When it comes to early careers recruitment, data is power. But only if it flows both ways. Too often, employers and universities are working with incomplete pictures.
Students move through application funnels without their university ever knowing how far they progressed or why they dropped out. Meanwhile, employers struggle to extract meaningful insight from their applicant tracking systems (ATS) to report back to partners.
ISE members including AMS, Pathway CTM, Sten 10, Fourthwall, Amberjack and Gradconsult got together at this year’s Student Recruitment Conference to explore solutions and discuss how employers and universities can share data for mutual benefit.
To demonstrate true impact, we need smarter, more collaborative approaches to student data sharing.
1. An Open API is a game changer
Some forward-thinking employers are already adopting open APIs that allow universities to see real-time updates on their students’ progress. This type of integration gives university career services better visibility - not just on applications submitted, but on where students succeed or struggle throughout the hiring journey.
Imagine being able to track how students from a specific degree programme perform at assessment centre stage or how many made it to final round interviews. That’s the level of insight that changes outcomes.
2. Regular reporting enables early intervention
Some employers already provide post-event reports to universities - highlighting engagement at events, application volumes, and outcomes.
These snapshots help universities identify trends, skill gaps, and opportunities for targeted intervention (e.g. extra prep sessions for video interviews or psychometric tests).
Employers like FDM and Enterprise are leading the way here, working closely with universities to show where students are exiting the funnel. It’s not about naming and shaming, it’s about empowering support.
3. Breaking down the process step by step
Universities don’t just want to know who got hired, they want to understand why others didn’t.
Employers who can provide breakdowns of each stage of the recruitment process (e.g. drop-off rates at online tests, video interviews, assessment centres) allow career services to better prepare future cohorts.
This is not just good for students, it’s good for your future pipeline.
4. Overcoming employer tech limitations
From the employer side, the reality is that many ATS platforms aren’t built to share data easily. They’re clunky, closed, and designed more for compliance than collaboration.
Still, there are ways around this. Employers can:
- Work with vendors to create custom reports
- Manually extract key metrics
- Publish anonymised outcomes by university cohort
- Even publishing basic attendance data on your website (e.g. gender, ethnicity, course, and level of study from career fair events) helps universities track engagement and impact.
5. Sharing data builds trust and value
Let’s be clear: universities aren’t asking for personal student data or confidential insights. They’re asking for aggregated, anonymised feedback that helps them do their jobs better.
By sharing this kind of information, employers:
- Deepen partnerships with key university stakeholders
- Strengthen campus brand and visibility
- Improve candidate readiness, which boosts conversion
6. Turning data into influence
Many universities are now building their own ‘employer league tables’, tracking which companies hire the most students, and from which courses. These tables aren’t just for internal pride, they help inform students’ choices, highlight top recruiters, and showcase where demand lies.
Employers that contribute to this data exchange are more likely to stay top-of-mind and be invited back to future events, panels, and collaborative initiatives.
Data isn’t just about numbers, it’s about insight, action, and impact. By working together, universities and employers can turn recruitment into a truly collaborative ecosystem where student outcomes improve, employer pipelines strengthen, and no one’s left wondering what happened after ‘apply now’.
The future of early careers isn’t just about great candidates. It’s about great collaboration.