From April to August, the labor force grows by nearly 2.4 million employees—all under the age of 24. Many are high school and college students, off for the summer, out working and learning at companies across the country in summer jobs, internships, and work-study programs. One of these students could prove to be a valuable resource for your organization and, by leveraging her skills, could help you build a talent pipeline for future openings. In fact, seasonal employees could be some of your most vocal supporters. Here are a handful of benefits associated with utilizing the youth labor force and summer employees to build a talent pipeline:

1. It’s a 3-month trial run. The employee will get exposure to your business: the culture, coworkers, current projects, and the systems you use. They get a low-stakes taste of what a career with you looks like. Similarly, you get to see how the employee works—it’s like a 3-month long interview! You see her teamwork skills, communication ability, and if she might be a strong addition after graduation (or next summer!).
2. You have access to their knowledge base. The employee may have skills and knowledge in areas that others in your company don’t. You get to tap into all of that and benefit from it; others in the organization could benefit from new information, too.
3. They’ll be ready to go next year. If the summer employment works out well, and you need someone part-time during the school year or next summer—or even for a full-time role after they graduate—it’ll take far less time to train them and acquaint them with their team.
4. You can build off their network. You may be looking for someone again in the future, or another intern next summer: you can utilize the former employee as a referral source. What better person to source candidates for you than someone who has seen it all up close!
5. You create a potential customer. The more familiar someone is with a business, product, or service, the more likely she is to use it themselves. You may not have a full-time role beyond summer for the individual, but she could be a great advocate (and user) of your business.
6. You’re helping someone learn. In addition to the bottom-line, organizational benefit from utilizing a youth workforce, there’s the feel-good bonus that you’re helping new employees understand their strengths and develop their future career path.

The youth labor force can provide benefits to your organization far beyond an extra set of hands. Let your local high schools, technical colleges, universities, current employees, and business partners know you’re looking for summer help. If you’re interested in other strategic recruiting ideas, let us know. We can work with you to define your needs and help you utilize this potentially untapped resource.