Use employee referrals to hire more diverse students and recent grads

Year after year, employers report that referrals are their top source of hire followed closely by job boards such as College Recruiter, Indeed, and LinkedIn, as measured by number of hires.

I recently reached out to a number of business leaders to ask them for recommendations for how employers can hire more diverse students for internships and recent graduates for entry-level jobs. I was thankful to hear back from Grant Aldrich, chief executive officer of Online Degree.

According to Grant, “employers who want to hire recent college graduates and more diverse students should: develop a referral program! Ask a senior you admire, who you wouldn’t be able to afford, to recommend a junior they’ve worked with, and who they think has serious potential. Ask your clients, consultants, business partners, and other seniors for referrals.” 

“Employee referral programs can also be an excellent hiring technique,” continued Grant. “Your employees likely have their extensive network and can send fresh talent your way. The solution to hiring more diverse students and recent graduates is to use referrals to extend your candidate pool. Referrals will allow you to reach more people than standard job boards and LinkedIn job postings.”