Persuading Employers to Hire Entry Level Candidates
Hello-
One of my challenges is that 90% of the students which I need to place have NO on-the-job training or work experience. They are green with only educational training and experience through school. Naturally, there are job orders which demand experience. However, many of the job orders I secure are "Borderline" as far as required "work experience". Any suggestions on how Placement can persuade an employer to invest in training candidates without experience if they are not budgeted for this or have been burned previously? Thanks for the input! Michele
Hi Michele
We think you have described most schools that offer entry level programs. The students have no experience. What to do? Any way of adding some kind of internship or externship program, mentoring, job shadowing? Anything that gives the students a feel and familiarity with the workplace? Makes them more comfortable? Any way to simulate the workplace if none of this is possible? Or add a practical component to each course that doesn't already have one. An extremely valuable solution when you come up with one. Best wishes, Susan
Develop internships so that students have a chance to be out in the work force and can list their intership as experience.
Great idea, Beth. Intern or externships are a great way for students to build their confidence and also their resumes. Many students have little or no experience to put on their resumes. An internship gives lots to write and talk about during interviews. The internship site can also look at the student intern like one long interview. At the end, if there is an opening, they are likely to consider the student for the job. Thanks, Susan
Hello,
One way that I have found to "entice" employers to consider our entry level graduates has been to involve them in our program advisory council. We bring area employers to our campus to participate in the review of the components of our course offerings in thier specific field. We are very open to listening to their suggestions with regard to content that would be beneficial to their organization. Through this process we offer a "customized" approach to their staffing needs.
Hi James, Really great idea. Most important is keeping in touch with employers and prospective employers. You'd be surprised how many times they will say yes to sitting on advisory boards, reviewing curriculum, helping with equipment, offering jobs, coming to the campus to hold mock and real interviews, and on and on. And yes, if you listen to them you'll enrich your curriculum so it meets the real needs of the workplace. They will see your school as THE place to turn to for work-ready staff. Thanks, Susan
Hi,
I have great results with employers by explaining our schools placement percent. I also encourage them to give our graduates a chance by letting them intern at their facility and after 30 days if they like what they see then they can hire them. I tell them it is a win win situation.
Hi Loretta, Yes, you have created a win-win situation. Very good. Talking with employers, placing student interns - these are a few of the many ways to keep in touch with employers and the community. There's a lot to learn about the effectiveness of your curriculum and placement services when you stay in touch with employers. Thanks, Susan
We send a packet of our course material and also an introduction letter about our placement services and how we can save them money by not having to advertise all the time. And also how they can save on their payroll by hiring entry level and being able to train them their way and not having to deal with bad habits from experienced commercial drivers. We also offer free additional training to our employers if our graduates need some in certain areas of their new career. A win, win for everybody!
Very good Jamie. We like what you say to employers. Hope you follow your information packet with a personal visit. Even during short visits it is possible to get and provide a lot of information. The additional free training is great. Why not use the skills you teach in the free training as part of the regular curriculum. Thanks, Susan
With the economy the way it is right, our school has more requests for interns then we have students in the senior class. The trick is how to get the company/business to hire these students when it really isn't in their budget at this time. Any suggestions?
Great opportunity, Maureen. Think of the situation as planting seeds. What you do now will yield results in the future and you might get a small flower along the way. Lots of internship openings can translate into lots of opportunities to develop and maintain relationships with the companies. Open a dialogue. How can you students be more work ready? What additional training can you provide that is needed at each workplace? Customize your programs so that the company has to hire your grads! If you keep communication open, as soon as there is a job opening, you'll be the first to know! It's about planting the seed to yield continually in the future. Thanks, Susan
One idea is to develope a post graduate volunteer program. This will allow the employer to "try before you buy" like an externship program. The best thing about this is that a graduate does not get rusty in their newly learned skill set while looking for work and the volunteer work could open a hiring opportunity, at the same time the employer can train an potential employee for free.
Hi Amy, Interesting concept about post graduate volunteer program. What was your decision about using the word volunteer rather than intern- or externship? We feel that internship says a lot and indicates that it is real work project. Sometimes even getting paid. We encourage schools to include externships as part of their training. And most programs lend themselves to this one way or another. This gives the student real work experience and usually something to put on their resumes as well. We also promote alumi associations. It's a great way to meet hiring decision makers (through grads) at local companies as well as other people who can assist you to prepare your students for the workplace. thanks, Susan
Susan,
We already have an externship program in place and it works fantastic. The problem I have seen is that after the completion of the externship and time has gone by while the graduates are looking for work they need to keep up on their skills for many reasons. One of the main reasons for such a program is for the graduates confidence and ability to interview better based on their continued work while volunteering. It is taking longer to secure an "In Field" position and I think this could help. What do you think?
This is a great idea. Typically we only have employers and graduates that are working "In Field" attend the Program Advisory Committee meeting but I feel this could really help the unemployed graduates that are involved and the employers.
You might want to consider offering special programs to unemployed graduates. Re-entering the job market, workshops to upgrade training, how to respond to questions about not being employed and more. Also offer internships. Just an idea. Susan
You brought up a good point, Amy. How to keep up the self confidence of grads who might lose their momentum if getting a job takes longer than they expect. They are at a fragile time. They completed all their studies and have the external and internal pressures of getting a job. So maybe continuing to offer "classes" on the job search and also skills is a great idea. Thanks, Susan
