, on campus

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By Kate Llewellyn-Cripps

Campus season is here, bringing with it a whirlwind of fairs, presentations and attention-grabbing installations. If you’re hitting the road yourself, you’ll be meeting tons of students as you clock up the miles. So, how do you make sure the effort’s worth it? And how do you make every interaction count?

Here are ten tips on how to really milk Milkround.

Get the right reps out

Getting advocates from your business to speak with students can be very powerful. Just make sure you get the right level of seniority and balance of business areas out there specific for each event. And brief them well about your campaign proposition.

Automate your follow-up

A timely response to a sign up can make a big difference. Tailor your comms so they feel a bit personal. Using a persona-based approach is a good idea here so the student doesn’t feel like they’re getting another blanket email.

Get tracking

From engagement to application, track things. The data will help you spot where you may need to work a bit harder – and what’s really working. Review frequently during peak campus season so you can tweak your activity accordingly while it still has chance to have impact.

Have a goal in mind

Why are you on campus? To raise brand awareness? To drive direct applications? Or both? Factor this into your ROI analysis, and tailor your activity accordingly.

Become a regular

It pays to have a schedule of different events for your target universities, because candidates can continually learn about you and your opportunities. And it’s a great way to turn attention grabbing into serious longer term engagement.

Keep in touch with careers services

Give them feedback. Let them know what’s working and what isn’t. And tell them how their students are progressing through the recruitment process.

Get tracking (in a different way)

This time, we’re talking about costs. Keeping an eye on cost is vital when it comes to assessing the value you’re getting. Check cost of events against number of sign ups, applications and hires. And make sure your ATS is tracking things properly.

Have a plan B ready

All it takes is one sick rep, a tech fail or fewer attendees than expected for everything to fall apart. We’ve all been there. It’s worth planning ahead to maximise the opportunity – by tweaking the running order or changing activity timings, for instance.

Integrate

The fun stuff you’re doing on campus and online should not be strangers. Talk about your on-campus activity, to showcase what you’re doing and generate interest. Also, take advantage of all the opportunities to generate content that campus season presents.

Check out the competition

By which, we mean get a feel for the market. If you’re on campus, so are other employers. So find time to network, and find out what other organisations are doing. You’ll spot trends. You’ll see what students are responding well to. And you’ll learn plenty for next year – or even this one.

These are just a few of our thoughts. We’d love to share more with you. So just get in touch.