2 Reasons Application Dates Are Changing

Posted by Resh Perera

Blog

We’ve seen a number of changes take shape in the graduate industry over the last 8 years. One of the more interesting developments we’ve witnessed is the shift in timing for application periods.

Traditionally employers have opened their applications in late February to early March and closed in early April. Based on what we’ve seen over the years, we believe these changes are mainly due to the following two reasons:

1. New attraction methods have created greater flexibility

With traditional forms of attraction methods print media there was a very set time frame that graduate employers had to work with to promote their programs. You had to submit your content and application dates by an early deadline and then past this point your details couldn’t be changed.

With online resources it has enabled a greater flexibility to submit your content and dates on your own terms and edit it along the way based of the campaign performance.

2. Greater flexibility has created new options

With the flexibility of online resources, we have actually seen an increase in employers moving out of those peak recruitment months of February – April and choosing to open applications later in the year in June -August. This is driven by two key factors; some employers don’t want to fight the noise of the peak season and other employers find that two intakes allow them to top up on their initial intake.

From our own analysis we can see that 33% of all graduate employers now open their applications in the second half of the year and we expect this number to increase again this year. And from the feedback we gather from employers we find that there is no difference in quality of graduates hired from a second intake.

If you’re interested in see when employers across Australia open and close their application, you can check out our calendar here.


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