Hiring Recent 2021 College Graduates in the Automotive Industry

It's no secret that the economy is fluctuating and the job market is all over the place. Millions of people have been out of work and on unemployment and now they are returning to their jobs. Add thousands of college graduates and graduates from trade school programs to the mix and it becomes quite a dynamic environment. In May of this year, almost half of the people who graduated from college in 2020 were still looking for a job. Now the 2021 graduates are joining them. While just about every field is looking for new hires, the automotive industry is particular. Here are some tips for hiring college graduates in 2021. 

Use Background Checks

While you might not think to use background checks on recent college graduates, you shouldn't overlook this. A background check for employment provides a great way to verify the education and employment history of the candidate while revealing information about any past names, addresses, criminal history, and more. You might think to skip the background check for recent college graduates, but it is a good idea because they might embellish or lie about their resume. To avoid this and find a trustworthy employee, you should start by running background checks.

Attend Automotive Career Events

All of the big car manufacturers hold career events, but obviously you can't recruit for your company at Ford's networking events (unless you're Ford). So another option to hire new employees in the automotive industry is to attend college career events. There will be a place where the automotive students meet with companies. You can also go to trade schools to find the people who have specialized in this area of expertise. What about engineers? If you need high-level minds for your automotive company, hiring college graduates will help you find employees who will grow with your business. Not only will you get to train them to your liking, they will take lower pay than those who have experience. 

Use Social Media

Using social media to get the word out that you are hiring is a great idea. Not only can you broadcast that your company is hiring, you can be clear that you are accepting applications from recent college graduates. Be sure to include the details of the automotive work that you need and what kind of experience-if any-the employee will have to have. Furthermore, social media can be a great tool for learning information about prospective employees. Young people know how to use social media. Do your part to find the perfect people to hire.

And even better than using Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to hire new college graduates is to use platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed. College graduates will most likely be creating profiles and trying to network with companies like yours.

Call References

Like background checks, you might think that calling references is unnecessary when you're hiring recent graduates. This isn't true. However much job experience you person has, you should do due diligence by calling their references. Even if you are calling friends, family members, and professors, you will learn a lot about the person simply by asking these people questions. You may not find out anything earth-shattering, but it will provide a window into the personality, work ethic, and essence of the person. When you call references, it will give you an idea of who the person is and what you should look out for.

Take Referrals

If you have an employee who has a relative graduating from college that they swear by, don't dismiss the referral right away. Instead, look at their application, interview them, and give them a shot. When someone you trust is referring someone else, take it seriously. The best employees come from referrals from current employees that are working hard and growing with the company. Pay attention to referrals. You won't regret it.

The job market is in flux and the economy is getting back to normal. Companies in all fields are hiring and people are going back to work. For college graduates, they are entering the workforce for the first time. This means that they aren't as jaded as other workers and are motivated to get ahead in their career.

If you hire a college graduate for a position, make room for them to grow. If you do, the person will be loyal to the business and stick with it through the training and initial position. When it comes to hiring in the automotive industry, training is paramount. Hire someone you can train the right way and you will find a loyal and trustworthy employee.