That new grad you hired today might eventually become the CEO. But even if they don’t, you want them to be high-quality individual contributors and possibly managers or team leaders in the future. ‍Achieving any of those goals–from simple productivity to C-Suite succession–starts with new graduate onboarding. Now VP of Finance at Willo, Kevin Swan worked at a global consultancy for eight years, both going through their new graduate program and later supporting graduate recruiting at the firm as a member of the tech M&A team. ‍Looking back on his experience with new graduate programs, Kevin shared his perspective on three crucial onboarding elements that every corporation needs in place for day one. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the company promote problem-solving and a culture of innovation. According to a study from Boston Consulting Group, diverse companies report 20% higher “innovation revenues” or proceeds from newly launched products/services. Diversity in sourcing and hiring refers to the policies ensuring the process is free from all types of biases. When hiring talent, the personal characteristics of the candidates including race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation should not impact their chances of getting shortlisted.

Ok, so campus visits are out now?‍ Or are they back on? ‍ During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health restrictions provided a great excuse for why new grad hiring had to be all remote. Candidates forgave some shortcomings and less-than-ideal experiences. Now, things are changing.‍ To keep up in the changing world, companies need to take the best of the old ways—namely, the focus on human interaction—and leverage the best of technology—speed, flexibility, and cost efficiency—to build a new kind of recruiting funnel.‍ While we recommend all new grad funnels have some in-person elements if possible, you can still build a high quality, fully virtual funnel. Here’s what you need to know.

With high volume hiring or mass hiring, it’s a numbers game. However, you’re still dealing with real people who deserve respect regardless of the hiring decision. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to make a great candidate experience.

Recruiters are burning out at an increasing rate. It’s easy to blame the great resignation and the shift to remote work (then hybrid work) and call it a day. But that’s too easy. The real problem isn’t the challenges we face—those will always come—it’s the processes and systems we have to handle them. In short: we need to upgrade recruiting systems to match the reality we now live in. And an upgraded system includes video interviewing (powered by a purpose-built video interview tool) as part of your recruiting process.

As a founder, there are a few company milestones that bring incredible joy. Fundraising is often one of them (Willo raised a Seed round in 2021 that I’m proud of). Helping our customers streamline video interviewing is another (the average user saves 6+ hours per week of admin with Willo). But the real win for me is seeing candidates succeed. And it’s only just the beginning.

Inviting candidates to video interviews will help them show their personality far more than they could in a phone screen. Now sending that invitation is even easier with Willo’s new Lever integration. Here’s how the integration works—and benefits both Willo and Lever users

Done right, virtual hiring events can build the same sense of connection as in-person while also showing off your fantastic culture.