Hiring entry level employees is an excellent opportunity for a company to train aspiring professionals to develop their skills on the job.
Most businesses require a portion of staff to be junior. And let’s face it, there’s no merit in paying employees to perform tasks they’re overqualified for! However, it’s also vital to ensure you’re using cost-effective recruitment strategies to attract the right candidates, such as a content writer for your website, who have the essential skills and qualities you require.
In this article, we’ll run through our tips for recruiting entry level employees to add value to your organization.
How to Attract High-Quality Junior Job Applicants
Recruitment carries costs and time burdens, so getting it spot-on will save you a great deal of work in the long run.
The first step to ensuring you’re satisfied with your new intake of employees is to weigh up exactly what you’re seeking and the most suitable employment structure. For example, you might investigate the advantages of hiring independent contractors as a cost comparison exercise before committing to a permanent employment offer.
Next, if you decide on an entry level hire, it’s time to assess how you recruit.
Creating Job Specifications for Entry Level Roles
Generic job postings don’t work. You’ll be bombarded with irrelevant applications which will take hours to search through to find the best candidates! Here are some tips for making sure your posting hits the right mark:
● Make it engaging! Explain the duties involved, the perks available, and the ethos of the business.
● Don’t restrict yourself to explaining the immediate vacancy but describe how entry level team members will contribute to business growth.
● Be clear about the personal qualities and skills you require. These are often just as vital as any educational criteria.
Given that most entry level jobs will have a broad remit and won’t demand a specific qualification, the more specific the job advert, the better the standard of applicants you’re likely to attract.
The Best Ways to Connect With Entry Level Candidates
Junior job applicants don’t always engage with conventional recruitment techniques. Businesses looking for outstanding applicants can leverage a range of strategies to connect with exceptional talent outside of mainstream recruitment advertising. Options include:
● Posting job positions online through recruitment platforms and freelance networks to broaden your potential audience.
● Attending job fairs or careers events to increase interest in your business and the opportunities available.
● Inviting candidates to open-house events to connect with your team and get a feel for how the organization operates.
● Pursuing recruitment routes through online communities and social media, such as evaluating online portfolios or published works showcasing individuals’ abilities.
By engaging with candidates where they are, you avoid creating vacancy adverts that don’t reach the applicants you’d like to hear from.
Entry Level Recruitment Tips for Business Interviews
Once you’ve short-listed your preferred candidates, you’ll need to move on to the interview process. There are a few variances from standard interview techniques since many junior employees may have little professional experience and find it impossible to respond to typical questions. For example:
● Use situational scenarios to frame questions rather than asking for real-life examples.
Applicants that haven’t worked in a business environment before will be better able to answer questions about how they’d deal with a hypothetical situation.
● Ask for background experience they have from outside of the workplace.
Volunteering, studies, and extracurricular activities may all contribute to your interviewee’s life experience.
● Design skills-based test assignments instead of looking for candidates with exact knowledge.
Junior candidates can demonstrate skills relevant to the position, so don’t shy away from setting a task if it’s appropriate for the vacancy you’re recruiting for.
Finally, we’d recommend elaborating about what your entry level role offers and the benefits available to your successful applicant. Showing junior employees that there’s potential for progression up the career ladder is an excellent way to attract attention from quality candidates. It means they’ll be invested in your business for the duration – long after they’ve moved up from an entry position.
