Hiring interns and entry-level employees can be useful for any growing business. These hires are more affordable, and when you hire strategically, you can often gain long-term commitment from the entry-level employee.
Hiring interns and entry-level employees also helps you evaluate the skills of your new hires before placing them into more serious roles. However, making these hires can be tricky as they don’t always have much experience or industry knowledge. Here are some tips and tactics to help you hire the best interns and entry-level employees.
Follow the Full Recruitment Process
Just because you’re hiring an intern, it doesn’t mean your hiring process should be more laid back. Make sure that any employee your company takes on has to go through similar recruitment steps. This should involve a thorough review of their CV, a skills analysis, and in-depth interviews. The purpose of this is not to make the hiring process difficult. Being thorough with your recruitment process helps you identify the skills and knowledge the new hire has, and what areas you can focus on during training.
Offer Paid Internships
If you’re hiring interns, make sure you pay them properly. This shows interns that you value them and are invested in their growth. In return, you should expect to see better output from the intern. You could also offer new employees extra perks over time, like a cellphone contract or private healthcare benefits. This will help you get a greater commitment from the new hires.
Focus On Skills
When you hire interns or entry-level employees, you can’t expect them to have much (or any) experience. So, when creating the job descriptions, focus on the skills required for the position. This will help you hire the right people with the right skills, as opposed to just hiring someone with a relevant educational background. You can do a skills test during the recruitment process to help you assess this.
Make Interns Feel Like Part of the Company
When you hire interns or entry-level employees, submerge them into the company just like you would with any other employee. Invite them to company events and meetings, make sure they understand all the different operational areas of the business, and make them feel like they’re an important part of your company.
Create a Detailed Onboarding Program
A thorough onboarding program is essential for hiring entry-level employees and interns. Provide a thorough orientation program where fresh hires can understand their role, how the business works, and what is expected of them. This makes it easier for the new hires to get started, and it helps them produce consistency in their work.
Being thorough in your recruitment and onboarding processes will help you hire the best possible interns and entry-level employees with the right skills for your business. This can provide any kind of business with a lot of value, as long as the new hire is properly trained and committed to growing in their role.
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