It’s that time of year again, when students walk up to the stage to receive their college diplomas. Just like when I graduated college (many moons ago), students look forward to all of the pomp and circumstance of graduation day. But for a huge majority, what comes next is uncertainty.
According to recent studies, four out of five graduates leave college without a job. Even with the ever-increasing retirement of baby boomers and the country resurging after a recession, students can’t seem to find employment. Small business owners can’t seem to find employees to hire.
At Brigade Bookkeeping, we don’t have that problem. We have a number of young and smart recent college grads working for us. That’s because we have the secret formula that other small companies should be using for new hires. Here it is:
- REACH OUT TO SCHOOLS & UNIVERSITIES – College career fairs take place all of the time. The problem is that often colleges require lots of dollars for business owners to participate. As a small business owner, that may not be feasible. You can circumvent that by reaching out to a specific undergrad college or university to talk about mutual opportunities. For example, I reached out directly to the local university’s school of accounting to see how my company could be of service and in turn, I have a new pool of potential employees.
- OFFER INTERNSHIPS – Internships are great because they give students the opportunity to work for a short period of time and employers receive a fresh crop of potential employees. Internships take a lot of work because you have to be dedicated to actually help a student intern, even if they turn out to want to pursue something else in the future. But it also gives you a chance to help mold future generations and gives you a glimpse into a potential future employee before anyone else.
- MAKE AN OFFER BEFORE GRADUATION – Once in awhile you get an intern who just wows you. If that happens, make sure you make them a job offer before the internship is over and yes, before graduation. I have hired many employees this way. If an intern shows up on time, is hard working and knows what they’re doing while being paid very little, chances are they’ll continue to shine with a real paycheck.
- CONSIDER USING A RECRUITER – So you didn’t make a connection at the local college or university and your interns were less than stellar last summer, well then it could be time to turn to a recruiter. Nowadays most college students turn to a human resources professional to help them get their foot in the door, so you should consider it too.
Hiring new employees is never easy for small business owners. But instead of dreading the process, embrace it and look to new grads, still high on pomp and circumstance, to be part of your small business. If you would like more tips about the process, email me. At Brigade Bookkeeping, we love recent grads.
Congratulations to the Class of 2016! Good luck graduates!
