How you can get college talent while avoiding graduate bias

Unconscious bias can creep into hiring processes no matter how confident and educated your hiring team is. Unfortunately, one bias is more of a “resource” for many employers – looking at their college where they are looking for new employees.

Relying on this source of talent is not a bad strategy if you don’t prioritize candidates because of their affiliation with your college. However, it can limit your talent supply. There are several ways to stay in touch with colleges and use career centers to attract new talent while expanding your talent resources to expand your supply of candidates.

Here are some tips to avoid graduate bias in the hiring process when using colleges as a source of talent:

Build relationships with several colleges and universities

Your workforce is likely to have ties to various institutions where you can build relationships with career services and attract new talent. The best thing about surveying employees to get recommendations for building connections with colleges and universities to acquire talent is that you get honest feedback on the education and experience candidates have gained.

Entry-level tenants may even have referrals from their college network. Employee recommendations are more likely to be appropriate for your team. And referral recruitments often have the highest retention rates. By expanding your recruitment efforts to college graduates from your diverse workforce, you can improve several important hiring metrics while creating a positive reputation with more institutions.

Offer remote internships and mentoring opportunities

Creating unique opportunities for college students to gain experience while pursuing their careers shows future potential candidates that you are investing in their long-term success. On-site internships may not work for students or your organisation, depending on the size of your office or location in relation to the colleges and universities you want to draw from.

Overall, the workforce has shifted largely to remote and hybrid work models. It would be beneficial for students to learn to work autonomously and add remote work experience to their resumes before graduation. You can reduce office costs while benefiting from contributions from eager interns by evaluating what roles you have that work well as remote positions, even if your current employees in those positions work in the office.

Internships are a big commitment, and many students may not be able to work part-time or full-time in their schedule. Mentoring opportunities could be a valuable alternative for these students. Fine-tuning skills as mentors is also great for developing your mentoring programs.

Source from university affiliated organizations

There are countless opportunities to connect with college students and graduates even in the wild. You can build relationships with nonprofits and various organizations that are affiliated with nearby educational institutions. For example, if your company invests in animal welfare, you can coordinate employee volunteers at a local animal shelter that provides learning opportunities outside the school campus.

Students who work with staff at an animal shelter can learn more about your company’s culture, values, and mission. This helps them assess suitability and be open to filling seats on your team when the opportunity arises.

Colleges and universities are a rich resource for candidates to fill a wide variety of roles. If you change your talent strategy to look at graduate organizations without bias, you can be the first resource most talented look for when they enter the work process.