Hacks For Onboarding Student Employees With Limited Experience

As an employer or recruiter, you will likely, at some point, hire student employees who have limited work experience. While it may be tempting to assume that they know the basics of the workplace, they may not have the experience needed to know what you think they should know. There are hacks you can use to help onboard these student employees who may not have limited work experience to get them up to speed.

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Review guidelines and expectations clearly

Student employees are likely working at your company to gain experience and to learn the ropes. When you are onboarding them, it is important that you go over your guidelines and expectations for the role. Give them advice on professionalism and work rules, as they may not have this knowledge. Otherwise, they may make a mistake or misspeak about something that would have been avoided had they known. Do not assume that they know something. It is better to tell them something they already know than to not tell them something they do not know. Ask them if they have any questions and answer them clearly and promptly.

Hands-on training

It is important to provide hands-on training to student employees so that they can get the feel for how to do things. While some can learn just by watching someone do something, many succeed more with actually doing the tasks. Allow them to have a safe environment to try out the tools and programs they will use throughout their time in the role. This way, they can make mistakes in a safe way, which will help them learn how to do the role.

A huge part of this training can include role-playing. Have another team member, or even yourself, act as a customer or client. Act out situations that may arise throughout the course of the day. This allows your employee a chance to make mistakes in a safe place where you can correct them without real-world consequences.

Pair them with a mentor

College students love to learn new things, and they may even be working with your company in order to gain experience in their chosen field. If this is the case, pair them with a mentor who has had a similar career path to the one the student employee is looking at venturing. This will allow your new employee to connect with someone whom they can look up to. As soon as you can, begin thinking of who you want to pair them with so you can start structuring the mentorship as soon as your new employee has joined the team.

Start with an internship

If you are looking to hire student employees but are afraid they may not have the experience you are looking for, you can set up an internship program. This will allow you to bring in college students who will learn about your company and the field you are in within a set amount of time. From here, you will be able to see which interns will make great employees.

If you already have an internship program set up, look to see if any of your student interns are looking for a job. They are already familiar with the company and the various processes that come with their role. This will reduce the amount of training they will have to undergo, and since you already have all of their necessary information, there will be less paperwork to fill out.

Work with their schedules

College students have busy lives. From classes and studying to student organizations, their schedules are packed. If they are working for your company, it is important that you understand that their schoolwork is likely their priority. They need to attend their classes to graduate. During onboarding, have them give you their schedule so that you can build their work schedule around classes and other things. This will make everyone’s lives easier in the long run and save the headache of reconfiguring your entire team’s schedule because the shift does not work.

Make them feel welcome

Think about your first day of work, ever. You likely felt nervous, like you were going to mess up or that you were not ready. This may be how your student employee is feeling. Since they have limited work experience, they may feel like they will not fit in with those who have been in the industry for years, even decades. Keep communication open in case they have any questions throughout the onboarding process and beyond. Host a welcome mixer so they can meet others on the team and get acquainted with the different departments. Consider things they might need, or ask recent new employees what would have made the onboarding process better for them, and implement these things for the student employee.

Onboarding new student employees can be challenging, but there are hacks you can use to ensure the process is smooth for everyone.