The STR Group’s Talent Acquisition team recently partnered with the University of Southampton Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise team. This team provides final-year students with a voluntary project, which gives them the opportunity to gain invaluable experience working on a real-life business issue.
Iona McCullagh, Talent Acquisition Team Leader at STR, reached out to Sarah Trewern, Employee Engagement Coordinator at the university, who asked her for a brief for the students to consider. The brief was to scope out how best to reach potential recruitment candidates, particularly graduates, with a view to holding Open Days and targeting our marketing. Iona was thrilled to learn that 2 teams of students had asked to work on the Innovation Project, which would cover competitor analysis and candidate attraction. The results of these 4-week projects produced some fascinating insights and inspired solutions.
The students investigated the recent trends of STR’s competitors and the demand of students for employer activities. They conducted competitor analysis, SWOT analysis, audience analysis, and distributed questionnaires and interviews on university campuses. They also popped in to our offices for the day, to take a tour and really appreciate what working in recruitment is like and experience the company culture.
The students with Co-founder and Executive Director Clive Hutchings (centre) and Iona McCullagh (right)
The results of the analysis will help STR in the development of campaign planning and their candidate marketing strategy. The students all worked exceptionally hard and the Talent Acquisition team were incredibly impressed with the results.
Iona confirmed, “It was a pleasure to work with the University of Southampton Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise Team and have a chance to meet with the students who were working on the Innovation Project related to our brief. As well as providing the students with exposure to a real-world business challenge, it allowed us to work with ambitious students, who provided us with their findings and showcased this to us during their report and presentations. It has supported our thinking and decision making on our own advertising and other untapped sources we can explore. It was a great experience for us, and we look forward to presenting another potential project next year.”
It was a privilege to work with such bright, ambitious students and gain insights from this generation. There are clearly some great young minds coming through the University of Southampton.
Do you want to work for a company that supports and values the insights of young people? Contact our Talent Acquisition team today to find out about our current opportunities and our ‘Highly Commended’ Graduate Training Programme, as recognised at the Global Recruiter Awards this month!
