How To Recruit Student Seasonal Employees

Hiring seasonal student employees can be a challenge for employers. Your company needs to hire someone in a timely manner, but it can be a challenge to draw people to your job postings. Knowing how to appeal to students while hiring for seasonal positions can seem difficult, but there are things you can do to bring in the right candidates for the roles.

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Show up where they are

Hiring college students means showing up in the places they are looking. This can mean attending a career fair on their campus or posting flyers around campuses. It can also mean posting your job listing on social media and targeting college students specifically with your posts. Many colleges even have job boards for their students to use. These resources are ways to ensure that the students you are seeking are seeing your postings and will apply for your jobs.

Utilize employees

If you are struggling to find candidates, consider leveraging current and former employees to help you draw in more candidates. Consider offering a referral bonus to those who refer candidates to the company’s postings and have the candidate successfully hired. If a current employee is leaving the company, ask if they know of any college students who may be looking for the job they are leaving. This way, there is less time going into the hiring process since the person already has a replacement in mind.

Emphasize your company’s mission

Your company may seem like just another retail outlet or corporate office, but surely there is something that sets you apart from others. You may focus on different qualities, such as community giving and integrity. You may also value diversity in an age where others are cutting diversity and inclusion policies. If these things are a core part of what your company stands for, emphasize this in your job listing. Students are looking for a paycheck, but they are also looking for a way to make a difference and stand up for what they believe in, even when it comes to where they work.

Look beyond experience

College students may not have the exact experience you are looking for, especially if they are freshmen or sophomores. However, there are other factors you can consider to gauge their potential as an employee. They may have an excellent grade point average, which shows they are able to learn new things in a relatively quick amount of time. Check their references to get a sense of their personalities from others’ perspectives. When they come in for an interview, you will be able to get a feel for their personality then as well. See if they have leadership or volunteer experience, which shows they take initiative and want to be involved in various things to learn as much as possible. Try to avoid dismissing their application just because they do not have the exact experience you need as they may be a great candidate in other regards.

Simple application

College students are busy, between classes, student organizations, and other obligations. As such, they will likely not be motivated to sit and apply for a job that appears to be long and complicated, especially if it is only for a seasonal position. Make your application simple to follow and ensure that the site is easy to use. Work out any tech issues before making the application go live so they do not become discouraged when the online application does not work. You may even opt to write out what the hiring process is like in the job description so they understand what they are getting into.

Flexible scheduling

As mentioned, college students have a lot going on. Even if you are hiring them for when they are on breaks, it is still important to keep their busy lives in mind. They may want to spend time with friends who are also on break or see family who are in town. Offer flexible scheduling so they can keep a work-life balance and juggle other things they have going on in their lives. If possible, you may even want to allow for hybrid or remote possibilities to further promote their work-life balance. This allows them to travel and enjoy their breaks.

Celebrate their contributions

Though seasonal employees are only with you for up to six months each year, depending on the role, it is still important to acknowledge their hard work and contributions to your company. They are completing their tasks and duties like other employees and are giving of their time. For many college students, it is important that they feel like they are contributing meaningfully to their workplace, even if they are only seasonal employees. Give them feedback when needed and acknowledge their successes and contributions.

Recruiting college students for seasonal positions can be a challenge, but knowing how to find these employees and how to incorporate them into your company successfully can make you and them feel accomplished.