10 recruitment activities to create an engaged talent pipeline

1. Virtual talent summits

Virtual events have moved from pandemic workaround to permanent strategy. According to research compiled by EntrepreneursHQ, 81% of companies report better ROI from virtual events than physical ones. Hosts typically see 83% bigger turnouts compared to in-person, and conversion rates are 2.6 times higher.

The engagement numbers are strong too: participants are up to 80% more involved online, and 76% actively take part in polls, chats, or challenges during virtual events. Companies also save an average of $42,000 per event by going virtual.

2. Employee spotlight content

Your employees are more believable than your brand’s social accounts, and the numbers prove it. Social Media Today research shows that posts shared by employees get 800% more engagement than the same posts from brand accounts. The Edelman Trust Barometer found that employee voices are three times more credible than the CEO’s when talking about working conditions.

Candidates are actively seeking this content out. According to Capitilize, 80% of respondents look up social media profiles of current staff when applying for or considering a position. And research from Passive Secrets shows that 42% of candidates prefer video content to learn about company culture — a 60% jump since 2021.

Check out this video to see an example of what this looks like in action.

3. Webinars and "Chat & Learn" sessions

Webinars give you a chance to demonstrate expertise while engaging candidates in real time. Kaltura’s 2024 research found that 77% of marketers say virtual events outperform live events for lead generation and brand awareness. Attendees spend 27% longer at online events when you add interactive elements like Q&A and polls.

The key is making them useful beyond recruitment. A webinar on “How to break into product management” or “What hiring managers actually look for in technical interviews” provides value whether someone applies to your company or not. That goodwill builds your employer brand over time.

How to make it work: Use 77% of event planners’ approach and integrate polls, Q&A, or breakout rooms into your webinars. Record sessions so you can repurpose them as gated content for your talent community.

4. Hackathons and coding challenges

For technical roles, hackathons let you see candidates in action rather than relying on resumes and interviews. According to HackerEarth, 40% of companies now use hackathons as part of their recruitment strategy. Some HR managers report they can 11x their recruitment effectiveness through these events.

Hackathons also attract passive candidates who might not respond to a cold outreach but will show up for an interesting challenge. Case in point: Mercedes-Benz ran a 3-day CodeFest that brought in 110 participants, led to 40+ job interviews, and resulted in hires, all in a compressed timeframe.

How to make it work: Make challenges relevant to actual problems your team faces. This gives candidates a preview of the work while helping you assess problem-solving skills and collaboration style.

5. Talent community newsletters

Email still outperforms social for reaching your audience. According to 4 Corner Resources, the average organic reach for a LinkedIn brand post is around 2%. While the average email open rates for brands lies between 20% and 40%. That means email reaches 10 to 20 times more of your audience than organic social.

A well-run talent newsletter keeps you top of mind with candidates who aren’t yet ready to apply. PeopleScout notes that talent communities create decreased time to fill and cost of vacancy because candidates are waiting for jobs to be posted rather than recruiters waiting for candidates to apply. TTEC’s alumni newsletter won first place for Best Talent E-Newsletter in the 2024 Rally Awards by building a re-engageable community of former employees.

6. Social media takeovers by employees

Employee advocacy programs consistently outperform brand-only social strategies. GaggleAMP’s research shows that 73% of social media managers report employee advocacy doubles their brand’s social media engagement. The 2022 Employee Advocacy Benchmark Report found that having an employee advocacy program increases total social engagement by 25% to 40%.

The reach potential is significant: Clearview Social reports that employee advocacy can boost brand reach by up to 561% and increase engagement by 800% compared to brand accounts alone. And since 79% of job applicants use social media in their job search, this visibility matters.

7. Employee Resource Group (ERG) partnerships for recruiting

Your ERGs aren’t just valuable for employee engagement. They can be a powerful recruiting channel that actively supports inclusion goals. ERG members understand what it takes to thrive at your company, and candidates trust their perspective. According to McKinsey research, companies with effective ERGs see stronger inclusion outcomes, and inclusion directly impacts whether candidates accept offers and stay long-term.

ERG involvement in recruiting also signals to candidates that your commitment to inclusion goes beyond a statement on your careers page. When a candidate meets people who have built a successful career at your company, it’s more persuasive than any employer branding campaign. Deloitte’s research on inclusion found that inclusive teams outperform peers by 80% in team-based assessments. This message resonates with candidates evaluating where they want to work.

8. University and bootcamp partnerships

Campus recruiting pays off long-term. According to Aptitude Research Partners, employers who recruit on campus are three times more likely to improve retention and twice as likely to improve engagement and productivity. The challenge is only 30% of companies have processes in place to measure their campus recruiting efforts, which means most are missing out on optimization opportunities.

The investment goes beyond career fairs. Building relationships with professors, sponsoring student organizations, and creating internship pipelines all contribute to a stronger early-career talent funnel. Companies that track recruitment metrics see a threefold increase in retention and double employee engagement and productivity.

How to make it work: Don’t spread yourself too thin across dozens of schools. Focus on a handful of programs that align with your hiring needs, and build deep relationships with career services and relevant faculty.

9. Open office hours and "Ask Me Anything" sessions

Candidates pay attention to how you treat them during the hiring process; and they draw conclusions from it. Research shows that 95% of candidates agree that the way a potential employer treats them as a candidate reflects how they’d be treated as an employee.

Open office hours and AMAs give candidates a low-pressure way to learn about your company and ask questions. This is especially valuable given that seven in ten candidates reject one-way AI interviews, according to Huntr’s Q2 2025 report, reaffirming that human connection still matters.

10. Networking events (virtual and in-person)

Hiring events provide something that digital sourcing tools can’t replicate: genuine human connection. As Talroo notes, the ROI of events happens in the follow-up, as candidates are most engaged immediately after meeting your team in person or virtually.

The hybrid model is here to stay. 65% of event planners see hybrid events as the norm going forward, and 78% of companies plan to maintain or grow their virtual and hybrid event budgets. Revenue per attendee is actually 12% higher for virtual events than in-person, which means you don’t have to choose one format exclusively.

How to make it work: Follow up within 24 hours while candidates still remember you. Use the event as the start of the relationship, not a one-time interaction.

How to choose the right activities for your company

Not every activity makes sense for every company. Match your choices to your goals:

For brand awareness: Virtual summits, employee spotlights, social media takeovers, and webinars help you reach candidates who don’t know you yet.

For immediate pipeline building: Hackathons, networking events, and university partnerships generate candidates you can engage right away.

For niche or specialized roles: Webinars, hackathons, and AMA sessions with technical teams attract candidates with specific skill sets.

For long-term relationship building: Talent community newsletters, referral programs, and alumni networks keep you connected with candidates over months or years.

Whatever you choose, measure it. Only 30% of companies track their recruiting efforts, but those who do see dramatically better results, like three times better retention. Track cost per hire, time to fill, retention rate, and candidate quality for each activity so you know where to double down.

How PowerToFly helps you run high-impact recruitment activities

​Building an engaged talent pipeline takes time, strategy, and the right partners. PowerToFly works with companies to run recruitment events that actually move the needle, from virtual summits and networking sessions to employer branding campaigns that showcase your culture to diverse talent pools.

Whether you're looking to host your first virtual hiring event, build a talent community from scratch, or amplify your employer brand across channels, PowerToFly’s team can help you plan, execute, and measure results.

FAQs

How often should we run recruitment activities?

It depends on your hiring volume and team bandwidth. Most companies find success with one or two larger events per quarter (like a virtual summit or hackathon) supplemented by ongoing activities (like monthly newsletters and continuous referral campaigns). The key is consistency — sporadic efforts don’t build sustained relationships that fill pipelines.

What’s the ROI of recruitment events vs. job boards?

Virtual events report 81% better ROI than in-person, and sourced candidates are five times more likely to be hired than those who apply through job boards. Referrals alone lead to 45% lower cost-per-hire. While job boards still have a place in your strategy, relying on them exclusively means competing for the same small pool of active candidates as everyone else.

Can small companies run these activities effectively?

Absolutely. Many of these activities scale down easily. A small company might host a quarterly webinar, sponsor a university club, and publish a monthly newsletter, without a dedicated recruiting team. Employee spotlights and social media takeovers cost nothing but time. Start with one or two activities, measure what works, and expand from there.

How do we measure success for these activities?

Track the metrics that matter for your goals. For awareness activities, look at reach, engagement, and newsletter signups. For pipeline activities, track applications received, candidates added to your talent community, and interviews scheduled. Long-term, measure how many hires originated from each activity and their retention rates. Most ATS platforms can tag candidates by source to make this easier.

What if we don’t have a budget for events?

Start with zero-budget activities: employee spotlights on LinkedIn or virtual AMAs using free video tools. As you demonstrate results, you’ll have data to make the case for investment in larger activities.

How do we get employees to participate in advocacy and ERG recruiting efforts?

Make it easy and rewarding. For advocacy programs, provide employees with shareable content they’re proud of and recognize participation publicly. For ERG recruiting involvement, compensate members fairly for their time and make participation voluntary. Research shows that 86% of employees participating in advocacy programs say it positively impacted their careers, so lead with that benefit. For ERG members, emphasize the opportunity to shape who joins the team and help candidates from similar backgrounds navigate the process.