Train Like a Teacher, Hire Like a Recruiter Best Practices for Recruiting, Hiring, and Developing Student Workers Katherine J. Veach Director, Conferences & Events, Franklin & Marshall College
Consider School size? Next upcoming birthday? Rock, paper, scissors? Who had the hardest summer season? Whose football teams lost last week? Persuasive argumentation?
Hiring students on a college campus means competition and compromise. Who do you recruit and hire? How does your campus recruit and hire? Are you limited to those methods and tactics? Do you feel pressure to hire (or not hire) students or student groups? What do you offer students? Do you turn students away, or do you fall short? How desirable is your position? What do you want to improve about your recruiting?
DOWN Narrow it On each worksheet, write down your student job title(s). Fill in SEVEN answers to each question. Brainstorm. Do it quickly.
Now that you ve narrowed it down You can better describe what you want in casual conversations. Practice the elevator speech and run it by college students you know and trust to see if it s meaningful and engaging. You can choose particular organizations to target for recruiting. For example, if you want organized office types, look for business societies. Or, consider targeting Greek organization officers or other campus leadership. You can focus on the words and phrases that will recruit the best students. In your postings, be sure to utilize words and phrases that will both attract applicants and serve as fair examples of the position and its tasks.
Tips for Recruiting Today s College Student Meet them where they are: online. Email should be eye-catching and it s still not a guaranteed win. Use peer recruiting. Have successful student employees advertise for you word of mouth works, but Snapchat, Pinterest, or Instagram are even better.
Make it easy to apply. Try Google forms, Survey Monkey whatever your institution allows. Think about what you re looking for re: resumes, as well. Create a sense of fun and inclusion. The more you make your office into a team, the more you re going to earn the loyalty and hard work of students. Intentionally build your team. Give feedback and reward performance. They get feedback from professors all the time, and they re looking for incentives and a way to measure their work.
Interviews: The Facts Staffing firm Accountemps gives these stats for senior managers favorite questions to ask candidates: 39% like questions about the job and company 22% like to ask about previous/current experience 18% like to ask about personal attributes/characteristics 6% like to ask theoretical questions Source: Chad Brooks, Why Hiring Managers Really Ask These 12 Common Interview Questions, Business News Daily, 29 September 2016
The Newest thoughts & Trends According to the Harvard Business Review (Feb. 2016), many former beliefs about interviews are no longer accurate. Why?
So, what do you do with college students? Be consistent and fair. Use interview protocols so that everyone is asked the exact same questions. Utilize a rubric so that there is a standard to compare them against. Offer scratch paper to students to write down thoughts and be patient. Don t be afraid to ask some outdated questions. Students aren t often as practiced as professionals. Ease them into the process. Remember that they re a part of your community. Whether you hire them or not, they re a valued part of the institution. Treat them that way. Be sure to have clear information from your HR or Financial Aid departments about any rules or practices you must follow.
5 Basic Types of Interview Questions 1. Icebreaker 2. Knowledge 3. Behavioral 4. Hypothetical 5. Job Content
Question Type 1: Icebreaker These are very important for student interviews they are designed to get them comfortable and allow them to warm up. Examples: What brought you to this institution? Tell me a bit about yourself. Describe your college journey so far.
Question Type 2: Knowledge These help you assess the student s seriousness about the job and her preparation for the interview. Examples: Why do you want this job? What do you know about how this office works? What do you hope to gain from this position?
Question Type 3: Behavioral These aren t in vogue any longer, but they will work well with students. A behavioral question gently prods them to think on their feet while showing them that their previous experiences can be helpful in job-hunting. Examples: Tell me about a time when you led your peers. What did you do? Tell me about the last time you had a computer issue to solve what happened? Tell me about your last relationship with a supervisor. What specifically made it go well or badly?
Question Type 4: Hypothetical These questions spur students to answer based on what they might do in a job-related circumstance. They work best when they are very realistic not only do they help you assess fit, they also explain to the student what he s getting himself into. Examples: What would you do if a client screamed at you and refused to stop? What would you do if a camp insisted on coming into the building for an activity right at closing time and you wanted to go home?
Question Type 5: Job Content These are the most fun! These questions ask students to tackle problems they might see on the job. They re similar to hypothetical questions, but can be a bit more detailed. You re looking for critical thinking and logical processes. Example: These four things all happen at once: A, B, C, and D. You re in the office alone. Tell me the order you d handle them and why.
Interview Do s and Don ts Do: - Encourage the student with affirming body language. - Take great notes throughout the interview. - Let the student warm up before passing judgment they re likely new at this! - Encourage questions if something is unclear. - End the interview with, Do you have any questions for me?
Don t: - Pass judgment too quickly remember that most hiring decisions are made within 15 seconds. Be sure to avoid judgments and decisions until the interview is at least 50% complete. - Ask questions that are illegal or unfair. Avoid topics like age, sexual orientation, health, religion, etc. - Make promises you can t keep. It s best not to hire anyone on the spot. - Miss deadlines for updating students on your hiring decisions. Tell everyone when they can expect to hear from you, and keep your word. Be sure to be consistent in your messaging.
Next Steps: Evaluating Answers So, you ve got the 5 types of interview questions down now it s time to decide what makes one answer good and another bad. Evaluate answers based on your brand, your goals, and your desired team makeup.
An interview is like an ice cream sundae Start with the basics, but make it your own. Use the recipe that is the most suitable to you, your management style, and your office s needs.
What training issues do you face? What training works best for your needs? Where can you improve on what s working?
Training Today s College Students
Train Like a Teacher Today s college students are bombarded with information all the time. How do you make sure yours isn t just white noise? 1. Train in teams. Engage their peer-focused energy during training sessions by giving small groups or teams problems to solve or information to present. 2. Give lots of feedback. Don t just give a grade, either tell them what specifically worked and what didn t. 3. Reward success. Today s generation is used to praise so give it when it s earned.
1. Acknowledge different learning styles. While there are different schools of thought about learning styles in the educational community, the bottom line is that people learn differently. Be sure to involve all kinds of training visual, aural, kinesthetic, etc. when communicating information. 2. Do your homework. Administer a survey before you begin training find out what your students think they re good at, then capitalize. 3. Use peer teaching. Recognize a special skill set or strength by having student staff train each other. It builds confidence and encourages expertise. 4. Ask about their favorite professors. Continue to refine your training based on feedback about what s working in the classroom.
Wrapping It All Up - Takeaways Know your needs. Know your audience. Be intentional, fair, and consistent.