Creating Career Satisfaction for Graduates - A Recruiter Perspective

Creating Career Satisfaction for Graduates - A Recruiter Perspective

If there is one challenge greater than attracting the best young talent to your organisation, it is retaining it. With research suggesting recent graduates, and 'Generation Y' as a whole, are far less likely to remain loyal employees of a single organisation than previous generations, how is it possible to ensure graduates feel satisfied in their role and with their future career prospects - and therefore more likely to stay?

Every individual has different motivations, personal circumstances and expectations, so is it feasible to expect to satisfy everyone? 

Although there are many factors that can affect the success of your retention policy, we feel that the core of this lies with a solid recruitment strategy and an honest look into what sort of person will best fit into your organisation now and as it develops in the future. 

Briefly but clearly stating in a job ad the main ethos of an organisation and the key personal attributes you seek in an ideal candidate can go a long way towards attracting the most suitable applications. 

Going beyond a demonstration of the necessary skills and qualifications, you may want to think very carefully about what interview questions you can devise that will ascertain a candidate's core motivations and how well they will fit into the existing team dynamic. Be open about where and how your organisation sees and rewards success, what the expectations of the role are now and in the future, and what sort of culture there is in the office. Do these genuinely match with the expectations and qualities of the candidate? 

The more open and honest a conversation between recruiter and candidate from the outset, the more fruitful that relationship will be. Where an organisation and candidate's priorities align, you'll see the greatest chance of long term success.