‍‍We sat down with strategist Mollie, to find out what the trends are with Early Careers audiences. And no, we don’t mean TikTok trends, you can put the ring light down…
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What trends are we currently seeing in Early Careers candidate behaviour?

At the moment, we’re seeing a shift away from traditional job hunting. With information at their fingertips, there's an expectation of on-demand authentic content across platform experiences - and most importantly, transparency, authenticity and real voices play a crucial role in getting Early Careers’ attention, and attracting talent.
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How should an EVP be adapted to speak effectively to Early Careers audiences?

My top tip is to use real stories and real people to speak to talent.

From this, you need to understand your audience's segments and their differing needs/wants to be able to fine-tune your messaging to what they value. For example, if your target audiences are dedicated to mental health benefits, and you offer some great ones, start to dial that up in your messaging. Authenticity is key, so make sure you’re talking about what’s real.

Conversational language is also key. The language of formality and corporate speak just doesn’t do as well amongst these audiences. Keep it in that conversation space.

And finally, tailor your content to each platform - understanding the intersection between UGC and long-form content is so important! Each has their place, and learning how to maximise content for different platforms is really going to help you stand out.
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How is early talent consuming media? And what platforms are most effective for outreach?

Our Early Careers audience is chronically online - Tiktok, Instagram and YouTube shorts are all platforms they know and love. UGC is huge - they trust real voices and real people over corporate brand slogans and massively polished content. Get your people to speak for you (check out our case study on this for Sanofi).

When it comes to the physical space, the traditional set-up of the careers fair is losing popularity. EC audiences are looking for new experiences, differentiation, and added value. Taster days, experience campaigns and a chance to get hands-on. Don't be afraid to stand out from a sea of same.
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How do we evolve a long-term strategy to stay relevant to Early Careers talent year on year?

Use your audience as your sparring partner - testing and co-creating ideas is a great way to understand exactly what it is that’s appealing to your target market.

Social listening is also great for keeping your finger on the pulse. Monitoring sentiment through social media lets you stay agile by tapping into culturally relevant moments. Brands that are quick to react to moments in a way that’s brand-relevant are seeing an increase in popularity.
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How important is workplace culture to early careers candidates, and how can employers communicate this authentically?

Early Careers audiences don't just want to see culture, they want to see how it feels to work somewhere and see real employee journeys. As I mentioned above, authentic, real communication is what gets people to trust your brand.
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Show empathy and personality in your brand voice. Understand every corner of your audience so you can focus on being able to tell stories that resonate with your specific audiences, regardless of how niche that may be. If it’s what your audience are responding to, it’s what you want to focus on.

Check out how we used our insight to help ICAEW attract Early Careers talent here.