Implemented by
Birmingham City University
Careers+ Team
Target Groups
Year 2 Students.
What is it?
Speed recruitment events offer a proven way of engaging students with businesses, using a format which brakes down perceived barriers between students and employers through face-to-face interaction.
Prior to the speed recruitment events, students attended a 1 hour preparation session to provide them with guidance on how to effectively engage with employers. Students subsequently attended the speed recruitment events, which were formatted to allow students and employers to engage face-to-face, and encouraged students to challenge their assumptions about employers and ultimately develop their employability outcomes. During the events, employers and students were each provided with a scorecard to rate compatibility following each interaction. Mutual matches were then calculated by the Careers+ team and shortlists of matched students were sent to employers within 24 hours of the event, along with the students' CVs. The Careers+ team then liaised with employers and students to arrange final interviews. There were a total of three speed recruitment events which took place over three consecutive days (one event per day).
Wraparound support in the form of one-to-one appointments was made available to students throughout the course of the intervention. However, it should be noted that the support programme was non-compulsory, thus not all students involved in the project availed of this additional support.
Rationale
Speed recruitment interventions engage hard to reach students with employers and improve the placement uptake and graduate employability outcomes of disadvantaged students. This is facilitated by face-to-face engagement between students and employers which increases students’ work exposure, and challenges their assumptions about employers and work-based learning opportunities. The events can develop rapport between students and employers very quickly.
Student Contact Time
Speed recruitment preparation session: One 1 hour session.
Speed Recruitment event: One 3 hour speed recruitment event per group.
Wraparound support: 2-6 hours of contact per student via one to one appointments.
Key Process Considerations
- Where possible a mandatory wraparound support programme should be made available to students who required additional support.
- Timescales for the speed recruitment events should be extended to six months as this will enable thorough student and employer preparation prior to the event and more suitable matching based on ability and confidence levels.
- Employers may require support during the placement opportunity development process, in particular around the development of appropriate job descriptions.
- When preparing students for the speed networking events, a gentle and considerate approach should be adopted so as not to deplete confidence or exasperate nerves. Speed recruitment events may not suit all types of student because of the level of pressure and spontaneity required.
- Speed recruitment events should focus on engaging with a small number of students, as the event will lose its unique selling point if the rapport developed between employers and students is negatively impacted by fatigue which can result from a large number of interactions.
- For those employers who cannot recruit students as a direct result of the event, speed-networking can instead be offered as a first screening phase for placement student recruitment.
- A contingency plan should be in place for both employers and students who fail to attend, as non-attenders can have a detrimental effect on the event's timings.
- Employers were more likely to commit to a short term opportunity such as a micro-placement than a yearlong placement opportunity.
- Students studying technical degrees may not respond well to speed-recruitment due to the element of spontaneity.
Employer Input
- Employers primary input comes through their participation in the speed recruitment events.
Student/ Alumni Input
- It is essential that students participate in all preparation sessions prior to the event.
- Students should provide feedback on their experiences of the speed recruitment events, and this feedback should be used to tailor future activities.
- Students who participate in the intervention should also take part in a small information session for incoming students interested in the scheme.
- Students were asked to provide blogging content from one of the speed recruitment events, and placement videos were also developed. These can be used for promotional activities for incoming students.
Academic Input
- Academic input was required to promote engagement with the Careers+ team and increase participation with the speed-networking intervention.
Key Resource Considerations
- Intensive support was provided to students through a programme that was successfully embedded into the core activity of faculty units. This extra support resulted in positive outcomes for WP students who might otherwise have struggled with the speed networking process.
- A centralised system across the employability service was utilised to track interventions and promote live roles.
- Strong academic buy-in is required to identify students in need of support and potential employer contacts who can offer live opportunities.
- Support from relevant institutional contacts who can assist in identifying students from a WP background in a timely manner.
What is the evidence base?
- Of the overall engaged cohort from Year 1, a large proportion of students secured a placement (39%).
- High number of placements were secured as a direct result of speed recruitment events (41%).
- Increased confidence levels were recorded amongst students who participated in speed recruitment events, particularly around preparation for the recruitment and selection processes.
- All students fed back positively about the exposure they had to employers. For example, they reported that the number of quick interactions were useful for their placement preparation development.
- Increased access and awareness of the support provided by the Careers+ team.
- Significant increase in students attending employability events across the target courses throughout the first year of the project.
Key Challenges
- The speed recruitment events were run concurrently across a four day period. This created an extra level of pressure for both employer engagement and student support teams. For example, the employer engagement team has a large number of opportunities to source in a short period of time. This resulted in matching students to roles where possible, but on some occasions roles were unsuitable.
- The project model was non-compulsory resulting in clear variants in engagement around tailored activities and communication campaigns compared to mandatory initiatives. An opt-in programme of tailored support outside of standard support should be developed and offered to hard to reach students to increase engagement.
Associated Resources
Contact Details
- Shanna Hardy: Employability Project Officer
- Email: shanna.hardy@bcu.ac.uk
- Phone: 0121 202 2494