In the past, we have had a lot of new cadets from word of mouth - and numbers on the books was around 70. However, numbers are now around 30 on books - we have updated our website, got on Twitter and done some school assemblies. We’ve been trying to get the cadets out and about so that their word of mouth will start to spread again at school. Particularly, we have no 12 or 13 year olds at all - what’s the best way to attact these ages?
What has everyone else found to be a useful recruitment method?
Thanks for any thoughts - many heads are better than one after all!!
Looks like the usual roller coaster of squadron strengths to me.
You seem to be doing the normal things to promote yourself and get people interested. But don’t just do the online, do something and put it in the local papers, with a piccie. More people, especially if they are free delivery, who influence youngsters read these than use any of the more modern methods. One of our local papers gets put through 9500 or so doors each week. There’s little point in having loads of “followers/friends” on social media if they don’t live in your catchment area.
I’ve been through any number of periods of growth for no apparent reason and similarly shrunk. I’ve had staff go around like a cross between Cpl Jones and Private Fraser when we’ve lost a few and find my apparent lack of concern bewildering. As long as you are, in these times of our USPs being somewhat lacking, providing an interesting experience, it will pick up.
I’ve got a similar situation at my squadron, hense recent posts about recruitment posters, but I’m starting to think it’s pointless constantly pussing to get cadets to talk to their friends etc, and that its better to just focus on giving the current cadets an awesome experience and hope that that then reverberates through their social networks (on and off line)
We visited the school, did a 15 minute presentation, handed out a information leaflet with our details on it and we got about 12 new recruits out of it and an additional 7 that turned up for a few nights and decided it wasnt for them.
Our attendance went up from 15 to 27, we’ve retained 12.
It was the first time since I’ve been on the sqn (10years) that we’ve done a presentation - previously we’d only shown face at the careers night with a stand.
P.S - It’s worth noting that nine of those cadets are 12 (2nd year) and two were 13 and the other is 15.