How to recruit trainees, graduates & apprentices

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1 How to recruit trainees, graduates & apprentices Advice featured in:

2 how to recruit trainees, graduates & apprentices Business owners are currently facing recruitment challenges that have never been seen before. Though youth unemployment is at a record high and more people than ever are out of work, there is still a reluctance amongst business leaders to employ young people. In 2012, the CIPD found that 1 in 4 employers hadn t recruited a year old in the past year, and 1 in 10 organisations noted a decline in the number of new young people that they took on. Whilst it s true that effective organisations still need experienced individuals with a strong skillset to drive their business forward, recruiting young people can be a valuable element of a holistic and sensible strategy. With the right mix of young talent and experienced professionals, companies are best placed for success. Bringing young talent into a business affords many benefits, and could be a savvy move for the future development of your company. Here are just a few reasons why you might want to focus on this talent pool: Only recruiting young staff is not the way forward. This is sometimes the indicator of a control-orientated business leader who recruits younger people simply because they will not question authority or be aware of their employment rights. It s very important to strike an effective balance and have a recruitment strategy that is inclusive and equal. Young people bring in fresh ideas and new skills You can build a strong pipeline for future leadership Developing young people can be cheaper than bringing in experienced staff It can improve your employer brand Of course it can be difficult to develop the appropriate processes to allow you to find and keep young people, especially if you aren t an HR professional with vast experience. In this guide, we look at steps that you can take throughout the recruitment process to help bring young talent into your business, with practical tips for you to put into action. 2

3 Step 1: attracting young talent to your business The very first stage of the process is getting your job vacancies out there in a way that will reach young people and get them excited about what you have to offer. The younger generation tends to go about job search in a different way to more experienced workers, so it s important that you consider their habits and preferences. Here are some ways to get your vacancies in front of young people: Decide what type of employer you are Employers are better, different, or pay more. Determine where you fit amidst your competitors to allow you to focus your communication. In part, this involves understanding your target audience and their requirements. To recoup the cost of training you need to hold onto your staff and therefore must pay someone what they are worth. But look beyond salary at the bigger picture, which includes training and progression. Review the content of your adverts When young people read your vacancies, they ll quickly decide whether or not the role is for them. Consequently it s important that you use appropriate language and important that you use appropriate language that is congruent with what you can offer. Perhaps also consider focusing on ability and personality traits rather than experience. Imagine, for example, that you re recruiting for an administrative assistant. If you state that 5 years experience is essential, you re already eliminating a large proportion of school and university leavers. Think about whether experience is really necessary for the role, or if you could offer on-the-job training to get someone up to speed quickly. It could also be a wise move to include the word trainee in the job title. Steer clear of junior, though, as this could lead you to fall foul of age discrimination legislation. Terms such as school/ college leaver could also cause problems, so try to avoid wherever possible. Before you advertise, develop efficient recruitment processes Recruitment Genius already assists you with intelligent ranking algorithms; automated video and telephone interviewing; distribution of application forms; and managing all communication. However, if you do not benefit from our service, be prepared to receive and to have to deal with a large response. Advertise on all the UK s best job boards On average 93% of job seekers visit online job boards first before considering any other source 3

4 (and this figure is likely to be higher for generation Y, who are net natives). The biggest challenge is choosing which of the 3,000+ job boards to advertise on. Unfortunately, because applicants only visit a minority of sites, you need a large budget to broadcast your message effectively. However, to save you money we recommend avoiding specific graduate job boards as none seem to have dominance. If your budget is limited, or you do not want the hassle of negotiating rates with lots of job boards and then placing the advert, services such as Recruitment Genius are an excellent option. For a flat-fee of 199 we can advertise your vacancy on all the UK s best job boards. This is both far cheaper and much easier than going direct to each site yourself. Consider social media Social media is a relatively new recruitment channel. Whilst it should never be your only method, it makes sound business sense to add it to your toolkit. Not only is it a cost effective way to reach people all over the globe with news of your recruitment drives, it s also a great way to reach young people. Having said that, this approach should be used with care. You should develop clear guidelines for the use of social media in your business, and there should be clarity as to the sort of messages and information that you want to send out. After all, your online activity will have a direct impact on your brand. Recruitment Genius already has a significant social media presence, with nearly 50,000 fans on Facebook and nearly 10,000 followers on Twitter. However, achieving this took a significant investment in terms of time to generate content that attracts and engages with job seekers, and only after a few years are our clients seeing the benefits. Get out and meet young people face-to-face Meeting young people and having the chance to tell them about your job opportunities is a great way to pique their interest and encourage applications. There might be graduate recruitment fairs in your area that you can attend and present at, or local schools, colleges, and universities may invite business leaders to come in and talk to their students. Make sure that you know what s available and take advantage of it. Create specific schemes that attract young people While it s possible to attract interest from young people for your general roles, some businesses decide to take it a step further and offer specific programmes. A graduate scheme, for example, or an apprenticeship scheme, is a good way to bring in young people for a specific purpose. Seek out national apprenticeship schemes and establish whether you could work with them to develop a talent pipeline for your business. If you do decide to use an external company or scheme, it is advisable that you still source the recruits yourself and simply inform the organisation of your progress. They may be great at training, but this doesn t necessarily mean that they re great at finding high quality recruits. Recruitment Genius can help you source the candidates. Step 2: enabling young people to excel during the interview process For most young people, the interview stage will be new and very daunting. If you want to enable them to perform to the best of their ability, try taking the following steps: 4

5 Review your selection criteria Before you even decide who has made it through to interview, question your selection criteria. Do you really require your new employee to have a degree and several years of experience, or could the job be carried out by a college leaver? This is all about ensuring that you haven t closed doors that should be left open. Create a calming environment Make sure that you ve provided clear instructions about what will happen on the day and what candidates can expect. When people arrive, have an informal chat with them and explain what you ve got planned. A tour of your office with the opportunity to meet existing employees could be a good move. Young people will relish the chance to get a real-life feel for where they ll be working. If you already have graduates or young trainees within your business, make them available to answer questions from interviewees. Use strengths-based rather than competencybased interviews Competency-based interviews can be an excellent tool for some roles, but if you want to recruit young people that approach could alienate them and make it difficult for them to shine. Rather than asking for real-life examples of what they ve achieved in the workplace, focus more on what they re good at. Use psychometrics to protect your investment Some trainees will have excelled academically, but had to put in a lot of effort, whilst others will have put in less effort and still got great grades. The key to finding people who will quickly absorb and retain your training is psychometrics. Recruitment Genius offers a quick and low-cost general intelligence assessment (GIA) that accurately scores this specific ability. Fundamentally, psychometrics can back-up your decision or give you a reason to probe deeper. Either way you will make more informed decisions. Step 3: inducting your new staff Starting any job is daunting, but it can be particularly overwhelming for young people. To make sure your new recruits hit the ground running, consider implementing the following: Have a clear induction programme When your staff first start, there should be a structured programme in place to welcome them to the business. This is likely to include a meeting with their line manager to agree on the details of their role and their performance objectives, as well as important practicalities such as where the toilets are, when they can take breaks, and what they should do in the event of a fire. Train line managers to deal with young recruits If your line management staff aren t used to leading young people, they may need support and training to excel and get the most from their new staff. Make sure that you assess whether this is the case and put steps in place so they can manage to the best of their ability. Step 4: keeping hold of your talent With the concept of a job for life being less and less prevalent, one of the key challenges associated with recruiting young people is encouraging them to stay. Whereas employees 5

6 from earlier generations tended to view a job as a long-term commitment, young workers have fewer problems with the idea of jumping ship and moving on to pastures new. Obviously, a high turnover rate can be very costly for your business, so it s important to consider how you ll retain your recruits. One of the best methods is to offer structured career development. Wherever possible, encourage young people to stretch themselves and always put a development plan in place for them, regardless of how junior the role is. This will help your recruits to feel valued and challenged, which will have a positive impact on retention. Conclusion An important note: equality legislation implications Bringing young people into your business is a brilliant way to improve the diversity of your workforce, which can have clear business benefits. However, you should always ensure that you are acting within the law. Equality legislation in the UK acts to ensure that no groups are put at a disadvantage in the workplace, and it s easy to see how a policy that states you will seek out only young employees can be interpreted as discriminatory. Attracting and recruiting young people is something that businesses and society as a whole could benefit from greatly. By taking action in the key areas outlined in this guide, you can take positive steps towards finding and keeping the talent that will drive your business forward. If you feel that you need a helping hand, Recruitment Genius can assist you in managing the process, from reaching out to the right people for your roles to selecting the best candidates. Age discrimination is covered under the Equality Act 2010, which states that it is unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly against someone because of their age, unless it can be objectively justified (which requires fulfilling several criteria). In essence, this means that while you can take positive steps to encourage applications from young people and make the recruitment process as accessible as possible to them, it isn t lawful to offer someone a job based purely on the fact that they are younger than other candidates. If you are unsure about how the law affects your particular plans, seek professional legal advice. 6

7 A list of other guides that may be of interest: Ten tips to improve the success of your online recruitment advertising Create effective job description and person specification for better hiring Why and how to respond to applicants Screening CVs and shortlist candidates for interview Conducting telephone interviews Legal requirements of shortlisting Effective interview techniques Illegal interview questions Making a job offer Effective reference checking Inducting employees Secrets to online recruitment success Selecting the best flat fee recruitment company Have some questions? Please call: hello@recruitmentgenius.com Recruitment Genius These guides are not intended to be, and should not be relied on as, professional or legal advice, and clients should verify independently any statements made in them and rely on their own judgement when adopting any suggestions or ideas in them. Recruitment Genius does not assume any liability in relation to such guides.