MARKETING PLAN

How to recruit for a college business program Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan

How to recruit for a college business program Marketing Plan

Executive summary

Recruiting is the process of identifying and attracting a pool of candidates, from which some will later be selected to receive employment offers (Milkovich & Bougreau, p. 181). This statement reflects on the efforts to recruit and select high-quality employees, in order for an organization to have a competitive edge. Recruiting today comes in many forms and styles; however college recruiting is one significant topic. For many expanding companies, college recruiting represents a major part of a hiring strategy.

Throughout this paper, I will introduce the advantages and disadvantages of college recruiting, as well as effective strategies an organization must do to be successful with college recruiting. I will explain how significantly college recruiting serves within the competitive business market, and how it enables organizations to be supplied with the best and brightest students, who will ultimately assume future leadership roles.

Finally, I will provide details on the costs and the overall effects of this hiring process.

This is a significant topic to me, because of my personal experience of being a University Relations Recruiter. Within Grainger, we offer four job rotational programs, for which I recruit undergraduates and graduate students. The four rotational programs are in all business functions of our organization, including human resources, finance, marketing, sales, and general management. This paper will provide me with the learning opportunity to analyze and gain an insightful understanding of college recruiting.

Current marketing situation

As organizations continue to grow, hiring young talent provides them with an energized workforce, which will ultimately effect the organizations bottom-line. Another positive advantage of college recruiting is the type of skills young college grads bring to an organization. These skills include creativity, fresh new ideas and thoughts, ability to handle change and overall enthusiasm to do what needs to be accomplished on the job. Mark Avnt, senior vice-president at New York's APL Digital, states one of the most appealing qualities recent graduates bring to the table is an unjaded outlook on the industry as well as a willingness to try new things (Poe, 2001).

In addition, college recruiting has become more popular, as the National Corporate College Consultants state that it has increased by more than forty percent in the last five years (1999, p.38). A survey conducted by David Tapster rated the sources of effective recruitment, and college recruiting rated second with an overall score of 3.81 out of 5.0. (2000, p.16) Not only is college recruiting in demand, but also students have the ability to be selective with the companies they would like to pursue. Many employers today rank on-campus recruiting as the number one method for snaring students, eight places ahead of any Internet related recruitment tool. (Poe, 2001)

Marketing strategy

The first effective strategy I would like to discuss is how an organization must select the appropriate university or college at which to recruit. The most prestigious universities are not always the best suitable fit for an ...