Building An Effective Campus Ambassador Program

Campus ambassador programs are not only a hot topic right now; they are a differentiator on the college recruiting scene. To be successful, campus ambassador programs need a manager to oversee the effort, the right representatives on campus and a process that connects referrals to your recruiting efforts.

Follow these tips for a campus ambassador program that will start delivering results this semester.

1. Choose the right colleges and universities. Start by building a test pilot campus ambassador program with a few local schools to ensure you have a solid process in place before launching nationally. Pull data from your applicant tracking system (ATS) to understand where the majority of your campus hires came from in the past. Go back about five years to look for trends, and pinpoint your top schools.

2. Identify your target market. First decide what type of student, in terms of education and extra-curricular activities, would be best for your company. Segment the student population based on these criteria, and not only should you target schools with these students, but become familiar with the programs and clubs where these students can be found.

3. Establish and maintain an on-campus presence. Most colleges welcome companies to post positions, attend career fairs and host campus interviews and information sessions. But to establish your on-campus brand, it’s important to go beyond these traditional methods (which is the extent of what most companies are doing). Try sponsoring student competitions and consider advertising opportunities in student newspapers, directories and other publications.

4. Utilize social marketing, like social networking and referrals. Referencing an article from ERE.net about college recruiting programs, “Corporate referral sources should include your firm’s newly hired students, your interns, your current recruiting targets, and your employees and their families. Among the campus community, you want to solicit referrals from grad assistants, student organization leaders, tutors, and if you have them, your firm’s own student on-campus ambassadors.” Employees can be your greatest advocates, so leverage that resource to build up your referral program.

The social media management system HootSuite has designed a campus ambassador program that allows students to integrate HootSuite into campus life.

5. Hire the right campus ambassadors (CAs). The best campus ambassador programs hire the “poster child” of its target audience to represent the company on campus. If possible, use past interns or co-op students. They have worked at your company so they better understand your culture and will provide a more authentic representation of your company. And because they’re speaking from experience, they will also be more convincing to prospects.

If you don’t have a recent graduate hiring program and need to start from scratch building your connections, target high-profile students in specific on-campus organizations to help you recruit the right CAs for your company.

6. Train, train and train. Bring all of your CAs to your corporate office and officially kick off the program with an organized training curriculum. Train them on your company culture, key performance indicators (KPIs) and direct recruiting tactics.

7. Mentor and provide feedback. Don’t train your campus ambassadors then let them loose without touching base regularly. A weekly check-in call with a manager allows you to talk through any potential challenges before they become a bigger issue. It’s beneficial for campus ambassador manager to get to campus and work with the CAs regularly. It helps your team gain a better understanding of the trends on campus.

8. Reward results. The mistake that many companies make is to let last summer’s interns or co-op students run around campus with branded gear and hope they market opportunities at their company. Build an incentive-based program that encourages and rewards productivity. Maybe the CA with the most monthly applications collected wins an iPad or the CA with the most quarterly hires wins a trip for two. Get creative! These rewards will certainly motivate your CAs.

Your investment in a campus ambassador program will pay off with the gain of quality interns and recent graduate hires. Continuously improve and grow your program each year to increase brand recognition and attract eager students and top-notch entry-level employees.

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