Early careers content is often tucked away on a firm’s main website, posing challenges when engaging media-savvy, brand-conscious Gen Z students. Grahame Jones, of Soukias Jones, explores the creative digital solutions to boost engagement.

The wave of content surrounding the 80th anniversary of VE Day was relentless—TV, radio, press, social media. Many of us instinctively tuned out. This is not unlike how students react during graduate recruitment season when campaigns start to blend into one.

Yet amid that noise, a digital story in The Times on VE Day caught my attention. Produced using the digital storytelling platform Shorthand, it stunned with its beautiful visuals and immersive design, unfolding dynamically as I scrolled. I read every word.

That’s the gold standard for any communications professional—content that captivates to the very end.

Long-form storytelling remains a powerful tool, but corporate website templates are often rigid and geared toward C-suite stakeholders, not Gen Z users.

The challenge for graduate recruiters is clear: how can we elevate our authentic content to create immersive, visually engaging experiences that resonate?

Digital publishing platforms: a powerful alternative

No-code platforms like Shorthand, Foleon, Ceros, Vev, Canva, and Turtl offer intuitive ways to build interactive, media-rich content without relying heavily on developers.

These platforms enable recruitment teams to craft narrative-driven stories with modern design elements—exactly the kind of content Gen Z engages with.

While graphic designers can enhance the visual polish, these tools are accessible to non-specialists. With time and training, recruitment and marketing teams can produce visually striking content through drag-and-drop interfaces.

These platforms also deliver detailed analytics—such as scroll depth and time on page—giving insight into what’s working and where to optimise it’s content strategy with built-in feedback loops.

Some law firms are already embracing this approach. Simmons & Simmons and Taylor Wessing, for example, have brought their graduate stories to life using Foleon. So too is the construction consultancy Gleeds.

And universities, like Leeds Trinity University, are transitioning to digital-only prospectuses—ditching print and clunky PDFs for sustainability and user experience. Universities are also using interactive brochures to tell other stories. University of Bath uses Shorthand to feature their philanthropy activities and University of Essex to showcase how it has created one of the world’s sustainable business schools.

This ‘scrollytelling’ approach—rich in animation, video, and audio—has become a natural fit for today’s attention economy.

Microsites: tailored experiences with creative freedom

Microsites offer another powerful route. They provide a flexible, bespoke space where design and messaging can be tailored specifically to early talent audiences.

In the recent study from Soukias Jones of the Top 50 UK law firms, we found that higher-performing firms—those rated six or above in our qualitative assessment—tended to use microsites for graduate recruitment. This is no coincidence.

Corporate websites serve many audiences, often resulting in safe, diluted messaging. Microsites allow teams to break free of these constraints and build student-focused experiences with personality and flair.

Take our work with Marriott Harrison. The graduate microsite we created ‘Space to’ presents a compelling brand proposition, spotlighting how the firm gives graduates space to grow, contribute, and succeed.

Being untethered from the main site gave us the freedom to evolve the theme each year, and on each occasion push the bold visuals, modern design, and lifestyle imagery to project a vibrant and forward-thinking firm.

Beyond creativity, microsites offer practical benefits too. With smart SEO and campaign integration (think Google Ads and social media), a well-optimised microsite becomes a high-performing, conversion-friendly hub for graduate attraction.

Today’s early talent audiences are digital natives. To reach them, employers need to meet them on their terms – with visually engaging, mobile-first, and interactive content.

Whether through digital publishing platforms or dedicated microsites, there are now more tools than ever to create compelling, story-driven experiences that cut through the noise and build lasting connections.

This is a reprint of an article first published on 12th June by Institute of Student Employers