{"id":88320,"date":"2024-04-15T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content-stg-talogy.pantheonsite.io\/?p=88320"},"modified":"2025-11-25T15:23:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T15:23:48","slug":"6-tips-to-optimise-your-early-careers-hiring-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talogy.com\/en-gb\/blog\/6-tips-to-optimise-your-early-careers-hiring-process\/","title":{"rendered":"6 tips to optimise your early careers hiring process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the majority of early talent campaigns launching in autumn, right now is the perfect time to finalise your strategy and ensure your next campaign launch is set up for success. Whatever your budget and resources, conducting an audit of how things went in the last year is valuable, whether it leads to some incremental enhancements or a full overhaul of your recruitment strategy<\/a>. But with so many plates to juggle, where should you focus your effort and energy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 tips to optimise your hiring process for early career applicants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Be innovative<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For any large-scale redesigns, be sure to leverage data and do so at the right time when you and your organisation can commit focus and energy to thinking critically about the opportunities and risks. Introducing innovation to the process is recommended to differentiate your experience and create buzz with your applicant pool. Determine where best to bring this in, considering both DEI impact and prediction while trying to remain objective about newly emerging recruiting fads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our own research, Talogy found that when asked to select up to five features they deem most important when completing a recruitment assessment, UK School Leavers and Graduates suggested their top two needs were for the experience to \u201cfeel relevant to the role\u201d (68% of sample) and \u201cgive a realistic insight into the types of tasks [one] might encounter in the job\u201d (69% of sample). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are hearing from clients who have fallen for quick-win innovations \u2013 delivering style over substance \u2013 who are now pivoting to robust methods with a demonstrable track-record of delivering impact. It\u2019s best to use widely applicable and extensively validated methods such as cognitive reasoning assessments and situational judgement tests which bring roles to life in a meaningful way that is backed by rigour and science. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Inspire integrity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We often get asked, \u201cHow are we going to assess fairly and accurately in a context of generative AI where some candidates are willing to cheat to get ahead?\u201d Let\u2019s be frank \u2013 it is not possible for any recruiter or assessment solutions<\/a> provider to entirely mitigate the risk of cheating in unsupervised environments, nor has it been since the emergence of unsupervised testing. What is reassuring though, is that self-report evidence from candidates indicates that the likelihood of cheating is considerably lower than recruiters believe it is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With generative AI now a well-established commodity embedded in the way early career talent operates, the use of honesty statements as a simple enhancement to your hiring process could inspire integrity in candidates. In addition, multi-stage, multi-method assessment of key behaviours and skills<\/a> ensures additional verification. Some clients are even opting to move back to utilising face-to-face or hybrid assessments at the final stages of their hiring process which can engender a sense of psychological contract, presenting a human side to the organisation and encouraging the fulfilment of honesty obligations from candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Keep the human connection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With extensive fearmongering around the \u2018imminent\u2019 demise of Talent Acquisition, a very firm message must be shared: People are important and there will always be a role for people to deliver value above and beyond what tech automation and artificial intelligence can. The value of human connection in driving memorable, personalised candidate experiences<\/a> that inspire brand advocates should not be overlooked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider where in your pipeline to best allocate human resources to create organisational efficiencies and perhaps more importantly, to deliver a differentiated, caring candidate experience. The less their experience feels personalised, the less supported they will feel and the more likely it will be that you lose potential early career talent to competitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of our most progressive clients are investing great effort and energy into fostering a human-led, supportive element to their volume early career processes in scalable ways. One example is providing one-on-one recruiter support on request. This supplements collateral providing transparency around the process, what to expect, and practice materials. Candidates differ in the way they consume information and the option to speak to recruiters provides candidates with the agency to make decisions about their assessment journey. This is particularly relevant for candidates who require reasonable adjustments or individuals who experience test anxiety. What are your human touch points? What more could you do to better support your candidates through your process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Leverage data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\nIs your data landscape a key source of frustration for you right now? Are your data transit processes \u2018sub-par\u2019 when it comes to GDPR compliance? Data centralisation and security is essential for deriving efficient insight on key business metrics. So, this is the time to tackle data head on and ask yourself the following:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n