3 tips for recruiting diverse college students and recent grads

A lot has changed in the world this year due to COVID. A lot has changed in how employers are recruiting, including their desire to improve their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. A lot has also changed in how those employers approach hiring students and recent graduates, as COVID has made it almost impossible to engage or interview on-campus and more employers want to hire more students and recent graduates who are diverse.

Heather Deyrieux, the HR Florida State Council President, recently shared three tips with us for how employers can hire more diverse college students and recent graduates:

1. Feature your diverse employees in your recruitment efforts. Use photos and quotes for social media, capture their personalities in video testimonials, and engage them in your job fairs and community outreach. Potential candidates want to be able to see themselves (or people like them) at your organization. 
2. Take advantage of our COVID climate by recruiting at more schools – virtually. If travel to HBCUs and other schools across the country were not in your budget, see if they are hosting virtual job fairs as a way to connect with new talent pools. 
3. Inclusion is key! Once your interns or new hires join your organization, make sure they are included – in every sense of the word. Make introductions in and out of the department, get them involved in your Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) or other committees, value their opinions, personal journey and insights. If you can, put their ideas into action so they can see the impact they have made.