Recruiting: Advertising

You can advertise your opportunity for free on our student jobs portal, myAdvantage

If you are a new user, registration only takes a few minutes here. Your registration will be verified by a member of the Employer Connect team before it is made visible to students. All advertisements are subject to approval by Employer Connect and must be compliant with our Vacancy Advertising Code of Practice and our Employer Engagement Code of Practice.

In line with our Vacancy Advertising Code, we are not able to approve an employer registration if the employer is a private individual or sole trader and we will not advertise roles directly employed in a private home by the home owner or tenant.

The advertising code includes that students should be paid at UK National Minimum Wage or above (or the National Living Wage for student aged 21+). There is a policy exception, however, where the opportunity is limited to applicants from a named Warwick course that incorporates a placement, for the purpose of providing that placement. To be aware that some students will not be in a position to undertake an unpaid opportunity.

Remote working opportunities can be advertised provided they treat students equally to other staff in areas including health, safety and welfare and include a clear indication in the title and advert details that the role will work remotely. When designing and recruiting to a remote working role we advise employers to consider our guidance and for hybrid working refer information from ACAS.

Please ensure you have read the advertising code and that your advert is compliant with this.

You can use the vacancy template to draft your opportunity - the notes below may also be helpful.

You can publish your advert for free.

Historically we have seen a pattern of vacancies being most viewed during the months of October-November, followed by February-April, with the least amount of views during December, July and August.

Essential Information: Warwick’s student jobs portal , myAdvantage, asks for the following basic information:

Vacancy title descriptive of the work involved
Remuneration (specifying pay and expenses separately) and benefits
Proposed start date and duration
Hours and working pattern - full-time, part-time, hybrid, remote, (Please consider European Working Time regulations)
Location and website address
Attention-grabbing summary in terms of the role and who you are as an organisation and what you do (this will be seen when students are viewing search results).
Closing date
Admin contact details (from your organisation's list of contacts on myAdvantage)
Visible contact details (from your organisation's list of contacts on myAdvantage)

Job Description:

It is likely that you will have written this first, based on your business needs now and in the future
Include the purpose of the role, what the company does, any information about the team and strategic fit,
Key or illustrative duties and responsibilities, project purpose/objectives, key tasks, output and deliverables
Line management reporting arrangements and team
State if a DBS check will be required, who will be paying for this and any associated costs. You are also required to tell the applicant where they can seek independent advice about DBS checks

Person Specification:

At an appropriate level (skills and experience) for the job description and the student cohort
Include realistic qualifications, skills (technical, transferable, digital), experience, attributes, behaviours and strengths that will deliver the desired outcomes and success in a role
Divide clearly into Essential and Desirable criteria. With the exception of technical roles or skills, be careful about making a degree subject an Essential criteria, as you may miss out on appointable candidates from other disciplines – many students have built up knowledge and skills outside of their degree course. Identify transferable skills.
Map to the same skills/competencies as in your graduate or experienced roles, to enable ease of progression
Explain how to apply, with clear instructions e.g. "A single page cover letter, plus CV" or "Via our application portal".

You will need these details to advertise to our students, but the following details will attract the best possible applicants and enable unsuitable candidates to self-select themselves out of the process. Remember to balance enough details to understand the role and your company.

Benefits of undertaking this role, at this organisation – imagine that you are student and ask yourself, “What’s in it for me?” - autonomy, responsibility, purpose, solve problems, create impact, development, visibility, team aspect, part of a changing and growing business, flexible working.
Training and development opportunities, particularly to bridge gap between requirements of the job description and initial person specification, especially if it is a shorter opportunity. These might include an induction with H&S, review meetings and opportunity to give and receive feedback, having a buddy, joining more senior meetings, working with clients, having a mentor and on the job training.
Shorter opportunities, or those that are project-based, read well as 'development opportunities'
Organisational/sector context
Transport available or required
Location, if travel is required, hybrid working and how supported, flexible working
Equipment and software provided or required as well as allowable expenses
Potential for progression, especially where you might offer a graduate role at a later point. For information on employing graduating international students' post-study, see GOV.UK information for the Graduate Route.
Description of the recruitment process, what is being assessed, timeline and if expenses are provided and feedback available.
In order to prompt applications from a wider applicant pool you may wish to consider; the language used is inclusive, avoid jargon, understand if reasonable adjustments are required, share if feedback is offered and if your role is for 12 months, you may wish to include University information about temporary withdrawal.
Social aspects and if the employer is committed to voluntary, charity and community work
Look and feel of your organisation - values, culture and its people and demonstration of areas around work life balance, EDI and sustainability
Hear from employees about what it was like to work there
Contact details for pre-application enquiries

Next: Shortlisting Previous: Recruiting

Job Design

To support in creating good quality work for both the employee and your organisation, here is a factsheet on Job Design provided by the CIPD. In addition, to support in further considering the responsibilities, skills and salary for a role, visit Prospects UK to see similar job profiles. Consider if current intern/placement students can provide valuable insight into the project/role.

Ensure your job advert and requirements are checked for bias or risk significantly reducing the talent pool - you can always check via a gender bias de-coder.