Recruitment marketing

Employers

Tips and trends for modern recruiting

Find the talent you’re looking for

Have you ever had this thought?

I worry that candidates don’t know enough about my company to want to work here. I want to stand out to early talent and learn how to use Handshake to build my employer brand with Gen Z.

If so, we hear you!

So we thought it would be helpful to share how you can build a brand that early talent loves—on Handshake, where your target audience of Gen Z talent can get to know you better.

Why it's important to invest in your up-funnel recruiting strategy

We looked at Handshake Network Trends research as well as platform data to identify Gen Z job seeker behaviors on Handshake. For example, in a survey of the Class of 2024:

94% of students would consider applying in the future if they had a positive experience with an employer

75% of students read reviews of an employer brand before applying to a job

73% of students are more likely to apply to a job after seeing employer content

If you haven’t gotten started yet with your up-funnel recruiting strategy on Handshake, here are some tips for building a brand that early talent loves.

6 things that early talent loves from an employer brand

1. Authenticity

Employer brands that Gen Z talent considers authentic are showing they’re a trusted voice in the space, keeping content casual and not overly produced, and using approachable language and tone.

The way you deliver content, like on the Handshake feed, matters to Gen Z, who prioritize authenticity from brands. What type of Handshake feed content, hiring events, and messages can help you get authentic and conversational with Gen Z job seekers?

Relatable day in the life content to help students see themselves in the role

Career advice and tips that are empathetic to students and new grads navigating a big transition

Industry insights and trends to build trust and credibility in your brand

Application and interview tips from recruiters to set students up for success

Networking advice from relatable sources, especially for underrepresented talent

Peeks behind the scenes, like office/site tours or typical schedule information, can demystify the job

2. Transparency

One way to build brand affinity with early talent is to be transparent across talent acquisition channels. A student having to search far and wide for info that can help them decide between one employer and another won't make a positive brand impression.

Building a brand that early talent loves includes being transparent about what you can offer. For instance, tailor your job descriptions geared at an entry-level audience to clearly list:

Salary range

Benefits

Work schedule

Work location

Professional development perks

For another example, Teach for America's Recruiting Director took an application FAQ from students to mythbust: “How much does my GPA really matter?” and scaled his response into thoughtful, transparent content on the Handshake feed.

3. Engagement

Your brand can stand apart from the rest by engaging with early talent, human to human, all the way through the hiring funnel. For example:

Comment on student's posts on the Handshake feed

Help students build their networks through events

Keep interns and entry level hires engaged once they’re onboarded

Joining the conversation by commenting on student's posts is a great way to make your brand more accessible, especially if it's less well-known. This gives students a chance to explore your profile and your brand page, which can turn the flywheel on impressions, follows, and overall engagement—and boost your brand's organic growth. 

Plus, students are 2.2X as likely to click on an employer message if they previously saw a post from that employer on the Handshake feed. Being more active on social channels like the Handshake feed is also a good way for you to build community with your peers!

4. Peer reviews

Gen Z job seekers look to peer reviews, testimonials, and real employee experiences to research employers. On a Professional or Advanced Handshake Brand Page, you can include employee testimonials, videos, feature posts from the Handshake feed, and other dynamic content to help students picture what it’s like to work for your brand.

It’s not just on Handshake and digital channels where you’re building your brand—it’s on campus too, through tried and true channels like word-of-mouth. You can further amplify your brand by empowering Advocates and line of business stakeholders outside the recruiting team on best practices for representing your brand through campus events and personalized messaging.

5. Follow up

First time job seekers don’t necessarily have perspective on what the working world is really like, or how their skills can map to a job, career, or industry. Early career candidates will love a recruiting experience that provides clear next steps, so you can stand out by following up after each touchpoint in the hiring process.

For instance, after an interview, provide feedback that will help the candidate learn and grow—and show that you’re invested in their success. Driving qualified candidates to take next steps is something you’re uniquely positioned to execute on—and measure—on Handshake.

Another way to follow up is to ask for feedback. From sending out a survey after an event to learn what you did well and what you could do better, to asking in a poll on the Handshake feed about which swag you should bring to a career fair, you can become a brand that early talent loves by listening to their feedback.

6. Have fun!

The interactions you and your team have with students at fairs and events, through interviews and message exchanges, and on your digital channels all contribute to a student’s impression of your brand. 

Now that “influencer” is a career path in and of itself, campus recruiters can take notes from Gen Z for how you can market your opportunities. In the age of AI perhaps more than ever, your brand can stand out with humor, creativity, empathy, and fun!

For example, the Cognizant team posted a video to the Handshake feed poking fun at themselves while being supportive of students' success, with a script that several recruiters voiced over that ended with a CTA:

“We’re campus recruiters. Of course I have a basement full of swag, and a purse full of Sharpies and hand sanitizer.”

“I’m a campus recruiter. Of course I’m gonna give you unsolicited career advice.”

“We are campus recruiters. Of course we think you’re a good fit for the role. But we want to know why YOU think so!”

Build. That. Brand!

Handshake offers students and employers so many ways to connect throughout the college to career journey. Recruiting teams that think like marketers are the ones that will win with Gen Z talent. Use Handshake as a platform for not just achieving your recruiting goals, but also for building a brand that early talent loves.

Check out the Handshake feed for inspiration on how the employer community is engaging students and new grads with authentic content.




Try these 6 things to build your employer brand on Handshake

How to use your employer brand to resonate with Gen Z

How to Build a Strong Brand That Attracts Gen Z

Engage early talent with your Brand Page

Recruitment used to work like this: 

You’d post a job ad in the newspaper or on an online job board and watch applicants roll in.

Today? 

Job boards still have their place in the modern recruitment process, with 78% of job seekers identifying job network sites as their primary place for finding employment.

However, with Gen Z having officially overtaken Baby Boomers in the workforce  as of 2024, hiring teams aren’t only experiencing a shift in who they’re recruiting—there are also major shifts in how they’re attracting them.

Put simply: 

It’s no longer enough to think like a recruiter. You need to think like a marketer.

A recruiter’s role is no longer transactional. It’s transformational.

Not that long ago, recruitment was mostly transactional. This is the job—take it or leave it.

But that one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t resonate with today’s job seekers, particularly Gen Z. 

They see the recruitment and hiring process as more of a two-way exchange. They know employers are evaluating them, but they’re also evaluating employers to find the right match for their values and career ambitions.

That means a single, copy-pasted job post isn’t enough to grab their attention and encourage them to apply.

A recruiter’s role is changing to one that can influence careers, and transform how a generation of talent engages with the job search process.

How does Gen Z research your employer brand and decide if they want to take next steps?

Why are talent acquisition teams are at the forefront of developing a strong employer brand and getting it out in front of candidates, rather than waiting for them to stumble into your pipeline?

Recruiters need to think like marketers now because as Gen Zers evaluate career opportunities, they want to see:

Behind-the-scenes peeks about what it’s like to work for your organization: 73% of Gen Z candidates say they’re more likely to apply after seeing behind-the-scenes content from an employer.

Information about your company values: 70% of Gen Z want to work for a company whose values align with their own.

Content from existing employees and interns: 75% of 2024 graduates prefer to read reviews from current and former employees before applying for a job.

Proactive outreach from employers: 46% of new hires polled in the first quarter of 2024 said they were recruited to their jobs rather than applying themselves and 87% of Gen Z job seekers say they think responding to an employer’s message online can lead to job opportunities.

Think it all sounds like an entirely separate function on top of your already towering to-do list? It doesn’t need to be. 

Recruiting Gen Z on Handshake means you’re seamlessly integrating your brand content with your recruitment strategy in one place so you can target and connect with early talent where they already are.

4 ways to recruit like a marketer on Handshake

Understandably, it can feel daunting to adapt to new expectations in your role. But the future of work requires you to stay on top of Gen Z trends in your recruitment marketing and expand your skillset.

Fortunately, making the transition to modern recruiting and flexing your marketing muscles doesn’t need to feel like a drastic departure from what you’ve already been doing.

You’re likely used to putting yourself out there at career fairs and campus events, and you can tap that same energy and enthusiasm when engaging students on Handshake. Not to mention, most people create or engage with digital marketing or social media in their personal lives on a daily basis.

To start recruiting like a marketer, here are 4 ways you can shift your recruiting tactics from transactional to transformational.

1. Actively post to the Handshake feed

With 68% of students saying they research an employers’ brand when considering a job through social media, news stories, employer testimonials, reviews and more, you can more effectively target, attract, engage, and hire early career talent with full-funnel recruiting.

Handshake’s early career social network brings together students, employers, and career services to create key moments for early talent, where and when it matters most.

Go beyond job descriptions to share your story on the feed. You can post photos, videos, and other content on behalf of your company or post using your personal brand.

Wondering what to post? Here are examples based on top-performing content:

Behind-the-scenes video clips of a day-in-the-life of an employee or intern

Short interviews with employees about why they love your company

Tips from hiring managers about what they look for in candidates

Advice for getting the most out of fairs and events

2. Connect and engage with proactive outreach

Boost your impact by reaching out to right-fit candidates—rather than waiting for them to come to you. In fact, 70% of students say they’d be more likely to apply to a job if they receive a message from an employer.

This is easy to do in Handshake Talent Engagement Suite, where you can use Segments to target qualified audiences and Campaigns and messaging to get the attention of top talent.

With Handshake Campaigns, you can:

Personalize your messages with dynamic variables

Highlight relevant career interests specific to candidates

Include clear calls to action to encourage engagement

Deliver your messages at the best time for maximum impact

Being the first one to reach out with a genuine and personalized message emphasizes to early talent that you treat the recruitment and hiring process like a mutually-beneficial relationship—not a cold and impersonal transaction.

3. Build out your Handshake Brand Page

If your company catches students’ attention on Handshake, they’ll check out your Handshake Brand Page. Make it the most accurate representation of your employer brand by:

Sharing your existing profile with interns to ask for and implement their feedback

Asking interns to write reviews and testimonials to feature on your profile

Featuring employees early talent can directly connect with

Adding images and video to your gallery to bring your company to life

Highlighting featured posts to share up-to-date information about your company

As you refresh your Brand Page, use your company values as your North Star to ensure your profile aligns with your larger vision. And remember to triple-check for inclusive language throughout all of your content.

4. Forge strong relationships

Gen Z wants authenticity over a polished corporate image. Allowing them to connect with people outside of the hiring team is a great way to exceed that expectation and engage top talent. This helps you build a more authentic brand and give early talent the insider insights about what it’s really like to work for your company.

Career fairs and events are one key channel for relationship building, and a springboard for students to start building their professional networks. But your cross-functional team can also use Handshake to message students, post on the feed, and serve as Advocates.

Campus recruiters are in a unique role to influence moments that matter on a student’s college to career journey

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), low numbers of applicants and stiff competition from other employers are the top two recruitment difficulties facing companies today.

Fortunately, powerful recruitment marketing can address both of those challenges. When you recruit like a marketer, you can tell talent at all stages of career discovery a compelling story about what makes your employer a place they’d want to work.

Transformative early career moments happen beyond the job board. 

Find out how you can harness Handshake to build your brand during the most formative period of career discovery. Talk to us.

The college recruiter’s role is changing

Handshake is working to democratize opportunity by democratizing information. Some of the biggest barriers to opportunity are because of a student’s access to advice and insights on how to navigate the professional world, or lack thereof.

To help bridge the information gap for all students, we recently launched Student Reviews. Reviews allow students to learn from the job and internship experiences of other students across the Handshake network, equipping all students with an informed career exploration and job search process. Handshake is uniquely positioned to help foster a learning environment across our community of  students and young alumni from more than  schools of every size, type and location.

Student Reviews also provide more opportunities for employers to engage students and further promote their brand.

Here are three best practices to help you turn the feedback loop into a critical recruiting tool that will fill your pipeline with informed and engaged candidates:

1. Respond to Student Reviews

Student Reviews on Handshake give you the opportunity to communicate directly with your former interns on their experiences. Positive or negative, you are now invited to join the conversation and share your side too. When responding, we recommend keeping the following tips in mind:

Engage: While companies aren't obligated to respond to a review, we encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to engage with students. Responding can showcase how your company takes feedback seriously and values it from all levels.

Be empathetic: Authenticity and empathy are key for today’s students. If a review includes constructive feedback, acknowledge the reviewer’s comments and provide additional information on ways the company is addressing those issues.

Offer follow-Up: Reviews are a starting point for a broader conversation that can take place one-on-one. To gain further insight about a student’s experience, you can offer a follow up to take the conversation offline.

Say thank you!: Our goal is to provide a supportive and open community that encourages balanced feedback, but we know it can feel daunting for a student to press submit with their name attached. Dropping a quick note just to say “thanks!” can go a long way for a student.

2. Activate your interns as brand ambassadors

Positive reviews are your most valuable recruiting asset. With the majority of job seekers reading up to seven reviews before forming an opinion about a company (Source: Glassdoor U.S. Site Survey), it’s crucial that:

You have reviews

They are either positive or constructively addressed (see best practice #1)

So where to begin?

Leverage the resources you already have: current and former interns! Students with actual experience at your company are your best advocates, as they give future interns an authentic look into the company from peers.

When students start submitting Reviews again in August 2018, make sure you are in a position to take full advantage of this valuable feature. Follow these tips to drive more Handshake Student Reviews:

3. Use Student Reviews as a roadmap for future intern programming

Feedback is incredibly valuable — and the fuel for positive change. Taking the time to hear back from interns authentically will help you build a strong employer brand and give your organization a competitive advantage for the upcoming recruiting season.

Handshake Student Reviews illustrate extremely thoughtful, balanced, and constructive feedback. Such high quality, nuanced reviews written by students from all schools, majors, and backgrounds, provide your organization with a holistic view into personal experience and brand perception.

Make your past interns feel heard while improving the experience for future interns:

Reach out to thoughtful, constructive reviewers and request a 30 minute interview to dig deeper into their intern experience and concerns

Invite past interns to “planning workshops” as you build out your next intern program, including them in the process

Pair past interns with new hires as “advisors” to give them a chance to mentor a younger student as well as assist with on-boarding pains

Student Reviews are essential to building a strong employer brand and engaging with past, present, and future interns. Leverage them most effectively by trying out these best practices!

Leverage student reviews on Handshake to augment your employer brand

On their job-hunting apps, they're looking for stability, benefits, salary, and organizations aligned with their values around diversity, transparency, and social consciousness.

That’s a lot for recruiting teams to communicate, especially if they limit themselves to on-campus job fairs at select schools.

The good news is you also don’t need endless resources, and your organization doesn’t have to be a household name to win top talent. While brand resonance is a scoring criteria for winning a Handshake Early Talent Award (ETA), many winners aren’t global enterprises.

How Handshake Early Talent Award winners attract Gen Z with strong brands

While brand resonance is a scoring criteria for winning a Handshake Early Talent Award (ETA), many winners aren’t global enterprises. They know their employer brand and tap into it to strategically foster relationships with early talent. They're leveraging their brand to:

Scale brand awareness through virtual events, making opportunities accessible to a broader range of candidates.

Expand school strategy to include more schools and democratize access to opportunities.

Gain a deeper understanding of company culture, emphasizing aspects that resonate with employees but might be overlooked.

Stand out from competitors by spotlighting the most unique and engaging attributes.

Identify areas of improvement and align existing policies and benefits with the organization's values.

While there are so many touchpoints in the candidate lifecycle, with the right tools, focus, and guidelines, your team can attract and retain qualified talent with a seamless candidate experience.

Get to know your employer brand persona and how to tap into your strengths

Employer branding is uncovering what makes your company an incredible workplace and then actively promoting those attributes to candidates. Once you complete the quiz, dig into your strengths and opportunities for attracting Gen Z with your brand.

But why invest in your employer brand and early talent?

Successful recruiters have a strong hybrid strategy and are mingling with students through targeted virtual sessions, personalized messages, in-person events, and awesome internships—and they are introducing themselves to students early in their academic journey.

By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be at retirement age. An aging workforce creates knowledge and skills gaps, which leak revenue and create friction for efficiency and innovation. Because of this, workforce management is top of mind for CEOs, right behind digital transformation and growth. A strong early talent pipeline prevents and mitigates risk since recruiting can be difficult and expensive, especially for more experienced roles.

Recent graduates and alumni with 0-5 years of professional experience can save an organization 45-54% over 3 years compared to mid-level talent. Additionally, in an InnovacationXChange roundtable, David Jordan, Chief Financial Officer of Americas at TD SYNNEX, also shared that, for their organization, early talent costs up to 50% less over their lifetime to hire and often stays longer when compared to slightly more experienced peers.

Lowering cost-per-hire and time-to-hire is also simplified when you can quickly target a wide but specific candidate pool. 67% of Handshake Network Trends Gen Z survey respondents said that it’s not necessary to meet in person to make a professional connection. Many students and recent grads prefer virtual interactions for accessibility and flexibility—especially candidates from underrepresented groups.

Since most recent graduates lack professional networks, they rely on their school, alumni, and digital job networks. 78% of Gen Z say job network sites like Handshake are their primary tool in the job hunt. 47% of Gen Z talent applied to more jobs, and 36% opened their job search to more industries, companies, and roles.

It’s never been more cost and time efficient to scale your reach and hire the talent you need—but first, you need to know how to tell your employer brand story.

What is your employer brand persona? Take our quiz to find out what Gen Z job seekers think 

Not too long ago, early career job seekers discovered job opportunities through on-campus events or classified ads in the local newspaper. When talent acquisition started shifting online, job seekers increasingly turned to digital postings and job boards.



And now? According to Handshake data, with more than 68% of students saying they research an employer's brand when considering a job, Gen Z job seekers use career content (e.g., social media, news stories, employee testimonials, reviews) to discover brands, learn about career paths, and find positions.

Career content that resonates with early talent today can result in a positive hiring process, a powerful relationship with your brand, and if nurtured, a lifetime of consumer loyalty.

In this article:

How does Gen Z use social networks to job search? 

How is Handshake a hub for Gen Z recruitment marketing? 

How can employers use Handshake’s feed to attract and engage early career talent? 

How career content on Handshake enables job seekers to take next steps 

What are the benefits of attracting Gen Z talent with user-generated content? 

5 strategies for creating the most effective Gen Z recruitment marketing 

How does Gen Z use social networks to job search?

For today’s early career job seekers, social media isn’t new and novel—it’s a norm. Social media platforms are where early talent is investing time and energy, so it only makes sense that employers would turn their attention there too.

90% of Gen Z adults report that they use social media in some way

73% of the Class of 2024 said they’re more likely to apply to a job after seeing employer content, according Handshake Network Trends research

How is Handshake a hub for Gen Z recruitment marketing?

Social media can be noisy and oversaturated, but on Handshake, you’re meeting your target audience where they are. Use Handshake to achieve better reach for attracting early career talent than you can on other social media platforms.

91% of the top 500 colleges in the US are on Handshake

There are  active students and alumni in the network

You can reach 75% of college students in the US on Handshake


For companies building their future workforce, Handshake provides unparalleled early exposure of your brand to talent during the most formative period of their career discovery. Employers who invest in early talent brand awareness have an unmatched opportunity to both fill critical entry-level positions and build much-needed pipelines for candidates who may be a good fit for future roles requiring 2-5 years of experience.

How can employers use Handshake’s feed to attract and engage early career talent?

Handshake’s early career social network brings together students, employers, and career services where they can post photos, videos, and other content.

Handshake’s feed enables employers building their brands and attracting early career talent to target your audience based on skills, interests, and engagement…so you can zero in on the most qualified candidates.


Early career job seekers can engage with the content you create and share to build and boost your brand and career opportunities.

How career content on Handshake enables job seekers to take next steps

If a job seeker engages with your content on the Handshake feed, they can take next steps right on Handshake…like checking out your events schedule, reaching out to a recruiter, or applying for a job directly on the same platform. Less clicking around means more time for you to connect.

While social media benchmarks vary based on industry and platform, here’s how Handshake content compares as of June 2024:

755K impressions on top organic employer content

11 seconds average watch time for employer videos (compared to an average of 6—8 seconds on social media)

2X improvement in message click rate for feed viewers

What are the benefits of attracting Gen Z talent with user-generated content?

Building a solid employer brand and digital presence on an early career social network like Handshake has distinct advantages for students and employers alike, including:

Access: Employers can meet early career talent where they are already job searching—and expand access to opportunity for students.

Brand building: With so many active social media users, it’s an obvious place to introduce, grow, or improve your brand and promote what you have to offer next-gen talent.

Transparency: From videos to photos, employer posts on Handshake’s feed offer candidates glimpses into your company and culture.

Scaled reach: Recruitment marketing on social media can be cost-effective and efficient for your whole team.

5 strategies for creating the most effective Gen Z recruitment marketing

How do you ensure your recruitment marketing strategies—on social media and elsewhere—match up with Gen Z preferences? Here are five data-backed strategies that can clue you in on what early talent wants to see in your talent brand, and help you capture (and keep) Gen Z candidates’ attention.

1. Demonstrate your company values

Early career job seekers today care less about ping-pong tables or catered lunches and more about your company’s core values. Whether you’re committed to environmental sustainability, education, or giving back to your community, it’s not enough to state your values—you need to showcase them.

70% of Gen Z wants to work for a company whose values align with their own

65% of undergrads wouldn’t apply to a job if the employer’s values didn’t align with theirs

56% of undergrads say they prefer to work for an employer that actively supports social causes

Content ideas for sharing on Handshake feed:

Photos of your company volunteer days

Data that proves the impact of your corporate social responsibility

Video interviews with employees who participate in your Employee Resource Groups



2. Involve your existing employees

Gen Z wants to see your current employees reflected in your employer branding materials. Research shows that candidates trust a company’s employees three times more than the company itself when it comes to getting credible information about what it’s like to work there. When Gen Z places such high importance on authenticity, that content is far more compelling than boilerplate marketing messages.

Content ideas for sharing on Handshake feed:

Share a behind-the-scenes look at an employee’s day

Feature short video interviews about why employees love working for your company

Bring your industry to life


3. Highlight benefits that matter

If you offer compelling benefits, those are worth highlighting in your recruitment marketing strategies too. For example, 22% of students say student loan repayment is an essential employer benefit, but only 9% of employers offer it. Calling attention to your most relevant and resonant perks and options can help you catch the eye of Gen Z candidates. 

Retirement benefits: 65% of undergrads wouldn’t accept a job that didn’t include retirement benefits such as a company-administered 401(k)

Flexibility: 82% think remote work should be an option and 70% would be more likely to apply to a job with a flexible schedule

Healthcare: 70% of students say medical insurance is an essential benefit

Content ideas for sharing on Handshake feed:

Highlight flexibility, like a series featuring a week in the life of a hybrid employee

Lean into financial literacy by illustrating how investing in the 401k plan you offer can compound over time

Expose your healthcare benefits, from medical to mental



4. Bring transparency to your hiring process

Gen Z places a high value on transparency—and that applies to the hiring process too. Share content that helps job seekers feel like they’re getting an inside peek at your process and decisions.

The majority of job posts on Handshake disclose salary

Content ideas for sharing on Handshake feed:

Post videos from hiring managers sharing what they look for in resumes or tips to ace an interview

Ask employees to share one piece of advice they learned from their own hiring experience

Call out skill building opportunities listed in a job description



5. Showcase learning and development opportunities

Early talent isn’t just looking for a place where they can collect a paycheck. They want an employer where they can learn, grow, and advance their careers:

9 in 10 undergrads say learning and development benefits are either important or essential when evaluating a job opportunity

63% of undergrads say developing advanced skills in their field is essential to their definition of career success

Content ideas for sharing on Handshake feed:

Call attention to your learning resources, such as upskilling courses or opportunities to learn new skills on the job, or education stipends

Share a video of a mentor and mentee chatting

Tell stories about how employees have risen through the ranks, and how you create career pathways



Attract and engage Gen Z talent with these recruitment marketing tips

According to Handshake Network Trends research, a majority of 2024 grads are more likely to apply to a job if they have additional insight into the employer’s culture and values—whether through direct interactions or via content such as employer messages and videos.


So, when it comes to engaging, attracting, and recruiting Gen Z, it’s more important than ever to create and share content that reinforces your employer brand. 



Ditch the generic stock photos or vague statements and instead collect photos, videos, testimonials, and other user-generated content from your employees. Start creating and posting authentic content to Handshake’s feed and you’ll share your employer brand in a place where it can do more than be seen—it can spark meaningful action.

Visit the Handshake creator hub for more tips on creating content to reach and engage 15M+ Gen Z early talent candidates on the only early career social network.