Tips for Hiring College Students

Remember when you were a student? If you were anything like me, you had big dreams and little work experience. To recruit the best students for your business, keep these hiring ideas and tips in mind:

Students don’t have a lot of work experience. 
Even entry-level positions often seek candidates with experience, leaving many students wondering how they’re supposed to get that first job without it.

• Let students know that interest, ability and enthusiasm are just as valuable to your organization and that you provide training for candidates with potential.
• Remember that students are primed to learn – if they have the inclination and motivation, they will learn the job, whether it’s bartending or analyzing stocks. Assess students’ skills, interests and passions rather than past experience.
• Make job descriptions clear, interesting and relevant. Instead of posting a standard list of job duties, include information about the company’s values, mission and culture. Mention benefits, special programs and work-life balance. Explain any jargon you use. Describe the hiring process and tell applicants exactly how to apply.

Students are on the cutting-edge of technology.
Students are bombarded with information and don’t have a lot of time – so find them where they are by using social media and mobile apps to develop interest.

• Rather than using a faceless company account on Twitter, consider letting recruiters have individual accounts they can use to connect with students. Have a recent graduate blog or tweet about his or her daily work activities and give students an inside view.
• Encourage employees to join their online college alumni groups and post job openings and articles of interest there.
• Text students to remind them of campus meetings or webinars.

Students want meaningful work.
Students want to know that what they do matters – both in terms of gaining valuable experience and making a contribution to society.

• Show them what it’s like to work at the company and how it makes a difference in the community. Rather than fancy brochures, create YouTube videos in which positive employees talk about the company and their jobs.
• Excite students about the role they can play in a cool project – but only if it’s something they can actually get involved in if hired. Follow through on what you say.
• Consider what’s important to your candidates when designing recruiting activities. Organizing a philanthropy event or service day goes a long way to show students that “giving back” isn’t just rhetoric.

About Johanna Baum
Johanna Baum has helped many people, from high school and college students to Fortune 500 executives, transition to the next phase of their academic or professional development.  In addition to independent consulting, Johanna has been a counselor at the student career centers of Columbia University and Baruch College (CUNY) and coached analysts and their managers on Wall Street. A Certified NJ School Counselor and Certified Professional Resume Writer, Johanna graduated from Dartmouth College and has master’s degrees in Comparative Literature from the University of Pennsylvania and in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University.

Website: www.objectiveinsightconsulting.com