Graduate Hires: What to Look for and What Questions to ask.
Digital Marketing agency Lead Kinetics pinpoints what businesses in the sector should look for in a graduate hire and how they have found graduates who can deliver innovative, results-driven digital marketing strategies.
Hiring for a digital marketing role can be a minefield, what if you’re not ready for a full-time employee? What alternatives are out there? What sort of things must you look for and what questions should you ask a candidate? Fortunately, Stockport based digital agency, Lead Kinetics have the answers. They have found a goldmine of graduate talent and are sharing their knowledge on how to find these young professionals.
How does Lead Kinetics help graduates and businesses?
Our formula is simple, we look for natural influencers with impressive skills. We are especially drawn to graduates who have in-depth knowledge about social media and content marketing. And we partner them with businesses that need help with digital marketing. It’s this innovation that allows businesses to see a return on their digital marketing investment whilst hard-working graduates gain the valuable experience they need. And it is this type of graduate that has allowed us to develop outstanding results for our Manchester-based digital agency.
But what’s our secret to finding these driven, highly skilled digital marketing graduates?
We suggest:
● Looking for a targeted job application.
If you are hiring and you have received an application from a recent grad, look at their application and consider - has this application been tailored to your job advertisement? A graduate that takes the time to personalise an application will have a keen eye for detail and will be able to meet briefs. It also shows they take pride in their work - an essential skill.
● Assessing whether they have the right soft skills.
We’re seeing more and more graduates demonstrating their soft skills on their CV’s which is great news for us as employers. When looking at their CV, consider if they have demonstrated their communication, teamwork or listening skills at any stage.
● Looking for Ambition.
And the best until last… ambition. Does your graduate applicant say where they would like to be? What their career goals are? Or perhaps they share how they are upskilling, developing their skills, and learning new ones? If your applicant shares any of this - it shows they are a driven, determined individual.
But how do Lead Kinetics find these types of graduates?
James and Matt (Cofounders) have years of experience working with marketing graduates and marketing apprentices, they have a well-developed network of engaged marketers.
We spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, it’s where young professionals are showcasing their skills and where they are demonstrating their expertise. We suggest following hashtags such as “#classof2021” and “#graduateopportunities” to find a community of these young people.
Additionally, when we're approached by a graduate, we ask if they have a digital portfolio. If the answer is yes, chances are you've found a highly-skilled graduate.
Building a portfolio not only takes time but requires a wide range of skills. The grad needs to be creative and be proficient at drawing information from multiple sources. Good copywriting skills are also a must to convey information about projects and engage the reader. The ability to build a digital portfolio (and the ability to build a GOOD one at that) isn’t to be overlooked.
When we are sent a compelling, convincing digital portfolio, we want to know when we can speak to the grad. As oftentimes, a digital portfolio is the sign of a graduate who is ready for work experience.
So, you’ve found a graduate, they’ve demonstrated all the right skills, they have a digital portfolio of their work. What next? Well, when it comes to interviewing graduates, it’s not all too different from how you’d conduct a standard interview, but there are some questions that you must ask a graduate…
● What achievement are you most proud of so far?
This will give you a good understanding of their personality, is their degree their finest accomplishment? Perhaps they're proud of making their own experience? Or maybe they have something unrelated to work that they're especially pleased with? Either way, it'll allow you to get to know them better as a person and build a deeper bond.
● What are your goals / do you have any career aspirations?
Not only will this allow you to decide if the graduate is driven, but it'll also be a brilliant opportunity to assess whether the graduate intends to climb the ladder within your business. It's also a fantastic opportunity to establish how you will help the graduate develop their skills. Will you mentor them? Will you offer them a budget for training materials? Will you have goal-setting meetings?
● What motivates you?
Getting a degree is no easy feat. It requires a lot of hard work, endless patience, and an abundance of resilience. So, graduates must be motivated. Find out what their motivation is and if they're not sure, help them to find it. They are a hardworking group and knowing their motivation will help them to achieve their goals and work to the best of their abilities.
And if you're a Manchester-based business looking to hire graduate talent, then get in touch with the Lead Kinetics team, who talk to hundreds of talented graduates every week.
Additionally, if you are wanting help with your content marketing or social media marketing, but don't have the capacity for a full-time employee, you can access this goldmine of talent by reaching out to Matt from Lead Kinetics. Matt will get to know your business, the digital marketing challenges you face and pair you with graduate talent who will help you get results.
Contact the Lead Kinetics team