Recruitment: Conducting

competitor research
So, what do we want to achieve in this session?

In this session we will discuss:

 Ways to conduct competitor research
 What to ask as you conduct competition research
 What you can do with your findings

…and we want you to be able to:

 Create a plan to conduct competitor research
Conducting competitor research
There are several ways to learn from your competition

Visiting your competitors’ social media

You can learn about your competition
outlets will give you information about
in a variety of ways
branding, events and deadlines
Build relationships with them:
• Attend their recruitment events
• Meet recruiters at career fairs
• Interview a recruiter for the
organization

Conduct research with information that

is available:
• Interview an employee that went
through their graduate recruitment
process
• Read websites (corporate websites
as well as social media) to find
information on brand, message and
key dates So, what do you want to find
out from your competition?

3
What to learn about your competitors
These are some important questions to understand about your competitors

Sample interview guide

Question about building partnership:
• How do you view our organization?
• How could we both together for mutual benefit?
• Based on the information I shared, would you be interested in creating a
partnership?
Questions about their target: For more information
• Who are the top graduates for whom you are looking? about partnerships view
• How do you identify these individuals? the Developing
Questions about their approach for reaching their target: partnerships module
• From where do you recruit your employees?
• What approaches should we use to attract them to apply, take their offers, and
begin the programme? (e.g. strategies, partnerships)
• What is your value proposition to graduates?
• How do you describe your brand and why?
• What does your application process look like?
Questions about your program:
• What is your perception of Teach For Homeland (my organization)?
• What do you see as the value add Teach For Homeland might give applicants
to your organization?
So, what do you do
with this information? 4
Using your research to refine your recruitment strategy
What you find in your research informs your recruitment strategy

You’ll likely synthesize your findings … that lead to changes that

across key areas… strengthen your recruitment strategy

• How our organization is viewed by • You may need to spend time

others adjusting your messaging so your
image is more clear and compelling

• What are they doing right that we
aren’t yet doing
• You may learn about a successful
strategy that you haven’t yet tried, or
about certain places or key events that
every prominent graduate recruiter must
be at

• What they know about the target • You may need to adjust messages
market or approach given new information
(e.g., most competitive graduates
make job decisions by February)