16 reasons why employers need to hire candidates who are early in their customer service careers

There are important short- and long-term benefits for employers to hire students, recent graduates, and others early in their careers for customer service roles. We reached out to 16 hiring experts to get their thoughts:

• Create Sustainable Talent Development Systems
• Build Community-Based Recruitment Pipelines
• Leverage Past Applicants in Your CRM
• Go Local and Analog for Early-Career Talent
• Implement Formal Internship or Apprenticeship Programs
• Use Application-Driven Selection for Motivated Hires
• Interview Against Role Needs, Not Comparisons
• Develop Intern-to-Employee Talent Pipelines
• Prioritize Soft Skills in Recruitment Process
• Simplify Job Posts for Better Applicants
• Target High School and College Demographics
• Focus on Soft Skills and Learning Potential
• Treat Recruitment Like Marketing on Social Media
• Organize Skills Events and Peer-Powered Recruiting
• Partner with Educational Institutions for Talent
• Streamline Application Process for Early-Career Candidates

Create Sustainable Talent Development Systems

I’ve observed that most companies fail at volume hiring because they focus solely on filling positions rather than creating sustainable talent development systems. The key insight is that customer service roles can provide an excellent career foundation when structured properly.

Successful volume hiring requires treating entry-level customer service as a professional development opportunity rather than just transactional work. Develop structured training programs that teach business communication, problem-solving methodologies, and industry knowledge that employees can leverage for career advancement. This approach attracts ambitious candidates who view the role as career-building rather than just employment.

The most effective strategy involves creating clear advancement paths from customer service to operations, account management, or specialized roles within your organization. When early career professionals see genuine growth opportunities, they approach the work with greater engagement and commitment.

Partner with local educational institutions to access students and recent graduates who need practical business experience. Offer flexible scheduling, mentorship programs, and skills training that complement their academic development while meeting your staffing needs.

Development-focused hiring attracts better talent. When you position customer service roles as professional development opportunities with clear advancement paths, you attract motivated candidates who contribute more value while staying longer.

Friddy Hoegener, Co-Founder | Head of Recruiting, SCOPE Recruiting

Build Community-Based Recruitment Pipelines

One effective recruiting strategy I recommend for hiring large volumes of early career candidates into customer service roles is implementing a community-based outreach and development pipeline. Rather than relying solely on traditional job boards or generalized digital ads, employers should take a proactive approach by embedding themselves within local educational institutions, workforce development centers, and community organizations. By building strategic partnerships with colleges, high schools, trade schools, and local job readiness programs, companies can create a sustainable talent funnel rooted in trust, shared value, and long-term growth.

This strategy allows employers to access pools of motivated, trainable candidates who are actively seeking entry-level roles with career growth potential. More importantly, it creates a feedback loop that enables companies to better understand the values, concerns, and aspirations of the very people they hope to hire. In customer service, where emotional intelligence, communication, and empathy are vital, early engagement helps assess soft skills in a more organic setting — through info sessions, shadow days, or internship programs. 

At a previous organization I worked with, we collaborated with a city college’s career readiness program to co-design a four-week onboarding prep course. Students learned about the company, its customers, and expectations of the role. Those who completed the program were fast-tracked through the hiring process. The result? Not only did we cut our onboarding time in half, but our 90-day retention rate increased by over 30%. These students entered with a higher sense of belonging and were already aligned with the company culture, leading to fewer mis-hires and better performance from the start.

Research supports this as well. According to the National Skills Coalition, employers who invest in sector-based partnerships and local workforce initiatives report stronger candidate fit and higher retention. Additionally, Gallup data shows that employees who feel their employer is invested in their development are 63% more likely to stay in their roles long-term.

In short, early career customer service hiring isn’t just about filling seats — it’s about building loyalty from the ground up. By creating community-rooted recruitment pipelines, companies not only source talent more effectively, but also foster the kind of engagement and resilience that customer-facing roles demand.

Miriam Groom, CEO, Mindful Career Counselling

Leverage Past Applicants in Your CRM

Start with past applicants in your CRM. Early career customer service job ads attract everyone: those genuinely interested, casually curious, and even bots.

Ads will get you hundreds of applicants, most of whom won’t even meet your basic requirements. From a pool of more than 800 applicants, you might get only 5% who make it past the screening. This comes with a lot of time wasted on screening, a wasted budget, and recruiter burnout.

If you need to hire dozens or hundreds, start with your CRM. Look for former applicants, declined candidates, those who cold-pitched, or ex-employees who left on good terms. Export a year’s or several years’ worth of applicants from your ATS, depending on how many people you want to hire.

Run a light email campaign. Use a message like, “We are expanding. Want to be part of us?” Implement a priority track where people who had applied before can skip some screening steps. This approach results in no wasted time and no huge budgets.

Cassie Downing, Director of Customer Experience, 3 Men Movers

Go Local and Analog for Early-Career Talent

Early-career talent rarely lives on LinkedIn. They live on group texts, WhatsApp, and neighborhood Facebook groups. So if you want to reach them, you may need to go local and analog. Printed flyers with QR codes work better than digital ads in places where word of mouth travels fast. You might get 10 solid leads for every 100 flyers. Do that across 20 zip codes, and you are looking at 200 names within two weeks. Most businesses miss this because they chase scale on the wrong platform.

Referrals bring not only volume but also loyalty. Someone who got hired through a friend is more likely to stick around and take the job seriously. The bonus cost is nothing compared to replacing a lost hire. Put your money where the trust is, and your hiring problems start solving themselves.

Guillermo Triana, Founder and CEO, PEO-Marketplace.com

Implement Formal Internship or Apprenticeship Programs

One approach to successfully recruiting early career customer service hires that I support is operating a formal internship or apprenticeship scheme that provides long-term, real-life exposure. By not being solely dependent on traditional hiring practices, this allows you to access prospective employees for the role and allow them to demonstrate the skills and experience required for long-term success.

For instance, we started an internship program for those interested in a career in customer service, providing real-world experience in a luxury transit setting. More than 80% of our interns became full-time representatives after completing the internship. With a focus on skills development and individualized mentorship, we raised the quality of our hires by limiting any drop-offs of potential talent.

My recommendation for other employers is to reach out to local colleges or workforce development programs to form a win-win internship scenario. Give candidates transparent career and training opportunities, then track success with performance-driven metrics. This method helps you to grow and develop customer service teams that are already groomed and well-oriented to your company’s values and culture.

Arsen Misakyan, CEO and Founder, Angel City Limo

Use Application-Driven Selection for Motivated Hires

I’ve hired thousands of college students at scale for customer service roles across major events like the Kentucky Derby (1,000+ positions) and Super Bowl (600+ roles), so I’ve learned what actually works when you need volume fast.

The strategy that changed everything for us was creating application-driven selection instead of traditional recruiting. We don’t chase candidates — we post opportunities and require students to proactively apply, then we filter by skills and availability. This immediately weeds out people who aren’t genuinely interested in working.

The magic happens because students who actively seek out work show up motivated and engaged. When we staffed Formula 1 in Austin with nearly 600 roles in 2023, our fill rate hit 95% specifically because every person on that team chose to be there. Compare that to typical temp agencies pushing warm bodies who ghost on event day.

For customer service specifically, this self-selection creates teams that actually want to represent your brand rather than just collect a paycheck. We’ve seen this play out at premium venues where our student staff interact with VIP guests — they perform better because they opted in from day one.

Thomas Mumford, Co-Founder, Undergrads

Interview Against Role Needs, Not Comparisons

A common pitfall in hiring is interviewing candidates primarily for comparison against each other. This often involves requesting a “slate” of candidates to contrast their strengths and weaknesses. However, this approach can significantly slow down hiring teams, ultimately causing them to lose out on top talent.

Instead, the most effective strategy is to interview each candidate against the specific needs of the role itself. By clearly defining the position — for example, specifying the precise type of customer service professional needed — and assigning each interviewer a distinct focus, you can evaluate individuals based on their alignment with the role’s requirements.

This approach not only accelerates your hiring process but also makes it inherently more fair and equitable, as you’re assessing candidates against objective qualities rather than subjective personalities.

Jim Leahy, Director, Culture and Development, DailyPay

Develop Intern-to-Employee Talent Pipelines

The best approach that I would recommend would be to create a properly developed internship or apprenticeship program. This enables employers to hire young career professionals, expose them to practical experience, and evaluate their future potential as permanent employees of the organization. When you provide a clear internship-to-full-time career trajectory, you not only attract talent but also create an intern-to-employee talent pipeline.

Personally, I found this strategy to be effective since it offers a low-risk solution to test the candidates and also helps them learn the skills they require for the job. It also makes the candidates feel like they belong and that they can develop within the company. Some of the finest customer service people I have ever employed began as interns or apprentices and never left.

The central point to note here is to provide mentorship, training, and feedback during the program. By doing this, you are not merely filling positions but raising a team of committed employees who will be able to address customer demands successfully.

Doug Crawford, President and Founder, Best Trade Schools

Prioritize Soft Skills in Recruitment Process

I always tell employers to stop treating soft skills like a bonus and start treating them like a core requirement. For customer service roles, I build the entire recruitment flow around assessing things like empathy, patience, tone control, and conflict resolution.

We use scenario-based group interviews, quick-response video prompts, and even gamified roleplay to surface these qualities early. It helps us spot people who may not have a polished resume but naturally know how to connect, listen, and calm frustration. That’s the real gold in service-based hiring: people who can turn tension into trust without needing a script.

John Elarde III, Operations Manager, Clear View Building Services

Simplify Job Posts for Better Applicants

If you are an employer hiring for hundreds of customer service roles, simplify the job post. Cut out jargon and list only what is needed. Start with a headline that clearly states pay, shift type, and whether the role is remote or in-office. Follow with five or six bullets explaining what someone would actually do during the workday. Avoid vague phrases like “strong communication skills” and instead use specific descriptions such as “respond to 50+ customer emails per day” or “use live chat software to solve support issues.”

After we removed the fluff from one of our ads and made the expectations explicitly clear, the quality of applicants improved instantly. It weeded out individuals seeking vague office work and attracted those who knew what they were getting into. This alone saved hours of screening time, and interviews were quicker as applicants were already in sync with what the job demanded.

John Beaver, Chief Executive Office & Founder, Desky

Target High School and College Demographics

Hiring junior talent into customer service roles is a smart talent strategy to meet business demand and build strong pipelines of junior talent. However, this recruiting approach requires a different mindset than hiring experienced professionals. I recommend a talent profile targeting high school graduates for full-time work and college students looking for part-time or flexible work. 

To attract and retain this demographic, employers should consider offering flexible scheduling, such as 4-hour shifts and weekends to accommodate class schedules. If high school graduates and college students are part of the talent strategy, I would also suggest conducting interviews onsite at high schools or on college campuses, creating employer brand awareness and hype attracting more junior talent to fill the hiring demand.

Jen Carmichael, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, My Front Porch

Focus on Soft Skills and Learning Potential

I once made the costly mistake of exclusively hiring individuals with prior call center experience. However, when we analyzed performance metrics, the data revealed a different story — our most empathetic and adaptable agents were career-switchers and recent graduates who brought fresh perspectives to the role.

For a rapidly growing e-commerce client, we completely revamped their hiring process to focus on soft skills and learning potential rather than industry experience. We created simulation exercises where candidates had to respond to real customer scenarios and evaluated their problem-solving approach instead of technical knowledge.

The results were impressive: 90-day retention increased from 62% to 89%, and customer satisfaction scores for new hires matched those of veterans within 6 weeks instead of 3 months.

My advice is to create a “day in the life” video showcasing real customer interactions. Share this video before interviews so candidates truly understand the role. Then, structure interviews around behavioral scenarios rather than experience checklists.

Remember: You’re not hiring for who candidates are today, but for who they can become tomorrow.

Ajinkya Thete, CEO, CMO, NeonXpert Custom Signs

Treat Recruitment Like Marketing on Social Media

Treat recruitment like marketing. Build a simple, authentic employer brand on social channels where young candidates already spend time. Then, use short video testimonials and day-in-the-life content to show what the job is really like. Transparency builds trust, and trust attracts volume.

Erkan Kadir, Co-Founder, FUSE Facilitation

Organize Skills Events and Peer-Powered Recruiting

Employers can organize skills community events, such as customer service bootcamps, to capture potential candidates’ attention. Workshops dedicated to practical skills like communication and problem-solving also allow for the identification of candidates who have a genuine interest in the industry. This practice generates a talent pool of potential hires who are at least open to the work that the company does, which increases the chances of their long-term employment once hired.

Talent recruiting powered by peers can also present significant value. Video testimonials of employees sharing real-life experiences provide candidates with a more accurate impression of the job and the organizational culture. Not only do candidates learn about the humanizing aspects of your hiring process, but it also enables them to self-select, resulting in fewer mismatches and reduced turnover.

Finally, unconventional approaches to traditional applications can help develop a stronger understanding of what a candidate can bring to the role. Instead of basing the hiring procedure solely on CVs, request candidates to perform situational tasks, such as processing a fictional customer inquiry. This method emphasizes problem-solving abilities and raw talent, which tend to better determine success in customer service job positions.

Ben Richardson, CEO & Owner, Acuity Training

Partner with Educational Institutions for Talent

A winning recruiting strategy for hiring large numbers of early-career candidates for customer service jobs starts with building connections with educational institutions. Partnering with schools, universities, and vocational programs gives you access to a pool of students eager for their first work experience. Offer internships, part-time positions, or customized onboarding programs to create a seamless transition from education to employment.

Another important strategy is to reduce friction in the application and training processes. Avoid lengthy forms and overly formal interviews that can intimidate early-career candidates. Opt for simple language, brief application steps, and video introductions instead of lengthy interviews. Once onboard, emphasize hands-on, team-based training to help build confidence. Also, consider incorporating mentorship opportunities where new hires can ask questions in a low-pressure environment.

Hans Scheffer, Chief Executive Officer, HelloPrint

Streamline Application Process for Early-Career Candidates

One of the best ways to recruit entry-level candidates into customer service jobs is by making the recruitment process easier. The problem is that many young job seekers find it hard to cope with complicated and time-consuming application processes, which can deter them from applying in the first place or cause them to quit the process. With an organized procedure, employers can simplify the application process and allow potential candidates to demonstrate their capabilities. With the help of a streamlined and intuitive application form and brief, compelling skills tests, employers can quickly identify the main qualities required for customer service work, such as communication, problem-solving, and empathy.

The final method of simplifying the process would be through video-recorded interviews or assessments instead of time-consuming face-to-face interviews. This conserves the time of both the employer and the candidate, as only the right people with the right potential will reach the next stage. It also enables an interview to be less intimidating and more relaxed, which may be especially useful for early career candidates who may not be as confident. This solution not only increases the speed of hiring but also provides young professionals with the opportunity to be tested on their actual potential rather than experience. It leads to improved quality of hire, greater diversity of candidates, and an improved overall candidate experience.

Hugh Dixon, Consultant / Marketing Manager, PSS International Removals