Graduates made to suffer at the hands of impersonal recruitment practices

Research published today by GTI Specialist Publishers has found that the majority of this yearís graduates, looking for their first jobs, have had at least one bad experience when applying to companies, large and small. Over 65 % of students complained that they had been upset by the way they were treated by potential employers and shocked at their poor graduate recruitment practices.

The treatment they received ranged from the lack of response to applications to no feedback following interviews. Nearly half of the respondents (44%) claimed that employers had either not bothered to reply to their applications or taken weeks even months to respond. In addition to this 31% were unimpressed by the impersonal way they were communicated with, often with generic email that referred to them as a candidate. More seriously, there were many instances when there were mix ups over interviews and job offers.

Most worryingly a small number of students claimed they had even been victims of blatant race or sex discrimination. Some had had to endure interviews where they felt intimidated or largely ignored. One student claimed that the interviewer had yawned all the way through an interview!

The report showed that the way companies treat students during recruitment is damaging their reputation, not only with the individuals concerned but with fellow students, friends and family. 71% of those who participated said that they had gone on to tell several people about their bad experiences and 60% had been put off dealing with that employer in the future. 83% said they were influenced by what their friends and family thought about prospective employers.

Other findings in the report include;

The majority of students are looking for jobs within large organisations and only 9% would consider working for a smaller company where job opportunities and career prospects could potentially be greater
32% had applied to more than 10 companies
Aggressive marketing , pushy recruitment executives and an abundance of email and leaflets where the chief marketing ëturn offsí that students complained about

The report is published on the eve of the TARGET National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2005. The awards have been designed to recognise excellence in the graduate recruitment market. There are 14 awards, spread over different sectors of employment, to celebrate the best graduate recruiting organisations, campaigns and websites. A separate announcement will be made on Wednesday 25th May 2005 naming the category winners.

Commenting on the report and the awards Chris Phillips, Publishing Director at GTI Specialist Publishers said:-

ìItís frustrating. Companies are letting themselves down by poor recruitment practices. For the first time, our report highlights the extent of the problem. Companies spend a small fortune promoting their brand and attracting the best staff yet word-of-mouth about lack of professionalism or rudeness when talking to potential recruits is severely damaging their reputation. We hope that this report will help organisations to promote their brand to students in a positive way and we hope that the TARGET National Graduate Recruitment Awards will help by celebrating those companies who do represent best practice when recruiting people for what is often their first job.î