Handshake estimates that more than 80% of students majoring in non-tech fields have at least some level of tech skills.
Article originally appeared on Fast Company on 11/30/2023
BY GARRETT LORD
In 2012, I was a computer science (CS) student at Michigan Tech, a small state school in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. At the time, many CS students shared a common dream: move west after college and get a job building cutting-edge technology for one of a handful of tech giants.
Today, tech majors are graduating into a completely different reality. Industries like manufacturing, energy, financial services, and even the U.S. government need tech talent more than ever. Many tech majors are open to working in an industry outside tech and an estimated 70% of tech workers are open to considering new positions. Competition for young tech professionals is stiff, and every company needs a strategic playbook to win.
As the cofounder and CEO of recruiting platform Handshake, I’ve seen employers try just about everything to get early-career tech talent in the door. Here are four simple, accessible tactics that work. Many of these approaches were first pioneered by the big tech companies, but they can give any company an advantage today.
GET STUDENTS IN THE PIPELINE EARLY
The companies that are winning tech talent aren’t waiting until a student is close to graduation to reach out. Between a global pandemic, geopolitical unrest, and a turbulent economy, today’s students have had enough surprises and uncertainty—they want to work for a company they trust to invest in their future. Building that trust takes time. By starting early, companies can develop pipelines of tech-savvy students who are not only known to be qualified, but who are also confident in the company and eager to commit to a full-time role.
Many companies engage underclassmen through soft recruiting tactics. Google, for example, runs a virtual semester-long academic program for sophomores from select Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions. Liberty Mutual offers “feeder programs” for freshmen and sophomores who are interested in future internships, and Microsoft invites students to preview and test its new features. Opportunities like these give students a taste of a company’s product and culture, while providing companies with a strong pipeline of engaged early-career candidates.
On Handshake, companies that receive the most applications from tech majors are often those that also reach out to underclassmen. Long before it’s time to look for a full-time job, these companies invite freshmen and sophomores to join events and apply to internships. One such company is aerospace and defense leader RTX Corporation, which saw the biggest jump in student searches for roles on Handshake this year, with 62% of hires coming through the platform.
MAKE YOUR TECH TEAM YOUR RECRUITING TEAM
Students are generally happy to hear from recruiters. But what they really want is to talk to someone who they can relate to and who can tell them what they can expect in a job day-to-day. This is especially true for Gen Z students, who have grown up with social media and expect an authentic and behind-the-scenes look at most everything, including their future workplace. For tech students, that means talking to current tech employees. If those employees share their alma mater or an aspect of their identity, even better.
Many companies send alums back to their college campuses to talk to students and staff booths at career fairs. But some companies are more targeted about it, and more creative in doing it at scale. Virtual recruiting, which took off during the pandemic, has made this easier than ever—it’s a highly effective way to connect students and employees across multiple institutions, and can work especially well for attracting students from underrepresented backgrounds, who we have found are more likely to prefer virtual career fairs and interviews.
One company that’s using this approach is Chevron, which saw a 72% increase in searches for jobs and internships on Handshake from the class of 2023. Chevron’s early talent program leverages more than 300 employees—largely young alumni—who act as student ambassadors. Another example is General Motors, which deploys nearly 100 full-time team members over the summer and fall volunteering their efforts to engage directly with students. GM ambassador campaigns have driven more than 1,000 candidates to GM roles to date, and outreach from ambassadors generates 10% higher engagement compared to the company’s other campaigns.
FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS—SKILLS
Companies that have always had an outsize need for tech talent, such as IBM, have been among the early leaders in dropping major and degree requirements from their job listings. They also recruit from schools of all types, understanding that talent is everywhere while opportunity is not. Employers in every industry can and should follow this example. Today, more than 80% of students majoring in non-tech fields have at least some level of tech skills, which means companies that screen candidates by major or degree are missing out on high-potential tech hires. Companies that take a skills-based approach to recruiting see their eligible talent pool more than double on average, with even greater increases in representation of women, Black, and veteran students.
Walmart—a company that’s universally known to Gen Z, but has needed to invest in positioning itself to early tech talent—has broadened its applicant pool by recruiting from more types of schools and embracing skills-based hiring. The company recently dropped degree requirements from hundreds of corporate job descriptions, and has more than doubled the number of institutions it recruits from through Handshake since 2020, in part by expanding into a wider array of four-year colleges, community colleges, and HBCUs.
PLAY THE LONG GAME
Many early-career professionals typically expect to move on from their first role within a few years. But most companies typically stop following up once a new grad accepts another offer. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, recruiters behave as though these candidates are off the market permanently. Playing the long game is important for all roles, but it’s critical when it comes to tech talent. Ongoing engagement with early talent takes very little time on the employer’s part, and pays dividends when a message sparks a former candidate’s interest in an open role.
It’s no secret that companies outside tech are facing a growing tech skills gap. These four tactics can help them close it. And they will help companies recruit early talent more broadly, too. Regardless of their field, students and recent grads appreciate early outreach, authentic and personalized engagement, clear skills-based criteria, and thoughtful follow-up. Companies that embrace these approaches will have stronger pipelines for every role. Any company can do this, and now is the time to start.
