Recruiting a young person to your business offers multiple benefits. They bring fresh ideas, enthusiasm, vitality and, often, a different perspective to how you normally do business. Here are some useful tips on recruiting the next generation.
Attracting the Right Candidate
We all know how important it is to have a great team of people working for us. Yet, it can prove tricky attracting the right candidates to your business. Taking time to review your current recruitment processes could make a huge difference to the caliber and diversity of your potential talent pool.
THE JOB ADVERT
Writing an effective job advert is a key component of talent attraction. A good job advert will contain more than just a description of the role – it will also set out your company’s ‘offer’. This is not just about salary; this is your chance to mention any appealing information about the company or the job role. This could include:
This will help increase the pool of candidates who are motivated to work for you.
It is also worth thinking about how and where to advertise job roles within your company. Social media can be extremely powerful, not least because it increases the likelihood of reaching younger applicants. Attending careers fairs and other similar events at local schools, colleges and universities is also a useful way to promote job vacancies and will ensure you have a number of talented applicants to choose from.
Writing an effective job advert is a key component of talent attraction. A good job advert will contain more than just a description of the role – it will also set out your company’s ‘offer’. This is not just about salary; this is your chance to mention any appealing information about the company or the job role. This could include:
- A brief about your organisation and why it’s a great place to work
- Any opportunities for training and development
- Information about employee benefits or rewards
This will help increase the pool of candidates who are motivated to work for you.
It is also worth thinking about how and where to advertise job roles within your company. Social media can be extremely powerful, not least because it increases the likelihood of reaching younger applicants. Attending careers fairs and other similar events at local schools, colleges and universities is also a useful way to promote job vacancies and will ensure you have a number of talented applicants to choose from.
THE JOB DESCRIPTION
The job description is your chance to tell people what you are looking for in a successful candidate. Be clear not only on the job's duties and responsibilities but also on the skills and competencies required to be able to do the job effectively.
If creating a job description is something you would like support with, please access our job description guide and template below. Or, you can email us at [email protected] or call 01595 771228 and we'll be happy to support you further.
The job description is your chance to tell people what you are looking for in a successful candidate. Be clear not only on the job's duties and responsibilities but also on the skills and competencies required to be able to do the job effectively.
If creating a job description is something you would like support with, please access our job description guide and template below. Or, you can email us at [email protected] or call 01595 771228 and we'll be happy to support you further.
refining The Recruitment Process
Anyone can perform well at an interview, but how do you know the successful candidate is going to live up to expectations once they are in post? You may already have an effective interview process in place; if so, then there may not be any reason to change it. However, if you want to explore other methods of assessing your candidates, please email us [email protected] or call 01595 771228 and we will happily provide further support and advice.
WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER MAKING CHANGES?
Young people with a limited work history may not always be able to shine in “traditional” job interview situations, as they do not have the career history that other, more experienced applicants can offer. It can therefore be worthwhile incorporating practical or group-based tasks, to get a sense of how applicants – including younger candidates – would truly perform in the job.
To demonstrate what we mean, let’s consider competency-based interviews. Competency questions can be useful for understanding how someone has approached a particular situation. For example, finding out about a time when the candidate has worked effectively as part of a team.
You might also find scenario-based questions useful for understanding what a candidate would do in a typical “on-the-job” scenario. For example, “how would you deal with an angry customer?” This is especially advantageous if the candidate has limited work experience, yet they may still possess the skills you are looking for.
Breaking away from “traditional” interview methods could transform your talent attraction process and give candidates a real chance to shine. You may therefore want to consider the following alternatives to a standard face-to-face interview:
WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER MAKING CHANGES?
Young people with a limited work history may not always be able to shine in “traditional” job interview situations, as they do not have the career history that other, more experienced applicants can offer. It can therefore be worthwhile incorporating practical or group-based tasks, to get a sense of how applicants – including younger candidates – would truly perform in the job.
To demonstrate what we mean, let’s consider competency-based interviews. Competency questions can be useful for understanding how someone has approached a particular situation. For example, finding out about a time when the candidate has worked effectively as part of a team.
You might also find scenario-based questions useful for understanding what a candidate would do in a typical “on-the-job” scenario. For example, “how would you deal with an angry customer?” This is especially advantageous if the candidate has limited work experience, yet they may still possess the skills you are looking for.
Breaking away from “traditional” interview methods could transform your talent attraction process and give candidates a real chance to shine. You may therefore want to consider the following alternatives to a standard face-to-face interview:
PHONE INTERVIEW
Including a phone interview as part of your recruitment process can not only save you time, it is also a great additional assessment method, especially if the job role you have advertised involves telephone communication.
Including a phone interview as part of your recruitment process can not only save you time, it is also a great additional assessment method, especially if the job role you have advertised involves telephone communication.
GROUP INTERVIEW
Organising a group interview is a great way of assessing a range of candidates for a variety of skills. Group interviews are especially useful for assessing communication, team working and leadership skills, providing you with the opportunity to evaluate how potential employees interact in a real-life situation.
Organising a group interview is a great way of assessing a range of candidates for a variety of skills. Group interviews are especially useful for assessing communication, team working and leadership skills, providing you with the opportunity to evaluate how potential employees interact in a real-life situation.
CASE STUDY INTERVIEW
You provide candidates with a brief describing a situation that they will be required to resolve. In this type of interview, you would set each candidate up to read the information and ask them to prepare their response within an allocated amount of time. This is a useful way of testing a range of skills such as logic, problem-solving and communication.
You provide candidates with a brief describing a situation that they will be required to resolve. In this type of interview, you would set each candidate up to read the information and ask them to prepare their response within an allocated amount of time. This is a useful way of testing a range of skills such as logic, problem-solving and communication.
IN-TRAY EXERCISE
This is a handy way of testing a candidate’s organisational and prioritisation skills, as well as their ability to make logical decisions. This exercise involves providing candidates with a list of tasks and asking them to rank their importance in priority order. We have provided you with an example task below.
This is a handy way of testing a candidate’s organisational and prioritisation skills, as well as their ability to make logical decisions. This exercise involves providing candidates with a list of tasks and asking them to rank their importance in priority order. We have provided you with an example task below.
APTITUDE TEST
You may want to use aptitude tests to assess numeracy or literacy skills. These are also useful way of measuring a candidate’s ability to work under pressure to produce accurate work. These tasks are worth including for any role that involves a significant amount of written or statistical work.
You may want to use aptitude tests to assess numeracy or literacy skills. These are also useful way of measuring a candidate’s ability to work under pressure to produce accurate work. These tasks are worth including for any role that involves a significant amount of written or statistical work.
ROLE PLAY
A role play scenario is a more effective way of understanding how a candidate would perform in a standard work-based situation than simply asking an interview question, and is a great way of assessing a young person who has limited work experience.
A role play could involve dealing with a customer complaint or handling a telephone query, allowing you to observe the candidate’s communication skills.
A role play scenario is a more effective way of understanding how a candidate would perform in a standard work-based situation than simply asking an interview question, and is a great way of assessing a young person who has limited work experience.
A role play could involve dealing with a customer complaint or handling a telephone query, allowing you to observe the candidate’s communication skills.
ACCESS Financial Support
Funding for Modern Apprenticeships is available through Train Shetland and the amount will depend on the sector and the age of the apprentice. Contact Train Shetland for more information. Email [email protected] or call 01595 744 744.
Managing a Young Person
A young recruit can bring a wealth of energy, potential and fresh perspective to your business. However, managing young staff may require a slightly different approach than the one you take with other employees due to their limited experience in the working world.
Mentoring, supporting and providing variety are all essential parts of this process. It is equally important to set expectations from day one by taking the time to provide a company induction. You will be surprised at the difference this will make in the long run.
Why not take a few minutes to read our top tips for inducting and managing young staff members.
Mentoring, supporting and providing variety are all essential parts of this process. It is equally important to set expectations from day one by taking the time to provide a company induction. You will be surprised at the difference this will make in the long run.
Why not take a few minutes to read our top tips for inducting and managing young staff members.
Further Support
Shetland businesses can benefit from the wide range of support offered by the organisations listed below. From advice in helping your business to grow to finding out about networking opportunities, each of these organisations offer unique ways to help you as an employer. Click on the logos below to find out more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also access useful guidance on employing younger workers by downloading the ACAS guide below. The guide contains advice for employers on how to help young workers and apprentices with the transition from education to the world of work and also provides guidance on some of the legal considerations that might be on your mind.