Attracting and retaining graduates has not been easy by any means and in 2023 it will not be any different. There will be an immense talent shortage of up to 85 million people by 2030 due to the hyper-competitive market. Therefore, recruiting graduate candidates, and especially attracting them, will become even more challenging. If you don’t deal with these challenges with creativity, then you may end up paying the staggering cost.

It becomes essential to figure out unique ways to attract the best talent and that’s what this blog will help you out with. We share with you some of the most innovative and creative ways to recruit top talent in 2023.

If you want graduates to be your major workforce then approach them in universities. Engaging with universities is essential within graduate space and the innovative events like virtual fairs have become important for this purpose. These fairs are like in-person job fairs but hosted online. Several organizations can participate in the V Fair with individual virtual booths.

Instead of occupying any physical space, these fairs enter into a domain that is completely animated. It includes 3D designs, avatars, and the ability to host a large number of people across the world. In order to participate in the event, the candidates simply have to register for the event. They will be given credentials to log in on the day of the event.

The candidate will find himself in the event lobby with the complete list of exhibitors. If the candidate chooses you from the list then he would enter your booth.  You can have a virtual meeting with him within the booth and provide him every valuable information he needs. It also becomes an effective strategy for promoting your brand. This is a prototype of what recruitment in Metaverse will be like in the Future.

Social Media deserves the most attention when it comes to recruiting graduates in 2023. It is due to the reason that Millennials and GenZ are the most active on Social Media. Companies should not start thinking about social media only at the time of recruitment. Social recruiting should be a part of their overall strategy. This is the reason most of the companies have started taking social media as the most influential tool to attract talent.

An effective strategy does not only provide you a connection with the top talent but also it improves brand image. One of the most essential components of your brand image is your link with the candidates. Social media strengthens this link by engaging the candidates through your interesting job posting. Moreover, the cost of social recruiting will always be minimal as compared to traditional hiring.

The world is shifting towards the virtual realm and organizations can’t afford to take this fact for granted. This will make your organization stand out in the recruitment world. The videos can build a strong connection with the candidates. These can also be used to showcase roles and sell the story of the organization .Most importantly, virtual interviews for recruiting graduates are one the most sustainable ways to hire graduates in 2023.

Virtual interviews for graduate candidates enhance flexibility not only for the students but also for the recruiters. The studies suggest that students of color, neurodiverse students, and women find virtual interactions with the employer less anxiety-inducing, more accessible, and easier to balance.

As applicants grow higher, it becomes challenging for recruiters to filter the resumes to hunt the ideal candidates. It required creativity like skill testing. The purpose of resumes is to provide insight into a candidate’s past experience. However, it becomes a lot harder to assess the skills within those previous positions on paper. That’s why resumes become ineffective because they emphasis more on experience rather than skill.

There could be various methods to conduct skill tests like replicating a typical workplace scenario. This might test a fundamental skill of a candidate in a role (through Situational Judgement Test). These tests are better predictors of the success of the candidates due to the deeper insight into candidates. This allows you to make better hiring decisions about recruiting graduates.

The employee referral program is nothing new but the potential of this strategy remains intact. The referral program is a valuable means to improve your recruiting process. If you are moving toward 2023 without this program then you must include this and if you do have then you can modify it a bit.

Usually, the offices with referral programs offer small monetary rewards when employees refer new hires. You can change it and offer big rewards. The annual prizes, or even vacation days to the employees with the most referrals are few of such big rewards. This method also saves time for the recruiters because they don’t need to spend time looking for talent elsewhere.

Engaging with freelancers in the Gig Economy can turn out to be an efficient strategy to recruit top-tier and short-term talent for your business. Innovative recruiters are connecting with freelancers for recruiting graduates to stay ahead in the market. This became trend especially after the Great Resignation changed the corporate landscape.

There are many potential benefits to hiring freelancing graduates:

Freelancing graduates may bring new ideas and approaches to projects, as they are often not as entrenched in the company’s way of doing things.

Freelancers generally charge less than full-time employees, which can be a cost-effective option for companies, particularly for short-term or project-based work.

Hiring freelancers allows companies to bring in talent as needed, rather than committing to a full-time hire. This can be particularly useful for companies with fluctuating workloads.

Freelancing graduates may have a diverse range of skills and experiences that can be beneficial for companies looking to add specific expertise to their teams.

Freelancers are generally self-motivated and able to work independently, which can be an asset for companies looking to outsource certain tasks or projects.

Overall, hiring freelancing graduates can be a good way for companies to bring in fresh talent and expertise on a flexible basis.

There is nothing more effective than attracting Gen Z and Millennials with a process like gamification. Most Gen Z has grown up playing video games therefore, the gamified process plays a vital role in not just providing them a sense of belongingness but also providing companies with employer branding opportunities.

Gamification is a modern technique in recruitment used to compel and engage candidates to achieve some goal, specifically through game elements, theory, or design. In the upcoming global talent shortage, most companies believe that gamification in recruitment can turn out to be the essential differentiator. It can boost your employer branding along with providing an engaging and entertaining candidate experience to the candidate.

Recruiting and hiring have never been as challenging and exciting as they are today. Finding and attracting the top candidates require immense creativity today on the part of the recruiter but that is where the fun begins for you.

As the recruitment market is getting fierce in terms of competition, you as the recruiters must adopt the most innovative ways of recruiting graduates in 2023. Try the abovementioned methods to see which one works for you to make your workplace productive and fun.