Attracting graduate talent in a competitive marketplace.

CLIENT

Network Rail

PROJECT

Graduate Recruitment Campaign

OVERVIEW

Our challenge was to help the Network Rail Talent Acquisition Team recruit 175 high achieving graduates, from a variety of disciplines, to fulfil a wide range of technical and non-technical roles at locations throughout the UK.

The graduate recruitment landscape is a crowded one, and achieving stand out against the big national and international employer brands is very challenging.

We carried out a persona mapping exercise, focusing on the psychological triggers that appeal to the audience, the position they are in and their perception of the working world.

Our research demonstrated that this demographic rely heavily on peer advice to help them make career decisions. In light of this, we commissioned a photo shoot that featured real-life graduates currently in the Network Rail graduate programme and led with their individual stories throughout the campaign collateral.

The focus on using real graduates throughout the campaign meant we could bring the features and benefits of Network Rail's graduate offer to life. The audience related to the campaign collateral more naturally as it was familiar.

We increased applications by 32%, whilst realising a 10% reduction in spend.

74% of final year students felt the brochure was impactful, up 14% from the previous year.

“I never thought about a career in Network Rail and it’s made me interested in applying.”