TalentEgg Trends

Today’s Talent, Tomorrow’s Leaders

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Category: Case studies (page 1 of 7)

Millennials Are All Grown Up: Connect with Early Career Professionals

In 2019, TalentEgg is proud to celebrate its 11th anniversary. For over a decade, TalentEgg has specialized in being the most preferred job board and career resource for students and recent grads in Canada. Something unique about our demographic is that we’re finding students and grads that found their first jobs on TalentEgg are now coming back to us for their second or third jobs in their careers. As a trusted source for all things career, our users are looking for more experienced and intermediate roles, which means we can reach even more candidates to fill your recruitment gaps. To learn more about early career professionals, we eggs-panded our TalentEgg Survey to get their insight about the workplace, what they look for in an employer and what they’re searching for in their careers. We’ve already revealed some of our findings throughout this Guide but wanted to dedicate a little more attention to this cohort. Our once young millennials have grown up, and here’s what they’re searching for.

Out of the early career respondents, 41% have been with 1 employer since graduation and 41% have stayed in the same role since graduation. However, 72% are actively looking for a new position with an employer. The common theme? They’re looking for growth and aren’t necessarily finding it at their current place of work. Career path and growth is consistently the number one factor that both students, grads and early career professionals are looking for in a potential employer. So it’s no surprise that 59% say they want more job opportunities shared with them.

We found that 94% of early career professionals are interested in taking additional training and certificates, including one-on-one career coaching. We also discovered that 61% of early career professionals have already taken additional training/certificate programs beyond their undergraduate degree. This demonstrates that there is a clear desire for additional training. This presents an opportunity to develop a generation of young professionals who are looking to continue on their career path, potentially improving employee engagement and retention. Don’t let your onboarding investments go to waste. If your organization prides itself on developing its people, then make sure you’re highlighting this to not only current employees, but to new candidates as well.

Since early career professionals are the millennial generation, they are digitally savvy and want to receive information in a similar manner to students – via social media. Instagram is the number one preferred platform for early career and, as they get older, they start to rely on social media and online resources for their career information instead of their parents and family members.

With TalentEgg’s paid social media campaigns, targeted email blasts and geo-fenced mobile marketing campaigns, we can target early career professionals looking to make the next step in their career as well as provide you support for your campus recruitment.

With this strategic approach, we can add value to your talent attraction and recruitment efforts and your talent pool will be filled with the top-notch candidates before you know it! We deliver measurable results and promote your employer brand at the same time. Reach out to us to find out which customizable solution will work best for your company.

Unique Experiences to Develop Your Future Talent Pipeline

As we’ve already mentioned in this Guide, students are looking for more meaningful ways to connect with employers beyond the typical career fair. What better way to showcase your workplace culture than providing unique opportunities for students and grads to get involved? These experiences will help to develop your future talent pipeline in a rewarding and effective way.

“I think continuing to engage students and coming up with more creative campus engagement strategies will definitely help [organizations]. Try something new, show students what their lives at [your company] would be like. Bring employees, bring execs. Show students why they should choose you.”
– Mallory Thompson, Western University, 2019

TalentEgg has partnered with some amazing organizations that have created initiatives for students and grads to get involved – from challenges to volunteering and everything in between. In our survey, students and grads said that they are looking for opportunities for professional development and growth, with 71% saying the most important thing they’re looking for in a career is gaining job experience and building their future career path.

For example, we partnered with Data VizArt (DVA), powered by Deloitte, Tableau and CIBC, to raise awareness of their data visualization competition that gave students an opportunity to work in a team, present their solutions in front of executives and win a grand prize of $3000! TalentEgg’s Blitz Campaign that DVA used to promote their challenge included Leaderboard, Big Box and Wallpaper ads, as well as social media promotion, custom editorials and email blasts to best reach our audience.

This challenge gave students a chance to network with potential employers, develop essential analytical skills and be a part of something outside of the classroom that directly impacts their careers.

Big Box Ads: DVA

Big Box Ads: DVA

Another egg-citing way for students to not just develop their skills, but also meet top Canadian employers face-to-face is CEOx1Day. TalentEgg is a proud partner of this program, created by Odgers Berndtson, which provides students the opportunity to shadow an influential CEO of a leading organization for one day, experience what their workday involves, get advice and build long-lasting connections. CEOx1Day gives students an opportunity to apply in-class learning to a real world situation, equipping them with the tools and skills to start building their careers. TalentEgg supports the CEOx1Day program with promotion to our student and grad job seekers with our Blitz Campaign across our social media channels, online advertising on our website, editorial success stories on our blog and email blasts during the application period.

As a part of the application, eligible third or fourth year students have the opportunity to complete an online leadership assessment and receive a personalized report from Hogan Assessments. The report provides feedback on leadership skills, like relationship building, goal setting and strategic thinking, to help the students understand and identify their strengths and weaknesses to build their potential. In addition, all semi-finalists are considered for an interview with McKinsey & Company for a summer internship or full-time placement.

Creating a way for students and grads to participate in a fun, competitive challenge will attract young talent to your organization and give them an opportunity to “show their stuff’ in a demonstrative way. Not only will providing these opportunities create fun, engaging and memorable ways for students to learn more about your organization, it also enhances your employer brand and reputation. At TalentEgg we are here to help you produce and execute your student Challenges and promote it to top candidates across Canada.

Custom Editorial: CEOx1Day

Wallpaper, Big Box and Leaderboard Ads: HOEM on Jarvis

Wallpaper, Big Box and Leaderboard Ads: HOEM on Jarvis

Wallpaper, Big Box and Leaderboard Ads: HOEM on Jarvis

Continuous Learning is Your Talent Magnet

The primary task of the Talent Acquisition professional is to attract, engage and recruit top talent, right? But once they land the job and join your organization, an equally important task is to keeping current employees engaged and fulfilled. Why? Because happy employees become brand ambassadors, and unhappy ones create negative reputation for your organization, making the entire talent attraction challenge even more difficult.

In an increasing number, young candidates are looking for more than just a pleasant work culture. They desire growth and development as a fundamental component of a positive workplace culture. In our TalentEgg Survey, 67% of high school students, 72% of post-secondary students and 73% of early-career professionals said that building their future career path, gaining experience and having access to professional development are the most important things they’re looking for in a career. Moreover, when two employers seem equally appealing, 28% of post-secondary students and 27% of early-career professionals agreed that career path and growth would be the deciding factor for them.

What does this mean to you? It is practically a win-win. When you invest in your employees’ continuous learning (either in-house or outsourced through post-secondary programs, online courses, trainings and seminars), you demonstrate your dedication to their development, engage with them in ways that are meaningful for them and you get more qualified and well-rounded team members. Young employees will also appreciate your company’s commitment to their growth and will be more loyal as a result.

“I think setting up new employees with a paid training session or program when beginning their jobs is a great way to teach them the skills they may lack.”
Mallory Thompson, Western University, 2019

“Specifically assigning new employees with mentors is a very good idea, since it allows employees to have a relatable yet knowledgeable person to turn to for growth and development.”
Christine Mitry, McMaster University, 2020

But increasingly we hear from employers that the number one deficit they see in young job seekers is demonstrated soft skills, or core competencies. While many students have been focusing on their grade point average and the technical skills they gain from their degrees or diplomas, they are sorely lacking in the soft skills necessary for success in the workplace. Soft skills like communication, critical thinking, problem solving, team building, are increasingly in short supply among young job seekers – indeed, many employers perceive so-called soft skills as the critical skills for success within the workplace. Even if a job seeker might have them, career educators and employers struggle with how to sensitize the young candidates to the necessity of developing and demonstrating them to potential recruiters. Increasingly, students are aware they need additional training to successfully make the school to work transition and flourish in the workplace. Many of the students and recent grads that we surveyed believe that they need additional training/education to excel in their careers. 68% of high school students are interested in online courses for skills training and 88% of post-secondary students believe they need additional training to launch their career. Among early career professionals, 61% have taken additional training/certificate programs, an astounding 94% are interested in taking additional training and certificates while 33% say they think they need technical skills training and 77% say they needed additional training once on the job.

Lifestyle Editorial

TalentEgg is here to help develop your current employees and also ensure that the candidates you hire are trained and eager. With our new eLearning platform at TalentEgg University (TEU) we are proud to launch this fall, a series of certification courses designed in collaboration with top elearning professionals and clinical psychologists to train young people how to develop and practice those critical soft skills in such high demand by employers. With TEU certificates & badges, candidates can include on their CV and their online profiles, demonstrable proof they were able to successfully complete their soft skills training that shows their commitment to learning and being successful in their career. We help students and recent grads polish their people skills, develop emotional intelligence and fill in the gaps in their core competencies. When they apply through TalentEgg, you can rest assured that these candidates are the best of the best.

In addition to providing learning opportunities for young employees at your organization, you can also sponsor a Career Guide on TalentEgg! Career Guides are highly popular among our users who want to enhance their understanding of a specific industry and choose the path that speaks to them. You can help them do just that and position your organization as a thought-leader in the industry in the meantime!

Reach out to us to find out more about our eLearning Platform and Career Guides sponsorship.

Stop Ghosting Your Candidates and Other Recruitment Pet Peeves

It’s no surprise that having a positive candidate experience is beneficial to your employer brand. So why are so many candidates having negative experiences during the application, interview and hiring process? In our 2019 TalentEgg Survey, we asked students, grads and early career professionals what their biggest pet-peeves about the recruitment process are. Their answers may not surprise you – you may have been in a similar situation yourself! We’ll be sharing how to avoid these recruitment mishaps and ensure your organization is always seen and spoken about in a positive light when it comes to recruiting.

Overwhelmingly the number one complaint from job seekers came down to communication (or lack thereof!). Many felt that there was either too long of a gap between the application process and hearing back about a decision, or many times not receiving a response at all. After all, no one likes to be “ghosted”! Ensure you have an automated message (at the very least) to give candidates a sense of where they are in the recruitment process.

Social media makes it easy to share information, especially negative experiences. When a candidate feels they’ve been treated poorly during this stressful and nerve wracking time, they remember the companies that went above and beyond to make their experience positive, even if they didn’t end up getting the job.

Another pet-peeve among young job seekers was the lack of human touch during the application process. Even though AI can be an efficient part of your recruitment strategy, be mindful about how you’re integrating it into your process. Is it at the expense of a positive experience or potentially letting a superstar get buried underneath the digital mountain of documents or algorithm data?

Although 50% of early career professionals and 46% of post-secondary students were neutral about Artificial Intelligence being used in the recruitment process, an overwhelming majority complained about feeling like their applications went into a black hole and were frustrated by the challenge of showing the real person behind the CV and getting a chance to tell their story to recruiters.

Introducing our new Talent Candidate Video Showcase! Launching this fall, TalentEgg is the first online career website in Canada that allows young candidates across Canada the capacity to upload their personalized 2 minute video “elevator pitch” and CV to a searchable database for recruiters. These candidate profiles will be available to employers to find the best talent for their organization through easy-to-use keyword search function. By pre-screening and interviewing through our TalentEgg Candidate Video Showcase, you will be able to add a human touch to your recruitment process, while benefiting from optional AI technology and the efficiencies of a digital platform. You will be able to see the real person behind the CV and get the essence of the candidates’ value proposition in their own words in a video introduction that adds transparency and authenticity to the application process and greater insights into the job seeker.

Message top candidates or invite them to submit video answers to additional screening questions, take part in a two-way interview or a panel interview of up to 10 participants. Use our platform throughout your annual campaign for all of your hiring, or sign on for discrete, a la carte services just when you need them.

Other pet peeves that were mentioned were:

  • Manually filling out applications’ fields when candidates have already attached their resume and cover letter with the same information
  • Bias in the application and interview process
  • Unrealistic expectations of years of experience for the posted job

“I appreciate companies that take the initiative to eliminate pain points in their applications after receiving feedback and recognizing redundancy in the application process. It’s crucial that organizations make the recruitment process easy for top talent so as not as risk abandonment because the application is too long and too much effort.”
Aakanksha Sharma, University of Waterloo, 2019

Keep these pet peeves in mind when you and your team are going through your recruitment process. Maybe it’s time for an internal audit and new strategy to keep your organization top of mind with job seekers! Contact us to find out how we can help you hire the best young talent!

New Features of TalentEgg Profile: Candidate Video Showcase

New Features of TalentEgg Profile: Candidate Video Showcase

New Features of TalentEgg Profile: Candidate Video Showcase

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