This time of year, post-secondary students close the books on another school year and begin their long search for relevant work experience; aka, a summer job. If your business or organization is considering hiring summer staff, now would be the ideal time to find the right ones! Recruiting a summer student is a worthwhile endeavor with many benefits for both the employer and employee. Our Workforce Development Officer, Clarisse, shares three big advantages to hiring a summer student:

1. You help develop talents and prepare these students for the workforce

By giving students valuable work experience, not only are you hiring them but you are also investing in the future of the workforce. When you give students a chance to display their skills and knowledge, they’re more engaged and more eager to learn and make a contribution. By giving them this valuable work experience, your organization is helping shape a future of thinkers, doers and leaders.

2. Summer students help you accomplish your un-ending list of projects

Let’s face it, it’s very common for companies to have a list of on-going projects that sits on the corner of someone’s desk; but you can never get around to it when pressing matters always take precedence. The beauty of hiring summer students with the right skills and knowledge is that they can also take on tasks that you don’t have expertise in (hello social media or website design!). They can help you get ahead strategically and financially, so make sure to maximize their time while setting clear expectations of what needs to be accomplished.

3. Summer students can be added to potential candidate pool

When hiring students for summer jobs or short-term positions, it would be wise to think long-term. With the strong competition amongst companies looking to hire quality candidates, it’s important to have a positive relationship with any seasonal hires that you envision as permanent employees at some point in the future. Eventually they’ll be seeking full-time, permanent work and they already know the ins and outs of your organization. So they may turn out to be someone with potential!

Good for the company, good for the student and good for the community? Sounds like an HR hat-trick that more organizations and businesses should be taking advantage of!