How to attract and verify the skills of 500 internship candidates in 1 month? RAS Tech Summer Challenges case study

Effective recruitment of interns is a challenge that many companies are currently facing. According to GoWork.pl, more than 50% of companies recruit for internship programmes, especially multinational corporations and large enterprises.

Internships tend to attract a larger number of candidates than recruitment offers aimed at people with more experience. However, the obstacles that stand in the way of successful recruitment of students and graduates are different to the overall number of applications: 

• poorly matched candidates - there are many random applications, 
• high competition - it is not easy to stand out from the many offers available on the market,
• limited ability to select the best candidates on the basis of the CV alone (in a target group that is characterised by no or very little commercial experience),
• a lack of opportunity to quickly and effectively test skills at an early stage, resulting in a time-consuming, unproductive recruitment process.

Ringier Axel Springer - Poland's largest media and technology company - began recruiting for the Tech Summer programme in spring 2022. RAS was looking for new, creative ways to reach out to candidates and engage them in the recruitment process. The answer was to publish 5 online recruitment challenges, on the ChallengeRocket.com platform, verifying competencies in JavaScript, DevOps, Cloud, Data, QA.

OBJECTIVES

What were the objectives of the RAS Tech Summer Challenges?

• To support ongoing recruitment processes for the internship programme and deliver pre-assessed, employment-ready candidates for current and future positions.
• To build an engaged community of talent around the Ringier Axel Springer Tech, consisting of students and graduates with first-hand experience in the areas of JavaScript, DevOps, Cloud, Data, QA.
• Provide candidates with a customised, more interesting recruitment experience.
• Increase brand awareness among those interested in starting a career in technology, with competencies in this area and validate their skills.
• Discovering new candidates who would not have applied to traditional job adverts.

SOLUTION

How did we achieve the above objectives?

Through the publication of 5 online recruitment challenges on the ChallengeRocket.com platform. The task prepared as part of the RAS Tech recruitment challenge verified the set of competencies required to start an internship in the areas of JavaScript, DevOps, Cloud, Data, QA. The level of difficulty of the tasks was appropriately matched to the target group (students and early graduates) and allowed the selection of candidates with the highest level of technical skills. Sets of dedicated tasks were prepared according to the company's individual expectations in each of the 5 areas in which the internship programme was launched.

Thanks to that :

• Candidates were able to demonstrate their skills in front of Ringier Axel Springer.
• It was possible to identify the best young talent and gain an insight into their competences.
• The RAS team accessed a pool of candidates with pre-assessed skills. 

In addition, candidates were able to find new career opportunities for themselves and become more familiar with the employer brand through the publication of the Ringier Axel Springer company profile (Candidate Hub). It contains information about the company, current challenges and job offers.

RESULTS

What results have been achieved?

• Information about RAS Tech Summer Challenges reached more than 70 000 people in the target group.
• During the month, a total of almost 11 500 people visited the recruitment challenge pages associated with 5 internship pathways.
• A total of 489 people joined the RAS Tech Summer Challenges and almost 95% of them demonstrated their skills in the test.
• Nearly 150 candidates scored 75% or above in the test.
• Candidates were contacted on an ongoing basis and invited to a shortened, faster recruitment process in the company.

Other effects of the RAS Tech Summer Challenges:

• The recruitment challenge attracted new candidates, previously unknown to the company, who were not available through traditional recruitment methods.
• The talent pool around the Ringier Axel Springer brand has expanded by more than 400 candidates with skills in JavaScript, DevOps, Cloud, Data, QA.
• Job advertisements combined with a skill test provided candidates with a customised recruitment experience at a higher level.

Want to find out how you can implement similar recruitment solutions and attract more matched intern candidates to your business? Explore our unique process enhanced by the SkillChallenge formula and find out more!