Recruiting Intelligence

In our ongoing effort to share the latest in social media marketing we begin this two part series on WeChat. We are eager to share this exciting Chinese social media platform that is quickly becoming popular throughout the world. And yes, you can create posts in Chinese and English.

This past summer, the Chinese student organizations of the Big Ten universities  hosted meet-ups in Beijing and Shanghai. During the events, 600 interested Chinese students and parents went to the Shanghai Kempinski Hotel and the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Learn more about these events and how you can use Meet Ups for your university.

Energizing, educating and motivating your recruiting network around the world is an important function for admissions offices. But what are the best ways to encourage your recruiting network? How can you motivate your network to be productive?

Itinerary. Check. Tickets. Check. Hotel confirmations. Check. Passport. Check. Seems like you're all ready for your fall international student recruitment travel. But are you? What is your strategy for building and maintaining connections with the prospective students and parents you meet on the road? What's the point of traveling, the financial and time commitment, if you aren't going to effectively leverage your contacts?

If you haven’t started utilizing gamification for the purposes of attracting, recruiting and enrolling students both domestically and internationally, you should. University websites toting lists of information and a couple pictures won’t cut it in the competitive market that is international recruitment today. Nowadays, in a world where young adults are almost obsessively focused with devices—and the app games available on them—you need to cater to those interests in order to be noticed.

We all know the cost and logistical challenges of meeting international students face-to-face can be prohibitive. We also understand their value: Personal meetings are compelling and can convince students to enroll. So how can you create personal and influential interactions with potential students, even from far away? 

Project 211. Project 985. Do you know about these two Chinese government-run education projects? If you don't, you should. Read on to learn more.

According to Best Practices in International Student Recruitment and Retention in Anglophone Countries by Hanover Research, the U.S. recruits international students mainly from Asian and South Asian nations. “Asia currently generates 62 percent of America’s international students, and 74 percent of those students come from India, China, Japan, and South Korea.” As shown below (Figure 1), 11.2% of international students are from South Korea. Therefore, recruiting South Korean students can be an effective marketing strategy for colleges. How can US universities better attract Korean students?

The season of new ranking releases will be upon us again soon. Admission departments worry that their school's U.S. News & World Report ranking will be lowered and student, faculty, and alumni will let their displeasure be known. 

How cutting edge is your institution's career services office? When key reports are published is the data considered for future planning? What is YOUR career services department doing with the Glassdoor report regarding employers hiring by sector?