Edelman opens up grad scheme to non-graduates

Edelman has opened its UK grad scheme to non-graduates and encourages applicants to take a series of online challenges.

Edelman Beta will be open to anyone aged 16 and over and wants to be open to school leavers, return-to-workers, those changing careers, and those from creative rather than only to those in academic backgrounds.

The change reflects Edelman’s commitment to searching for the best talent to better solve clients’ business challenges in the ‘ever-changing communications landscape’.

A specially created website shows UK CEO Ed Williams (pictured) urging those who would like to apply to go on an online hunt. The hunt takes respondents through a series of challenges across multiple social media platforms and apps, as well as popular websites to find a code that allows them to apply and be considered for the scheme.

The entire journey for applicants was created and produced in-house.

On assessment day, candidates will take part in an immersive workshop and skills-based tasks, testing their courage to do the right thing and pursuit of excellence.  Successful candidates will join a bespoke rotational scheme taking in Edelman’s range of creative, brand, corporate reputation and production capabilities.

Williams said: “In today’s interconnected world, businesses simply cannot afford to simply follow the status-quo and that includes how they attract the best talent. We are therefore bringing the job hunt to life by calling on our newest applicants to find the job – literally. By challenging candidates to apply in such a creative and digitally-led way, we are giving them the opportunity to show they understand the changing world of communications – setting them up for success from the moment they walk through our doors.”

He added: “Brands and businesses recognise the multiformity of their customer base, and as a communications agency, we need to reflect this. We want to attract a more diverse set of applicants who will help us think differently and originally, and ensure we’re even better equipped to solve our clients’ business challenges. We called the scheme Beta for a reason. It’s a label usually given to software in testing, and just as Edelman is testing the candidates, they’ll also be testing and challenging us.”

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