Last week, VideoMyJob and GradConnection hosted an insightful webinar featuring three graduate recruitment leaders who participated in our Story Feed Pilot Program, designed to build a library of engaging employee videos hosted right on their GradConnection page.
Natalie Gibbons from Westpac, Liam Brown from Grant Thornton and Poncho Rivera-Pavon from Deloitte shared their experiences using VideoMyJob to create authentic employee video content to help attract and engage top grad talent.
Westpac's Missing Piece
Despite having a strong, recognisable brand with their “Uncommon Minds” campaign running for four years, Natalie explained that Westpac was missing a crucial element: authentic, short-form video content created by graduates themselves.
“That was really our missing puzzle piece. That self-serve format. If a grad applicant wanted to pop onto the website and watch a video at their leisure, we didn't have anything on demand,” says Natalie.
Deloitte's Resource Bottleneck
For Poncho, the issue was a common challenge that even well-resourced organisations face. While fortunate to have access to video production teams, the traditional approach was slow and created bottlenecks. He could produce around three videos per week working independently, but with a desire to share dozens of grad stories, this wasn’t going to cut it.
“With (VideoMyJob), it really helped us to create a lot of content really, really quick,” he notes.
Grant Thornton's DIY Struggles
Similarly for Liam, previous attempts to create grad-generated day-in-the-life videos had proven logistically challenging.
“It was really just myself working with our marketing team,” says Liam. “The ability to put branding on those videos, get them in a timely manner from our graduates and then posting them was the really tricky thing.
“So having the VMJ platform, we just cast the net wide. Being able to do it quickly, having the branding hover over so easily – it was something really attractive for us.”
Getting grads on camera? No problem
Perhaps unsurprisingly, all three organisations had no issue finding enthusiastic grads who were happy to jump on camera, with some even having to close applications early due to overwhelming interest.
Poncho recalls sending a simple email to graduates on a first-come, first-served basis for 30 spots, only to receive far more applications than expected, while Natalie had over a third of their graduate cohort volunteer within an hour of sending the request.
“It was that authenticity piece that really appealed to them,” says Natalie.
“I think with a lot of grads these days, that polished, scripted, rehearsed element – it doesn't fly. So the fact that they were able to really be themselves, not having to rely on prompts and lighting and things like that, I think it just made the process a lot more real and therefore a lot more attractive for them to get involved.”
Some participants initially worried about creating polished content, but once they understood the authentic approach, engagement increased significantly. This authentic storytelling appealed to graduates' desire to give back and help future applicants navigate the job search process; something they could all relate to from their own recent experiences.
Measurable Impact Across Key Metrics
Natalie emphasised how the results validated their investment, with positive increases across all key metrics including viewing time, candidate experience scores, click-through rates and application rates through GradConnection.
Westpac saw a 100% increase in content engagement, while Deloitte enjoyed a 58% increase in applications.
The statistics were compelling enough to influence other organisations' decisions, with Liam citing a case study showing Deloitte's 125% increase in engagement on the GradConnection platform as a key factor in Grant Thornton's decision to hop on board.
Improved Candidate Quality and Engagement
Liam reported a noticeable improvement in candidate quality compared to previous years, with more informed and engaged applicants. He could trace better-quality applications back to candidates who had accessed their video content, demonstrating a clear correlation between video engagement and application quality.
An unexpected bonus was the recognition factor.
“We sometimes have students come to an assessment centre and see someone that was maybe featured in one of our videos and they double take and go, hang on, I reckon I know you from somewhere.”
Internal Benefits
Beyond external impact, all three organisations noted positive internal effects. Graduates found the filming process easy and enjoyable, preferring the flexibility of recording at their own pace in comfortable locations rather than formal studio settings. This contributed to employee engagement and retention within graduate cohorts.
Building the Business Case
Knowing that getting buy-in is often where any new program falls over, all three found being able to demonstrate that authentic content increases candidate engagement, along with proving the cost savings on studio production, was the key.
“Obviously, we all know that it's hard to get anything over the line, however, we always look for ways to evolve our program and maximise candidate experience,” says Natalie.
“None of us are immune to the fact that we're dealing with digital natives. We need to be getting this short, sharp content available en masse. So the fact that grads and alumni were able to record it themselves, along with a big tick in terms of saving some studio dollars on record – that really helped our business case.”
For Liam being able to point to the earlier successes of Poncho and the team at Deloitte made it a no-brainer.
“Looking at those statistics, that was a really big sell and a big driver for the business to jump on board,” he says. “It’d be silly not to.”
Early Adoption Advantage
Being one of the first to join the Pilot, Poncho's strategy was refreshingly straightforward: recognising the content creation efficiency gains available. His team calculated that whilst traditional methods might produce three videos per week, this approach could generate hundreds of videos in a matter of days.
Through hearing from three leading grad employers, we see that authentic, grad-created video content delivers on multiple fronts: resonating with candidates, driving measurable improvements in engagement and application quality, while also boosting internal employee engagement. The combination of enthusiastic participation, streamlined production and impressive results creates a compelling case for authentic video content in graduate recruitment.
In the words of Poncho – “it just makes a lot of sense.”
Thanks so much to each of our panelists for sharing their experiences. You can see their branded video libraries in action on their GradConnection employer profile pages here:
If you’d like to learn more about how you can join our next Pilot Program, book a time with us here. We'd love to support you and your graduate program goals!