Julia Weeks
Today, many companies are turning more and more towards hiring new college graduates versus seasoned workers. If you are considering interviewing new college grads for your staffing company, there are 4 key things that you should look for:
1. College Major
In the past, I discovered that college grads with certain degrees seemed to easily fit into recruiting roles at my company. For example, business and communications concentrations were typically what I focused on when searching for college grads to hire on my recruiting team. These new college grads were often some of the most successful recruiters in the company, far out performing more seasoned recruiters hired.
Occasionally, there were instances when I hired a college grad with a different type of degree concentration, but that was due to other things that stood out to me in the interview, which are mentioned below.
2. Internships
Once, I hired a college graduate as a recruiter who majored in mathematics. Strange, I know. However, this particular college grad had completed an internship with a well known staffing agency in our local area. She understood the basics of recruiting, had a touch of sourcing and recruiting experience, and knew that it was something that she enjoyed and wanted to make a career out of.
This college grad was an excellent addition to our team, becoming one of our top recruiters on the team.
Always, take into consideration any internships or jobs when considering new college grads.
3. School Projects and Successes
Taking into considering a new college grad’s school projects and successes can help you to figure out what drives that college grad.
For example, historically, I did not have much success when hiring grads with human resources concentrations. However, there was one university in particular which had an outstanding HR program that devoted an entire course solely to actual recruiting. I found that grads who had HR degrees from this school had a stronger understanding of true recruiting based on certain projects and assignments completed in this recruiting course.
When interviewing these grads, I focused in on that specific class, asking questions about their participation and responsibilities on certain projects, as well as their successes.
4. Hobbies and Interests
When interviewing new college grads for your staffing company, it’s important to understand that very few people actually set out in life with the goal of being a recruiter. When new college grads have little to no experience with the staffing industry, it is important to figure out what they enjoy doing and what drives them.
For example, a new college grad who does not enjoy conversing with people is more than likely not going to be excited about the recruiting business. Recruiting is about communicating and building relationships with people. Likewise, recruiting is about having the drive the win.
When interviewing new college grads for recruitment positions, I will look closely at their extracurricular activities in school. Did they play sports or were they involved in student union or other activities that required them to work with others or be competitive? I typically ask questions about their responsibilities with these types of activities, to try and get a feel for what roles they have taken on freely. This gives me a good idea about the grad’s passions and interests.
It can be difficult to pinpoint what exactly makes a college grad a potential recruiter. However, taking into consideration these 4 items when interviewing college graduates can help you get closer to making the right hire.
What are some other things you could take into consideration when interviewing new college grads for your staffing company? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Josh Tolan
Guest Post
