Much anticipated ISE Complete Guide to Student Recruitment and Development has launched. ISE Chair and Head of Early Talent at Pinsent Masons, Debs McCormack, explains how professionals working in all aspects of our sector will benefit.

When a colleague, friend or family member asks you ‘What’s your job?’ how do you reply?

My 13-year-old son recently asked me this question at the dinner table. As I answered, giving examples of some of the projects early talent professionals are involved in, it occurred to me how much our roles have evolved and expanded over the course of our careers.

When many of us started out in the early careers sector (even less than 20 years ago) diversity and inclusion, mental health, and virtual recruitment and development were not high on the organisational agenda. In fact, they were not on the agenda at all.

What we do is both strategic and operational, often touching every facet of the organisation’s infrastructure. Our contribution is mission critical to organisational success because we fuel the future talent pipeline and deal with a microcosm of the wider employee population.

We often have responsibility for, and experience of, every aspect of the employee lifecycle, from attraction, marketing, assessment and selection to induction, onboarding, training and development. We support graduates, apprentices and interns with mental health concerns while allocating resource and helping our businesses to diversify their succession plan. As a result our roles are wide, varied and interconnected.

And the early talent industry underpins the success of the economy. We help to educate, recruit and develop the lifeblood of organisations, large and small, across every sector.

Whether you are just starting your career as a student recruiter or developer of early talent or you have reached the lofty heights of designing your organisation’s entry-level strategy, the ISE’s Complete Guide to Student Recruitment and Development has something to support and enable you in your role.

As the UK’s leading independent voice for stakeholders involved in every aspect of student employment, the ISE’s vision is that business success is maximised by full access to early talent. We achieve that by bringing together employers, educators and supplier partners to promote best practice, share new insights and drive innovation and collaboration across our sector.

The guide is a brilliant example of a consolidation of member knowledge, expertise and current research to help you and your colleagues develop your technical know-how and strategic thinking. It’s a practical starting point for colleagues looking to build knowledge of a new area as well as a specialist resource for those seeking strategic insight to inform their firm’s approach to every aspect of student recruitment and development.

Many of our members have been generous with their time and expertise in contributing to this guide, for which we are grateful. To keep pace with the changes impacting our industry, it will evolve annually to incorporate current thinking and showcase best practice. As a practitioner, I would highly recommend that members use this guide as a ‘go to’ resource and encourage you to share case studies with us for future editions.

Read ISE’s Complete Guide to Student Recruitment and Development