Getting the Grad in 2016 [Infographic]

October 17, 2016

If you’re a recent college graduate and still searching for the “perfect” job, you are not alone.

An estimated 2.8 million university graduates entered the United States workforce this past spring. The Wall Street journal published an article in April 2016, about the brighter job outlook for 2016 college grads. This article included data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a group which tracks college hiring. According to their data, employers expect to hire 5.2% more grads than they did in 2015.

Although the hiring forecast for 2016 college graduates has so far been the best in at least eight years, there are still more qualified applicants than jobs available. The growing Millennial pool of job seekers includes college graduates who are among the most tech-savvy, innovative and talented yet.

As a result, many companies are finding themselves scrambling to determine the best way to weed through this major prospective talent pool by using smarter college recruiting strategies.

Where the savvy grads are moving to begin their careers

A group from HomeSuite, an online marketplace specializing in short-term furnished housing, conducted informal research in July of this year to determine the best cities in the U.S. for recent college graduates. The college graduates surveyed ranked major cities based on criteria such as where they wanted to start their careers, the local economy, and the cost of living.

According to their study, most of the recent college graduates chose New York City as their top city to live in. Other cities they chose include Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

Whether this is where graduates will start out remains to be seen, but employers in these cities should be prepared if they’re serious about attracting and hiring the best candidates from this talent pool.

How can employers “get the grad” in 2016?

Column Five, a full-service content marketing agency, has teamed up with software and recruiting corporation Jobvite Inc. to create a detailed infographic with data and other information about the characteristics which make these recent college graduates so unique, as well as tips to help employers attract, hire and retain them.

Jobvite suggests the following tips for employers in its infographic:

• Rethink your recruitment approach and determine how your recruitment efforts stand out from the rest.
• Get savvy. 81% of Millennial Jobvite respondents used social media to research the company culture of the organizations they were interested in applying to. It’s more important than ever before to make sure your company’s job openings are up-to-date and that your social media presence is well-maintained. 70% of Millennials used social media to find their current or most recent job.
• Stay tech with the times. 42% of job seekers prefer an online application process through a company’s career portal over other means of applying. Being mobile-friendly is essential as well – 83% of job seekers use mobile job search apps.
• Build meaningful relationships. As tech savvy as many of today’s recent college graduates are, many are still believers in face-to-face networking and engagement.

Check out the infographic below for more information about recruiting and hiring recent college graduates.

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