Employers across America love to hire college students. They can’t seem to get enough of them. Visit any career fair today on campus and you’ll see dozens, sometimes hundreds of companies vying for their attention.
Last year, while recruiting for a hospitality company, I was tasked with attracting hundreds of them to the company career site. My number one tool quickly became WayUp, formerly known as CampusJob. They are a next generation recruiting tool that I think all entry-level employers should get to know.
The New York City based startup won me over by delivering 50 applicants to my job listing within 24 hours. Seeing such immediate results from a job board was pleasantly surprising experience. I had also posted the job on other college job sites which delivered decent applicant flow over the course of a month but none could match the immediacy and quality of what I found on WayUp.
I was hooked. I re-upped and they continued to send us dozens of recent grads over the next few weeks/months and a sizable portion of those kids were ultimately hired. The best part was we only had to pay for the applicants we got ($10 each). It was true “pay per applicant” college recruiting. They even let us pre-screen applicants by major and GPA.
Recently I spoke with Liz Wessel, CEO of WayUp and asked her why she thinks the company is resonating with employers and students.
“It's all in our success rate: 1 in 3 students who apply for a job on WayUp get hired. There are so many job boards out there where applying for a position feels like you are submitting your application into a black hole. But on WayUp, we're actively working to make sure that students get jobs. We follow up with every single student who has applied for a job on our site and if a student hasn't had any luck, we suggest 5 more positions that they can apply for. Our mobile app even notifies students when an employer is reviewing an application. We bring a human element to the job search.
We are also helping to create a level playing field for young candidates - especially graduating seniors and recent grads - who would otherwise be competing with candidates who have 2 - 3 years of experience (or more!).”
She also had the following tips for employers on how to best leverage the platform.
Employers can get the most out of WayUp by using filters for job listings and our "Invite Students" functionality. Filters for job listings include GPA, major, expected degree, school, and many other options. These ensure that only the most qualified applicants can view and apply for a listing, making both sides of the marketplace (students and businesses) happy.
Our "Invite Students" functionality allows employers to filter through qualified students in our database and invite them to apply to a job within seconds - this gives students the confidence of knowing that they're desirable applicants, and we've seen many listings increase their pool of applicants through this feature.
It also never hurts to write a great job description that compels students to apply!
Recruiting college students doesn’t have to be hard. It just takes a consistent, well-planned effort by your recruiting team. Pay for performance tools like WayUp are now making your job as recruiters a lot easier. So check them out and tell ‘em I sent you.
