An Insight About Students For RecruitersWe students ain’t that hard
We students ain’t that hard
unsplash — thanks
College students are really not that complex. We want really simple things out of our experiences.
The challenge for all recruiters is to figure out what those internal factors are that determine a person’s viewpoint on a company. What are us students looking for in a job or internship? And how soon do we get there? How much do we want to get paid? The list goes on and on.
But I want to boil it down to something very simple (perhaps too simple), but a heuristic that has helped me guide where I want to be in the near future.
Goal number one for me: Add as much value as I can to the organization.
But I also have, perhaps more selfish reasons. The simple thought is this: I want two things for me out of an internship — learn a ton, while staying happy. That is a difficult cord to strike. And many programs focus on one or the other. I am hear to say that excluding one or the other is a big mistake.
There are tons of places where you can learn a ton. Hell, students are young and inexperienced. SO, ANY opportunity is often a net plus.
But in some companies, certain processes make it really really hard to learn.
Whether that is difficulty of material or lack of available resources or icky emotional challenges while in the workplace — things get in the way. While challenges are a good thing — there are certain challenges that are annoying and unnecessary. So as a recruiter, you want to advertise the ease of integration into a new company. The onboarding process is crucial — given that the summer months are only so long — every moment counts.
Note to HR departments: get rid of paperwork and start using EVE.
So for me, I want to understand that I will have every opportunity to learn throughout the process. And it is easy, most of the time, to tell whether or not that will be the case when entering a company.
It starts from the first interaction with the company.
As a student, you can tell whether or not the recruiter’s attitude is to recruit you or help you. People that want to help you want to make the most of the entire process for you. It is hard to describe — but that mindset is what differentiates recruiters — at least to me. They are able to give you life advice, moreso than just advice for the job. And they have empathy for students — understanding the importance of this decision.
Happiness is a big metric for me. I want to know that whatever I am doing is in a place where I can be happy.
Recruiters must take on the difficult task of demonstrating the net positive effect of the job — rather than telling about it.
Show, not tell.
This one is pretty simple — if you are happy and love what you are doing, it is easier for us students to buy into what you are selling.
The message I want to communicate is simple, as a student —the most important things I want to know from a recruiter:
I will learn
I will be happy
If you can demonstrate those to me (and most students) — you got us!
Eh thanks for reading 🙂 I post one of these every single day.
By jordangonen on April 25, 2016.
Exported from Medium on February 17, 2018.