I never bet. But if I did, a good punt might be that graduate recruitment has not appeared on board meeting agendas at most PR companies in the past year.
I’ve written before about the difficulties of getting a first job in PR at the moment, why many agencies have what amounts to a hiring freeze and why agencies should be bolder in looking to the future. Most of which is pretty obvious.
One part of all of that was the issue of graduate recruitment schemes, and what agencies should look to do in order to turn people into competent PRs, starting the day they join. Training is obviously an important facet, but it does not begin and end there.
Why am I regurgitating this? Well, at Speed’s last board meeting there was – shock – an item about graduate recruitment. Not because we didn’t have much else to talk about, but because we’re serious about attracting a high-calibre graduate intake and taking a responsible, sustainable approach to developing their skills. And not just graduates, but people with the right skills and experience who want to get into the fast-modernising PR trade. I didn’t go to university myself, so that’s a topic close to my heart.
What should a good graduate recruitment programme look like? Without giving away too much on the Speed approach, which we’ll be unveiling in the coming weeks, it should cover:
- Close links with universities and training courses so that students know what may lie ahead (and we can bag the best ones early). Not just PR courses, but marketing, journalism and broader media courses. Not the crap ones though
- Clear and written commitments to potential recruits about what they’re getting into, what the employer will provide and, equally, what the employer won’t do. Plus, crucially, what the employee will be expected to do to develop themselves and build a successful career quickly. This is critical in sorting the ambitious, industrious and intelligent from the lethargic, confused and under-equipped. And you can quote me on that
- A reasonable model and timeframe for making the transition from assistant in the background to consultant in the foreground. There will always be shades of grey. Yet if a person will never meet a client for six months so that when they do they are ready (think about how the likes of Beckham, Scholes and Giggs were introduced to the first team of the three-time European champions) then be straight with them about that. There is a lot less photocopying than there used to be in this job, but there will always be grunt work to do as new recruits gain a 360 degree view of the job
- Details of salary bands and what is required in order to make progress through them. Agencies fudge salary expectations at graduate intake level more than with any other level of employee – largely because the rest of us have got wise to it. Be clear and honest and it will help you attract clear, strong and honest candidates who respect you. Providing you don’t pay peanuts obviously
- Above all, complete and utter honesty. Do you risk creating a bad first impression with a client if you wear something a bit weird to your first meeting? What’s the best way to make a name for yourself with colleagues without becoming infamous for the wrong reasons? How do you show a client that you know your stuff from the off? All questions the graduates will come across, and all things that their colleagues can help with. Graduate schemes need to have the commitment and the involvement of everyone in the company, both to give the new intake the best possible start and ensure that they become colleagues that everyone can rely on
- Grammar, spelling, timesheets, quality (*slaps wrist*)
More on SpeedGrads soon. And some memories on my start in PR, which might prompt a few tears and a few wry smiles.
By the way, want a career in PR? Leave a comment below or track me down elsewhere if so.
