3 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring New Grads

459135441With graduation season underway, a new crop of graduates is about to burst onto the job market. Like many employers, you may be considering hiring one of them. And for good reason! They come with a number of benefits, including:

  • Fresh, new perspectives
  • Energy and enthusiasm
  • Long-term potential
  • Lower salary costs

To make sure the experience is positive for your company and your new grad, it’s important to avoid these three mistakes:

Mistake #1: Be quick to judge. According to a CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,500 hiring managers and HR professionals, 50 percent of employers decide within the first five minutes of an interview if a candidate is a good or poor fit for the position. Not so fast! When interviewing recent grads, offer grace. Interviewing can be nerve-racking, especially when it’s the first job post-graduation. Don’t let their nerves overshadow their skills and abilities.

There are a number of ways you can put your “green” applicants at ease:

  • Smile! While you are keeping an eye on the candidate’s body language, don’t forget your own!
  • Offer a glass of water or cup of coffee.
  • Take time to introduce yourself and the company before you begin firing off a list of questions.
  • Delay asking challenging questions until mid-way through the interview.

Mistake #2: Oversell the job. New grads often view the real world through rose-colored glasses. They are excited about their future and anxious to get started in their career. Their enthusiasm is contagious.

It’s important, however, to not let your own enthusiasm for the candidate lead to stretching the truth. Be upfront about the position and your company culture. There’s no sense in giving applicants a false sense of what to expect. This will only lead to dissatisfied employees, poor performance, and a high turnover rate.

Mistake #3: Skip onboarding. First impressions are everything. The last thing you want to do to is squash a new grad’s fervor through lack of preparation. While a solid onboarding program is important for every employee, it’s especially important for those new to the workforce. If you don’t have an onboarding plan in place, take time to put one together before hiring.

Your job doesn’t end once the new hire accepts the job – in fact, it just begins! An effective onboarding program includes early career support, an orientation to your company culture, a training schedule, and activities that enable your new hire to build relationships within your organization.

It’s important to remember that new graduates often require lengthier onboarding and more handholding, but investing your time and resources will have big pay-off!

Ronda Erickson

Ronda Erickson
Ronda Erickson is VP of contingent workforce operations at Atterro Inc.

Ronda Erickson

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2 Responses to “3 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring New Grads”

  1. […] Read a snippet below or visit The Staffing Stream to read the full article. […]

  2. Sughania Calist says:

    Well written  🙂 Be it permanent positions or temp hires these tips are going to come in handy. thank you.
    And for any of you looking for a job, do be known about TrimOrg that can help you reach the right recruiter.

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