It's Not Too Late to Hire Students This Summer

Do you want to hire students this summer to round out your seasonal staffing needs? If so, you’re in the minority; a survey by insurance carrier EMPLOYERS reports only 20% of small businesses are hiring student workers this summer. Of the small businesses looking to hire, 42% want to fill clerical or office positions; 41% want help with construction work or manual labor. Only 13%are seeking to fill restaurant or food service positions and just 4% are hiring for retail jobs. Whatever your summer needs, hiring students offers a lot of positives. Entrepreneurs in the study say they value students’ flexible schedules (33%), lower pay rate (27%) and fresh ideas (14%). With more students focusing on extracurricular activities to help them get into college (or get jobs after college), landing those workers may not be as easy as small business owners expect. How can you attract students to your business this summer? Be flexible Yes, students have flexible schedules, but they want to enjoy their summer, too. Be clear about your rules for calling in sick or asking for days off, but meet them halfway by offering flexibility when they need it as long as they are getting the job done. Make the job pay off more than monetarily Depending on the position you’re seeking to fill, think of how you can provide job training and experience that will benefit the student in the long run—not just benefit your business in the short term. Promoting the skills students will learn or the experiences they’ll gain can help attract students to your small business. Promote in multiple avenues Students learn about jobs in many places, including college job boards, on social media and on job search sites. Include sites that list part-time, temporary and/or student jobs, where you’ll find a built-in audience. Also, reach out through local schools’ and colleges’ placement offices or even their social media accounts. Finally, don’t forget that many students learn about local jobs through word-of-mouth, so let all your contacts—business, personal and social—know you’re looking to hire students. You never know whose kid might be looking for a summer job. Students can be the perfect answer to your short-term summer hiring needs. And you never know if you’ll find a potential long-term employee among the students, once they graduate.