Posted on Tuesday 9th August 2016 by James Howell
Professional services firm, KPMG, has revolutionised graduate recruitment with the creation of its streamlined recruitment process Launch Pad.
KPMG is one of the largest graduate employers in the UK and operates 22 offices across the UK. The professional services firm, with independent research company High Fliers Research, surveyed over 400 of this summer's new graduates to discover the biggest frustrations with graduate job hunting.
The biggest issue raised by 55% of graduates was a lack of feedback when applications were unsuccessful. Other issues included poor and delayed communication from employers (43%) and the length of time applicants had to wait to hear back from interviews (34%).
In response to the survey's results and their commitment to providing candidates with the best possible experience, KPMG has changed its approach to graduate recruitment . KPMG's Launch Pad will now combine the first interview, assessment centre and final interview stages into single day. KPMG will also inform graduates and students whether they have been successful or not within two working days and are offering verbal feedback to all candidates who request it.
Chairman of KPMG UK, Simon Collins, says graduates do not want to trawl through lengthy application forms.
"Millennials don't want to navigate a cumbersome and convoluted recruitment process when applying for a job and this is something we as business leaders need to understand and address," he says.
"Graduates have given us some hard hitting, but really useful feedback and we're using this to overhaul how we recruit. From now on a candidate's final interviews and assessments will take place over the course of just one day and we will make them an offer or give feedback explaining why they were not successful within two working days."
The changing face of graduate recruitment has also influenced KPMG's decision and Simon says even bigger companies must compete for the best graduate talent.
"Millennials no longer feel the need to play it safe and most are now equally happy to work for a start up or tech firm as they are a large traditional employer. We are competing with the full gamut for the best brains and talent leaving university: getting our graduate recruitment right is crucial to the long term success of our business."
Find out more about KPMG's Launch Pad, and apply for their graduate and student opportunities now.