There are a lot of audacious statements and it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s fake news at the moment, from 20% of kiwis considering moving overseas to 100% of employers struggling to fill advertised roles.

In the world of graduate and intern recruitment, we are definitely seeing lower engagement and areas where demand for candidates out-strips supply. However, that’s not the full story - it’s not all doom and gloom!

A recent update from NZ Uni Talent shared graduate recruitment insights from 8 NZ Universities:

All indicators suggest that this year’s graduate recruitment season has been unlike any other in recent memory. Employers of all sizes, across all industries, have been reporting extremely low application rates in comparison to previous years.

Full article, worth a read: https://nzunitalent.ac.nz/wp-content/uploads/The-Campus-Connection.pdf

Fewer Candidates

Since 2020, the number of international students entering NZ has reduced to 0. Tertiary enrolment statistics are hard to come by in real time (2020 data is here,  but so much has changed since then!). We’re hearing that enrolments in IT qualifications are down, and we are seeing lower numbers of students signing up for Summer of Tech. We’re currently at 84% of our 2021 and 2020 candidate numbers, but actually tracking very close to our 2019 numbers. If that trend continues, we’ll have around 2,000 candidates seeking summer internships on offers day in October.

Although the borders are opening up, recent changes to the post-study work visa means we are unlikely to return to the same numbers of international students, as so many of our past international candidates were completing qualifications with less than 3 years’ duration, making them no longer eligible for this visa.

Less Engaged

Health, well-being and financial impacts of the last few months have hit students hard

Full article, worth a read: https://nzunitalent.ac.nz/wp-content/uploads/The-Campus-Connection.pdf

This has resulted in very low attendance of on-campus classes, high levels of “Zoom fatigue” and lower numbers of applications for intern and graduate roles. This effect is wide-spread across Aotearoa, not just in Summer of Tech. 

Employers should not underestimate the stress and anxiety faced by students and graduates as they engage with them during recruitment. It’s always a tough time for candidates, but this year, the mental load and financial pressure is huge.

This year, we’ve experimented with early recruitment seasons, and this has led to our highest ever June engagement at SoT events. However, overall SoT event attendance is lower than last year and well below the heights of 2019. We are still ahead of 2020:

Still Actively Searching

The good news is that students and graduates are actively researching roles. The graphs below show the number of visits for 2 graduate positions that have been on our platform since September 2021. The spikes of attention in March and June are in line with our early recruitment seasons, and there have been significantly more visits in 2022, compared with 2021.

Getting Sorted Early

We have connected 43 candidates with employment so far this year, which is 180% up on this time last year! Those early recruitment experiments have opened doors for proactive employers. We’re stoked to have connected keen interns and graduates with hiring managers. We want to say a huge thank you to the employers and candidates who have got themselves sorted so early in the year. And it’s not too late for the rest of you! We’re standing by, ready to help as soon as you’re ready to go.

Tips for Employers

Given all these graphs, numbers, trends and insights, here are our top tips for employers looking to hire interns and graduates this year:

• now is good! The sooner you list your opportunities, the more chance there is to find your people

• be clear about what you’re looking for: technical skills, knowledge, qualification level, core skills

• be clear about what you’re offering: pay, flexibility/hybrid working, advancement opportunities, your organisation’s culture

• communicate expectations, recruitment timelines and keep candidates updated on their application status

• go easy on the tests, assessment centres and interview cycles: complicated processes will put off busy and less confident candidates

• be ready to search broadly and consider education/life/career pathways you might have excluded in the past

• be ready for fewer applications, slower response times, more competition for the talent, but know that it’s quality over quantity and there are VERY capable, keen candidates out there waiting to meet you!

June Recruitment Insights

In our July Employer Drop In session, we shared insights from candidates and employers who participated in our June recruitment season.
Here’s the video if you want to catch up:

Come to our August Employer Drop In session to hear our latest recruitment insights and connect with the Summer of Tech employer whānau. Grab a cuppa and join us online, 10:30am Thursday 4th August. We will be 1 month out from Meet & Greet!! Please rsvp here