Recruitment managers from some of the most prestigious graduate employers in Scotland have revealed why they operate differently.
Speaking to recruitment industry magazine, Insider, several key people responsible for graduate recruitment in Scotland have revealed how they find the right talent for their organisations. Graduate jobs in Scotland remain a popular option for university leavers and, according to data from graduatejobs.com, it is the eleventh most popular destination.
Many graduate employers in Scotland have a wide variety of options available from Engineering to Management, as Organisational Learning and Development Lead at Scottish Water, Paul Campbell, told Insider.
"We recruit quite a broad range of graduates across a number of different disciplines," he says.
"In terms of attracting talent, we're actively engaging with a number of universities to raise awareness of our business and the vital role we perform in Scottish society. We also have well developed youth talent pipelines and we use both apprenticeship and graduate programmes."
Some of the most prestigious employers believe graduate attraction is no longer just about recruitment fairs and they need to be on campus to give students more personal information. Student Recruitment Manager at PwC Scotland, Claire Burhouse, says they host numerous events across Scottish universities and show students more about careers in Accountancy, Finance and more.
"In Scotland we work with many universities, hosting various skills sessions covering our application process, interview hints and tips as well as attending local careers fairs," she says. "We also co-host events with The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, and invite students along to our offices to speak to our business about their career journey and working life at PwC."
Scotland has a long tradition of technical innovation and many science and tech companies want to engage applicants by testing their skills. Paula Quinton-Jones is the Graduate Programme Manager at top travel website Skyscanner.
"Increasingly we're focusing on hackathons and tech events to attract talent rather than traditional graduate fairs - as we find that candidates are really attracted by the work they'll be doing and want to be involved in the very latest developments,"
Quinton-Jones also believes tech graduates want exciting opportunities over traditional career paths.
"In our sector in particular, we see that candidates are less motivated by a linear career progression and more by the chance to do meaningful work, solve difficult problems with the latest thinking and have the flexibility to go where their interests take them."
Image Credit: Claudel Rheault