Early Careers Expert Series: Using Data to Analyse your Early Careers Attraction Campaign to Improve and Evolve your Attraction Strategies 

In today’s highly competitive recruitment market, attracting the right early career talent requires more than just launching a campaign and hoping for the best. To recruit the best candidates, businesses must harness the power of data to evaluate, refine, and enhance their Attraction strategies – not just year-on-year, but throughout the lifecycle of an Attraction campaign. Data-driven decision-making is the key to understanding candidate behaviour, improving engagement, and optimising performance.  

We explore how companies can effectively analyse their early careers Attraction campaigns, measure key performance indicators (KPIs), and use insights to continuously improve their recruitment efforts. From post-campaign reviews to real-time strategy adjustments, we’ll cover essential data-driven practices that can drive real success.  

The Importance of Data in Early Careers Attraction 

Data is the foundation for any effective marketing strategy. It transforms vague intentions into actionable insights, bridging the communication gap between your organisation and the emerging workforce. 

By tracking key performance metrics, companies gain insights into what resonates with their target audience, where engagement is highest, and what areas need improvement.  

Some of the key datapoints collected and examined within early careers attraction include: 

• Student engagement metrics – Tracking interactions on job boards, social media, websites, email campaigns, etc… to understand where candidates are most engaged.  
• Application conversion rates – Measuring how many engaged students actually apply, helping to identify gaps in messaging or process. 
• Event participation rates – Evaluating attendance (including vs. expected attendance) and engagement at university fairs, webinars, and networking events.  
• Diversity and inclusion data – Assessing the demographics of engaged students to ensure outreach aligns with hiring goals. 
• Acquisition sources – Analysing media sources to generate the best ROI and identify low performers.  
• Website analytics – Understanding user behaviour to improve content and application flows. 

Leveraging these insights allows companies to refine their messaging, target the right candidates, increase application quality and enhance overall campaign effectiveness. 

What Happens After a Campaign Ends? 

Once an Attraction campaign concludes, the work is far from over. A thorough post-campaign analysis is essential to understanding the campaign’s impact, effectiveness, successes, learnings, and areas for improvement.  

Key post-campaign activities include: 

• Reviewing application volume and quality – Did the campaign attract enough high-quality candidates? Where did they come from? 
• Analysing engagement levels – Which channels and tactics were most effective? What content resonated with students best?  
• Gathering stakeholder feedback – Collecting insights from stakeholders and candidates, to refine future strategies.  
• Benchmarking against previous campaigns – Identifying trends in Attraction performance to adapt to changing market conditions. 

A structured review and discussing outcomes, ensures future campaigns are built on data-driven insights, increasing efficiency and effectiveness.  

Adjusting Strategies Mid-Campaign 

One of the biggest advantages of real-time data is the ability to adjust a campaign whilst still live. If specific channels underperform, early careers teams can pivot strategies to improve results. If a particular role isn’t attracting applications as expected, messaging can be refined, job adverts updated, or alternative channels explored. 

Similarly, if a campaign is performing well, resources can be shifted to increase focus on a certain demographic of student. Monitoring live campaign performance allows employers to be proactive rather than reactive, leading to better outcomes. 

Post-Campaign Reviews: The Key to Evolving Your Strategy 

After every campaign, a detailed review should be conducted to assess strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. This process involves: 

• Data collection and visualisation – Presenting key metrics in an accessible format to identify patterns and trends. 
• Stakeholder debriefing sessions – Also known as an ‘End-of-Campaign Review’. Bringing stakeholders together to discuss successes, challenges, and key learnings.  
• Identifying areas for optimisation – Pinpointing challenges and opportunities for improvement. 
• Documenting lessons learned – Highlighting best practices and strategies to retain for future campaigns. 

A thorough post-campaign review ensures continuous improvement and paves the way for a smooth and well-executed future Attraction campaign. 

Understanding and Interpreting Key Metrics 

To evaluate campaign effectiveness, employers and stakeholders must agree, track and analyse Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at the end of each campaign. KPIs are essential for understanding whether or not you campaign has delivered the desired outcomes of each campaign, as they should be measurable, specific and aligned with the employer’s recruitment goals. 

Some common examples of Attraction campaign KPIs are: 

• Engagement metrics – Click-through rates, social media interactions, email open rates. 
• Application numbers – Usually measured against modelled numbers: How many students are applying to each role? 
• Conversion rates – What proportion of students interacting with the campaign are applying for a role? If lower than expected, can an employer make the content more engaging? 
• Demographic information – Focusing on Women in STEM? BAME candidates? These KPIs examine what proportion of your applicants are from these backgrounds, and which media sources are driving them. 
• University Applicants – Looking to engage students from a certain university or target universities? How many applications/hires did the campaign get from a specific university/universities? 

Defining KPIs at the outset ensures campaigns are aligned with recruitment objectives, while post-campaign analysis helps refine strategies for the future. 

Using Insights to Improve Stakeholder Communication 

Data does more than just track performance – it’s a tool that transforms how internal teams understand and approach campaign strategies. Effective data storytelling bridges the gap between recruitment teams and broader stakeholders, providing clear, objective insights into campaign performance, challenges, and opportunities. 

As well as being useful for problem-solving, transparent data communication helps build trust and collaboration across all areas of a business. When stakeholders can clearly see the journey of attracting top early career talent – from initial engagement to final application – they gain a deeper appreciation for the strategic importance and symbiosis of each element of an Attraction campaign. This shared understanding helps to secure ongoing support, budget allocation, and organisational commitment to continuous improvement in future campaigns.  

From Insights to Action: How to Implement Learning in Future Campaigns 

Collecting data is only valuable if it translates into actionable improvements in future campaigns. To ensure the valuable insights gained from your data analysis leads to tangible change, Amberjack recommend: 

• Setting clear objectives for the next campaign – Use past data to refine your recruitment goals. Did you receive plenty of quality applications, but were looking for more female applicants? Realign your KPIs to ensure that your next campaign is set up accordingly.  
• Experimenting with new outreach methods – Test different marketing channels and utilise new content formats. Is there additional activity you can be doing in spaces where you’ve previously seen success?  
• Developing a feedback loop – Continuously gather input from candidates and stakeholders, to further refine your next campaign’s strategy.  
• Innovating! – Gen-Z are often early-adopters of new technologies and communication formats, so why wait until everyone else is doing something before dipping your toes in? Don’t be afraid to try out new things using insights you’ve gained from speaking to candidates, and from industry reports. 

How Continuous Improvement Drives Long-Term Talent Acquisition Success 

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result.” 

A commitment to continuous improvement is essential for staying ahead of the curve in early careers recruitment. Refining Attraction strategies over time leads to a stronger employer brand, as you reach more students where and how they want to be met. By improving your recruitment campaigns, you’ll also be able to benefit from improved efficiency, and a more robust talent pipeline.  

As candidate expectations evolve businesses need to stay agile, adapting their approach to meet changing preferences and industry trends. By consistently iterating on past experiences, organisations can enhance recruitment outcomes and build a competitive edge in talent acquisition.  

Looking Ahead: The Future of Early Careers Attraction Campaigns 

As the early careers landscape evolves, staying ahead of emerging trends is key to long-term success. The increased use of AI and automation will enable more efficient candidate matching, while personalised recruitment experiences will help tailor engagement to individual preferences, and more suitable candidates.  

Enhanced employer branding across digital platforms will become even more critical in attracting top talent, and a greater focus on diversity and inclusion will ensure equitable hiring practices. Companies that embrace data-driven decision-making will be well positioned to navigate these shifts in the market, whilst maintaining strong talent pipelines. 

Conclusion 

To summarise, data is the driving force behind successful early careers campaigns. By leveraging insights to refine strategies, improve engagement, and optimise recruitment efforts, employers can attract and retain top early career talent. 

At Amberjack, this is our bread and butter! If you’re looking to elevate your early careers Attraction strategy with a data-driven approach, our Attraction team is here to help. Get in touch today to discover how we can support you in creating impactful, results-focused campaigns to secure the early talent your business needs now and for the future.