Smart Recruitment: Understandinig the Employment Destination to Create the Journey

Recently I had the privilege of moderating the “Smart Recruitment” session at the QS EduData Summit in Singapore. Our brief was simple but urgent: if we truly want to recruit smart, we must first understand where graduates are going—and then design the journey back from that destination. The conversation was energising, frank and deeply practical, and I left more convinced than ever that employability is now the organising principle for modern higher education.

What struck me most was the shared recognition that the world our graduates are entering is shifting faster than our traditional processes. We explored the uncomfortable reality that many of the roles Gen Alpha will occupy don’t yet exist, and that skills volatility outpaces curriculum review cycles in most institutions. That gap creates risk for students and for universities—but it also creates a mandate for smarter, data-led design.

Five takeaways I’m taking back to campus

1. Begin with labour-market truth, not institutional habit. Employers are signalling future skills needs in real time through job data and hiring behaviours. Bringing those signals to the heart of programme and recruitment decisions is no longer optional—and it must happen continuously, not in three-year bursts.

2. Measure what matters—holistically. CVs surface “first-bucket” skills; the differentiators live in the second: judgement, collaboration, adaptability, resilience. If we cannot evidence these attributes, we cannot credibly claim our graduates are ready. Innovative assessment methods and co-curricular transcripts are moving this from rhetoric to reality.

3. Design ethical, human-centred AI into recruitment. AI will automate routine screening and, if unchecked, will also automate bias. Guardrails, inclusive language, and transparent models are not add-ons; they’re core quality standards for fair access to opportunity.

4. Shorten the loop between data and action. We’re awash with dashboards but too slow to move. The institutions that win will be those that treat employability signals like revenue signals—triggering swift, accountable adjustments to programmes, careers support and outreach.

5. Recruitment is a service design problem. If two-thirds of graduates feel unprepared or unsure where to go, the answer is not just “more marketing.” It’s clearer pathways, stronger employer partnerships, and guidance that starts earlier and follows students longer. Marketing must be joined at the hip with careers, faculties and industry.

   
   

Gratitude to an outstanding panel

I was fortunate to learn alongside a superb group of practitioners and innovators who brought candour and craft to the discussion—spanning market intelligence, AI in hiring, new methods for assessing soft skills, and the structural barriers still embedded in screening systems. Their diverse perspectives helped us map the full journey: from signal to skill, from assessment to access, from data to decision.

Why this matters now

The employability conversation is not a side quest; it is central to our social licence. Students choose universities to transform their trajectory. If we cannot show, with evidence, that our graduates thrive—and explain how our curricula, support and partnerships make that possible—then our value proposition weakens. The work ahead is to build a living, breathing pipeline from employer demand to learner development, and to make that pipeline visible, measurable and fair.

My thanks to QS and to everyone who contributed in Singapore. The message was clear: smart recruitment is not just about attracting talent—it’s about designing futures with accountability. Let’s listen to the data, but more importantly, let’s move with it.

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