As new college graduates leave the halls of learning for the halls of work, they bring their fresh new perspectives and understanding of the world with them. Employers who fail to change along with the views of their new hires risk losing the best and brightest minds to competitors who will train and nurture these new grads – and reap the benefits of their service for years.
To avoid getting left behind in the search for young and brilliant talent, stay up-to-date in the art of hiring. Identify and avoid these common hiring mistakes to stand out as the premier place for new talent:
- Don’t prize past experience over current trainability. New graduates rarely have past experience to boast of. They have, however, proven that they can learn – which means they’ve proven they can be trained. Instead of focusing on what new graduates have done, focus on how they learn. Talk to them about your training process and ask questions that evaluate how their learning style fits with your company’s methods of cultivating talent.
- Don’t limit entry to a formal internship program. Formal internship programs offer companies much in the way of evaluation, training, and connections with new graduates. But companies that do not avail themselves of other options, like informal job-shadowing and mentoring programs, lose promising candidates who are participating in other internship programs or who have other summer and semester plans. Reach out in multiple, flexible ways to connect with the best new talent.
- Don’t ignore flexible work arrangements – or forget to talk about them. The Millennial generation prizes a work-life balance. Young workers and new graduates are used to hard work and are willing to work hard to get what they want – but part of what they want is the ability to work more flexibly than their predecessors, and their comfort with technology allows them to be productive even when they’re away from the office. Take the opportunity to offer more flexible work arrangements that keep your young employees busy even when they’re away, and offer this flexibility as a key selling point when attracting the attention of new graduates.
- Don’t forget to talk to your recruiter. Staffing firms don’t just work with established professionals. They also help companies connect with new graduates and promising young workers. Talk to your recruiter about the best ways to connect with the Millennial generation and to find the people you need when you need them.
At THE RIGHT STAFF, LLC, our experienced staffing partners can help you create a hiring process that identifies the best candidates for your organization without sacrificing efficiency. Contact us today to learn more about our staffing services in the Twin Cities.
