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Live at IHR Manchester: How Handshake Is Transforming Early Talent Hiring with Peter O'Rourke

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About this episode

Nitin Sharma and co-host Sean Kennedy speak with Peter O'Rourke from Handshake at IHR Manchester about transforming early talent hiring. Peter explains how Handshake moves beyond a traditional job board, using its platform of over one million students to enable precision hiring and build meaningful relationships with future talent before graduation. The discussion covers why graduate recruitment is broken for many employers, how to reduce application overload whilst improving candidate quality, and the role of skills, extracurricular activities and employer branding in attracting the next generation.

The episode features a follow-up discussion with three University of Liverpool students—Noor, Mary and Yusuf—who share their perspective on entering today's job market. They discuss the frustrations of generic hiring processes, the importance of personalisation and networking, and why resilience matters for job seekers. Together, the conversation explores how employers can better engage Generation Z talent through meaningful interaction and relationship building rather than volume-based recruitment.

Key takeaways

  • Graduate recruitment is broken: many employers receive thousands of applications but make very few hires, leaving candidates feeling like just another application.
  • Personalised recruitment experiences and meaningful employer interaction before applying create better outcomes and stronger candidate quality than volume-based hiring.
  • Employers should invest in graduates through long-term talent strategies, employer branding and relationship building rather than focusing solely on salary savings.
  • Students stand out through skills, extracurricular activities and personal interests alongside traditional experience; consistency and resilience are critical job-seeking skills.
  • AI, automation and remote work are reshaping early careers, requiring employers to rethink how they build graduate pipelines and engage Generation Z talent.

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