According to NACE, over 70 percent of universities are either not planning to host career fairs in the fall or are unsure of their ability to do so—and that number keeps rising week over week. This means due to the COVID-19 pandemic, campus recruiting isn’t going back to normal. Forced out of campus events, it’s time for recruiters to look to virtual solutions to solve the diversity, quality, and branding issues caused by this crisis.
Here’s a quick look at how WayUp’s all-in-one virtual solution can help you solve some of the most pressing early-career recruiting challenges caused by the global outbreak of COVID-19.
The problem: It’s now impossible to use on-campus or in-office events to meet and connect with candidates. That means major avenues of candidate attraction and assessment like career fairs, super days, Early-ID programs, and diversity development programs are no longer on the table. This can put a severe strain on companies who rely on these to drive both hiring and organizational diversity.
Plus, if your organization relies on core or target schools, you’ll need an alternative method of reaching students who meet your criteria at these institutions.
WayUp's Virtual Solution: Our solution allows your team to source your ideal candidates using unique filtering on self-reported data and automatically pre-qualify top talent from over 7,000 US colleges and universities—all without leaving your desk. Plus, WayUp’s candidate base represents more than 7,000 US colleges and universities—65% of our users are STEM and/or Business majors, 59% are women, and more than 36% are Black or Hispanic.
With WayUp you can target based on self-reported candidate information—including ethnicity, major, grad year, and more—and invite matching candidates to apply to your roles. Plus, with our digital screening, you’ll be able to automatically qualify each applicant based on knockout questions for each role. Using your qualifications, our system sends responses to candidates with clear next steps—or polite rejections—within 24 hours. Of course, one of Gen Z’s top preferences is the human touch, which is why with WayUp’s phone screening services, applicants who pass the pre-qualification on the digital screen will receive a link to schedule a call with a WayUp recruiting professional.
The problem: Many companies rely on their on-campus presence to boost their early talent brand. Without this channel to connect with talent, many brands are facing a sudden need to amplify and expand their online presence. However, quickly creating and deploying meaningful content across the right digital platforms can be a major challenge.
WayUp's Virtual Solution: WayUp’s full-service branding agency can help your team create a content strategy that fits your shifting recruiting strategy by bringing your brand online. As one employer branding expert at LinkedIn noted, the best thing you can do right now for your employer brand is to speak up. Whether you’re on a hiring freeze or going full-steam ahead, reach out to your talent community with content and messaging that focuses on the positives and addresses their questions. WayUp’s online content will allow you to speak to the right audience—and build a stronger virtual talent pipeline.
This is something WayUp has always helped brands do—through custom videos, articles, social media posts, targeted marketing campaigns, and more.
For more information on WayUp’s content and branding services, reach out to employerbranding@wayup.com.
The problem: As noted above, in-person events are valuable ways of not only attracting candidates, but also making personal connections with them. Information sessions on campus or in an office were opportunities to answer your candidates most pressing questions in a personal environment. That information was essential for candidates—especially those from nontraditional backgrounds—in making their decision about whether or not to apply to your company’s internship or entry-level program.
Now, campus recruiting teams need to connect with candidates on a personal level and educate them about their organizations in a new way.
WayUp's Virtual Solution: WayUp will help make your virtual events a success by getting your team in front of qualified candidates. Our Virtual Info Sessions are an opportunity to utilize WayUp’s diverse, wide-reaching user base of 5.5+ million candidates from around the US to drive attendance at live or pre-recorded virtual events. The best part? We’re platform-agnostic. If you have a virtual communication software you prefer, we’ll work with that. If not, we’re happy to provide our own.
There’s nothing worse than having only a few candidates attend a virtual event that your team worked hard on. That’s why we own driving qualified attendees to your virtual events, ensuring you make the most out of these investments.
Ultimately, your team will meet pre-qualified candidates in a virtual setting and get access to their contact information afterward so that you can move them forward in your hiring process.
The problem: For most companies, hitting diversity hiring goals is an achievement that requires careful planning and a wide array of strategies across the recruitment funnel. With so many avenues of recruiting and outreach now closed due to the pandemic, reaching those goals is going to be harder than ever.
For example, campus events at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and specialty conferences like Grace Hopper have always been a reliable source of diverse candidates. However, given the aforementioned NACE stat about career fairs and widespread conference cancellations, it’s likely that even when students are returning to campus, events won’t be close behind.
WayUp's Virtual Solution: We work with you to develop a diversity hiring strategy across each stage of your hiring funnel. By filtering for ethnicity and gender—all of which are self-reported data—you can always identify and reach candidates of all backgrounds. Our custom employer branding content can highlight diverse teams or employee resource groups to build interest and engagement. Our candidate screening tools create a standardized, fair process for all applicants ensuring each applicant has an equal opportunity. Plus, with WayUp’s actionable analytics packages, you can get real-time updates on how diverse candidates are moving through your funnel and recommendations from our experts on how to adjust your strategy to see impacts before it's too late.
The problem: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, on-campus interviews and conversations at events were great ways of qualifying applicants. Now, companies need to find new ways to not only to source applicants, but to manage them once they enter their hiring funnel. How will your team assess their basic qualifications? How will the candidates move forward? And, most importantly, how will your team respond to an influx of virtual applicants from online channels that are busier than ever due to layoffs, cancelled programs, and an uncertain economy?
WayUp's Virtual Solution: WayUp’s full-funnel recruiting services allow your team to seamlessly sort through and qualify applicants, no matter the volume, to ensure that your team only speaks to qualified applicants. Our automated applicant review and phone screening services are designed to help companies both drive applications and identify the most qualified candidates in a cost-effective, efficient manner—while still providing a personalized experience to candidates, just like they would get on campus.
Since our founding in 2014, WayUp has focused on bringing recruiting into the digital age through a combination of tech-enabled solutions and outcomes-driven customer support. This crisis has forced many employers to accelerate their plans to go virtual. In this troubling time, WayUp is here to help you do just that.
For more information on WayUp can help you develop your virtual recruitment strategy, fill out the form below or reach out to engage@wayup.com.
