The campus recruitment drives have been completely ripped off the system due to the prevailing situation depriving fresh graduates and final year students from job opportunities. Virtual campus recruitment drives have given the ray of hope to these students, providing the exposure needed. University recruitment being the largest job providing drives, virtual campus recruitment has become the perpetrator amidst the pandemic.

So, in this blog, we are going to cover everything regarding virtual campus recruitment and provide an overview of the process which has been adopted by most companies as part of their university recruitment process.

Impact of COVID-19 on Campus Recruitment

The year 2020 has been a year full of surprises and unpredictable phenomenon. People getting subbed from opportunities, world economies going down and an imminent economic depression waiting behind the curtains, this year cannot be considered as a favorite.

The extent of the ruckus created by the Corona virus pandemic has touched every corner of the world, with every sector losing something more or less. Taking every sector into consideration, there is no doubt in saying that the employment sector has been completely dismantled by the pandemic. According to a joint report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), 41 lakh people in India have lost jobs due to the COVID-19.

With large numbers of employees getting fired every day, companies have suffered a lot. In addition to that, fresh recruitment drives have also slimmed down as companies are cutting down their expenses, giving the new graduates and final year students of universities hollow chances of cracking opportunities.

Recruiting is a tough business and it has become tougher these days. Adding to the misery, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the market terribly and companies are in a state of distress.

According to Sharad Sindhwani of FirstNaukri.com,

“The pandemic has hit placement prospects of the 2020 batch across 82% colleges. It has further impacted internship offers of 74% pre-final year students.”

Although, he added,

“However, students are not losing their morale and going virtual for their learning as well as job interviews. Most companies are also using new-age technology solutions to hire remotely.”

Pre-Pandemic Campus Recruitment

Before the virus took its toll on everything in this world, campus recruitment drives gave students the scope to explore the world of corporate sector jobs. Around 90% of students used to get placed through campus recruitment before it got hit. As per SHRM, campus recruitment made around 23% of hiring efforts. Companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, etc., hired most of their cardinal workforce through on-campus recruitment.

The process was simple- companies used to visit the universities, conduct assessments, and interviews and shortlist the best for further onboarding.

However, as simple as it may sound, the execution of campus recruitment drives was a nightmare. The process was vastly expensive and time taking. Companies had to travel a lot and maintain relations with the university authorities. They had to get insights from the coordinators and the professors to get a clear understanding of the students.

Organizational events, internship programs, summer placement programs were needed to be arranged for campus recruitment, making the whole process full of hassle.
The interview process took a toll on both sides and there have been instances where none of the students got hired despite all the efforts from both the university and the company.

Surely, the process was successful most of the time but the expectations from the students were hard to meet at some points, making the whole drive go in vain.

Virtual Campus Recruitment- Effect of the Pandemic

COVID-19 has indeed slowed down the recruitment process. But with the possibility of virtual campus recruitment, companies have been able to gather their required talent and have found a way to manage the loss as a result of the outbreak.

As per Amit Vadera of TeamLease Services,

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19, companies have been canceling interviews. We expect 60-65 percent interviews getting dropped or delayed as there is a lockdown in many parts of the country and people are encouraged to stay at home to curtail the spread of the virus.”

Companies have been hiring remotely since the advent of the virus. ‘Virtual Career Fairs’ have been organized by various universities for students to get in contact with the companies. With technological advancements and the help of online assessment platforms, companies have now got the edge of conducting full-fledged job interviews remotely.

These virtual fairs have given students the chance to interact with the employers and give assessments and interviews as needed.

Nicolas Dumoulin, Managing Director of Michael Page India said,

“Technology-driven sectors are hiring and are conducting interviews through alternative channels like online, Skype. This has made interviews faster and convenient.”

Virtual campus recruitment is more cost-effective and time-efficient. Most traditional campus recruitment drives were biased and lacked in promoting diversity. Virtual platforms have reduced the prejudice from interviews and companies now are trying to have a more diversified and inclusive work environment.

Companies have garnished their branding as a result of virtual drives. Organizations as well as candidates have become more vigilant and this has resulted in the better productivity of the recruitment process.

Difference between Traditional Campus Recruitment and Virtual Campus Recruitment

Impact of Technology

Technology has played the biggest part in making virtual recruitment become a reality. The impact of online platforms has been tremendous.
With the majority of the candidates being millennials and Gen-Z, the accuracy and effectiveness of companies regarding technology has to be up to the mark. It has been found that technologically advanced companies attract more candidates than companies that are not. That is the main reason big tech companies have prospered within the years. Candidates nowadays prefer workplace cultures that showcase technological progress.

Technical management systems have been used by many companies to manage their employees and check the productivity remotely. HR tech software has prospered during this time.

The recruitment process has also become easy with the advent of online assessment portals. Companies just have to contact the vendor and provide them with the requirements. These platforms do all the work after that. The whole process has become automatic and hassle-free. There is no need for a manual BGV or screening process. Every process can be conducted remotely.

Technology has enhanced the efficiency of the recruitment process as a whole. The quality of hire has increased due to better execution of the process, impacting on the productivity of the workplace.

Glider.ai and Virtual Campus Recruitment

Glider.ai is a platform that provides online assessment tests regarding every area. It assesses the candidates on real-world tasks and provides holistic skill assessments. The platform provides a range of products such as phone screening, assessments, coding tests, video interviews, and many more for making the recruitment process more efficient. Employers get to select from a vast pool of qualified candidates based on their requirements.

Big tech companies such as Facebook, AT&T, Nutanix, Collabera, etc., take the help of Glider.ai as a third-party assessment vendor for their hiring process.