CRYSTAL SYSTEM GROUP LTD. HAS RECOGNIZED AND ANTICIPATED THE LACK OF QUALIFIED RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY IN THE IT SECTOR SINCE BACK IN 2004. As a consequence, Crystal System has invested in universities and students to offer courses in IT relevant subjects and programming languages like Business Intelligence & Analytics, ERP Programming, Database Programming, Java and much more. Since 2004 Crystal System has expanded this program and is cooperating now with six universities in three countries, Romania, Republic of Moldova and Albania.
Crystal System has transformed more than 10.000 students into digital talents since 2004 when it started. Some of them got hired by Crystal System – most of them found, not only but also thanks to their digital prequalification offered by Crystal System, their entry into their personal career path or got placed in the IT market with the support of Crystal System.
In time the quality of training got recognized in the market and clients and partners of all industries started to watch the Crystal Talents. Crystal then also became pro-active and invited industry representatives to discuss about their actual and future demands and requirements towards their future employees. A fruitful continuous discussion with different industry-sector roundtables started in the last year and helped Crystal System to keep its course curricula up to date, to keep students attracted to the courses offered and last but not least it helped the industry to find not just graduates from the universities but prequalified talents “ready to work”.
Since 2004 the world has changed drastically, smart-phones conquered the daily lives of students, the Internet is nearly everywhere available at universities, in bars and cafes and even in public parks in Bucharest. The generation born in this time adapted through the years to new technologies and possibilities and they are called “Millennials” and “Digital Natives”. Crystal System had to react to this to get a deeper understanding of these “Digital Natives” and how to address them. The term “Digital Natives” constitutes a high affinity towards digital solutions and services.
At Crystal System Group we are working transnational with multiple clients in multiple countries, so for us it was of interest not only to have the Romanian talents in focus but also at least one other European country to have a possibility to compare and optimize where necessary. At a specialized web-page in Germany we have found a study at the University of Bayreuth / Bavaria, that analysed the digital candidate journey with the same intention like Crystal had. We took this study as baseline and asked students in Bucharest exactly the same questions.
Our study analyses to what extend this assumption applies. Especially in the area of recruiting and especially at the address of companies.
The study follows the journey by dividing it into seven main stops: From Awareness, Contact, Interaction, Relevance, Lead, Information till Application.
In Romania, Crystal started an online survey and addressed 1.500 Students in Bucharest. 511 answered to the online survey. A quota of 30%. In Germany, the participation was 540 students.
As we cannot present all results in one article, we will make the study public available on Crystal System’s web-page.
AWARENESS
WHERE DO STUDENTS LOOK FOR JOB OFFERS?
In Romania the top 3 job portals named by students are e-Jobs, LinkedIn and Hippo. In Germany it is Stepstone, Indeed and Monster. As conclusion it could be stated, that Romanian students are focused more on local platforms, while in Germany students are using more international platforms.
CONTACT
HOW & WHERE DO STUDENTS WANT TO BE ADDRESSED BY COMPANIES?
In Romania the top 3 platforms on which students prefer to get contacted by potential future employers are LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Facebook. In Germany the platforms named LinkedIn, Xing and Kunuu the top three. As a conclusion it could be said that Romanian students are receptive on all channels, while German students make a clear differentiation between professional life and private life. Still of importance in both countries is the human touchpoint as in both countries 75% of the interviewed stated that they visit career events or job fairs.
INTERACTION
WHAT CORPORATE OFFERS ARE OF SPECIAL INTEREST FOR YOU? – WHAT COMMUNICATION CHANNEL WITH COMPANIES DO YOU PREFER?
In Romania the top 3 listed corporate offers preferred by the students are internships, projects, soft-skill trainings. In Germany, there are internships, theses for exams and projects. In both countries students are keen to prove themselves in internships and projects. It is remarkable that Romanian students have soft-skill training ranked third – which matches the industry expectations, but German students ranked this subject on 7th. Related to the communication channels, students in both countries prefer a chat with a direct human contact via social medial or WhatsApp followed by digital office tours in Virtual Reality or Virtual Corporate Contact Fairs. Communication via Chatbots / Artificial Intelligence are ranked at the bottom of the list.
RELEVANCE
STUDENTS KPI’S TO CHOOSE AN EMPLOYER
In Romania the top 3 KPI’s are Career Opportunities, Salary and Atmosphere at work. German students focused on Work Tasks, Work Atmosphere and Work-Life-Balance; Salary was ranked in Germany on the 4th place.
LEAD DATA
STUDENTS PREFERRED THE TRANSFER OF PERSONAL DATA
In both countries the majority of students prefers a data transfer after they have taken a business card and / or analysed corporate brochures and website. The results are nearly equal even if in the Romanian survey multiple answers were allowed, while in the German study only one answering option was permitted.
INFORMATION
PREFERRED INFORMATION MEDIA WHEN STUDENTS ARE LOOKING FOR AN EMPLOYER
In Romania the preferred information media is the direct discussion with a corporate representative ranked first followed by corporate website and corporate product image. Romanian Students named immediately after Employer Ranking Portals and Friend suggestions on the next ranks. In Germany the Corporate Website is ranked first followed by corporate product image immediately after are following the image of and recommendation by friends and then the Discussion with corporate representatives. Social Media and Corporate advertising is ranked in both countries at the bottom of the list of preferred information media.
APPLICATION
STUDENTS’ PREFERRED WAYS TO APPLY
In both countries the application via corporate website (CV-Form, PDF-Upload, etc.) are the preferred way to apply. Romanian students ranked this with 68% and German students with 75% on top of their preferences. Application via email (sending CV as PDF) is clearly placed on rank 2 in Romania 67% of the students voted for this as preferred option and in Germany 72%. Application with just one Snap / Video is ranked slightly above the application via postal service at the end of the table.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Sharpen your profile as employer by an authentic employer branding
- Ensuresimpleandfastdigitaloptionsforcandidates to apply
- UseChatbots,SnapsandVideoapplicationtoolsselectively(i.e.forpositionswhereitisimportanttheapplicanthastobeabletopresenthimselfandhas to be self-confident to speak to clients or a group ofpeoplelikesales,marketing,customersupportetc.)
- Create“touchabletouchpoints”forcooperation,i.e. internships, mentoring etc.
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