Early careers onboarding - a whitepaper

27/02/2024

Setting your early career candidates and new hires up for success

Despite economic stagnation, and the looming threat of a recession to come, the recruitment of all types of student hires increased by 16% in 2022/2023, according to the ISE Student Recruitment Survey 2023.

This increase is expected to continue, with an anticipated 9% increase for 2023/2024. Which means more and more students and graduates who need to be set up for success in 2024 and beyond. And these aren’t the only changes. 45% of respondents to the Institute of Student Employers 2023 Recruitment Survey expected that most of their recruitment will be conducted fully online and with increasing automation in the next five years. So how do employers ensure they don’t lose the sense of human connection that is so important for engagement and inclusion amongst early careers new starters?

There are increasing efforts, too, being made to recruit more diverse cohorts across a range of areas from gender, socio-economic group and ethnicity. What do these changes mean for the way we onboard?

At the same time, 54% of employers expect to move to a recruitment approach that focuses on evaluating candidates based on their skills, rather than on their education or past work experience, and more than a quarter (29%) are expected to rebalance their entry-level recruitment away from graduates and towards school and college leavers. Both moves have implications for onboarding, potentially requiring more support, and more training and preparation for early career starters at this stage. 

Meanwhile, the economic situation, cost of living crisis, and after-effects of the pandemic are all taking their toll on the early career cohort, meaning additional emphasis on wellbeing and mental health support are important, too. 

So – how can you evolve your onboarding strategy to meet these challenges and changes?

Read Eli Onboarding's whitepaper on 'Early careers onboarding in 2024', which answers these questions and more.