Summer is one of the busiest hiring seasons of the year. With hospitality and tourism businesses gearing up for warm weather hiring, and many additional companies vying for the best high school and college grads, now is the time to make sure you’re ready to attract and hire top new talent.

So, expect tough competition this summer—and start planning your strategy now for attracting and hiring the best. To get a jump-start on seasonal hiring and stay ahead of the competition, try these 5 practical tips.

1. Snag the best talent early

Now is the time to do a quick check for delays and inefficiencies in your screening process. Any lags and weak links in your system can mean that by the time you get to hiring, the best candidates may already be at work—dazzling someone else’s customers.

The crux of effective seasonal hiring is to quickly screen applicants to a manageable and qualified group. There are a number of online screening tools that are easy to implement and can quickly streamline your recruiting and screening process. These tools not only cut your time and cost to hire, they also increase your access to quality applicants and improve your accuracy in pinpointing top candidates.

2. Treat your applicants like customers

The image you project to applicants during the hiring process makes a powerful statement about your business. To reflect your brand as a dynamic, progressive company, you need to start building that foundation when you hire.

Today’s applicants expect more. Why not give them a truly engaging, interactive experience? New technology enables you to easily customize standard screening tools by adding key information specific to your company. Applicants that are engaged and excited about your company are more likely to connect with your customers, and they’re more likely to become customers themselves.

3. Set realistic job expectations

More and more businesses are relying on job simulations to introduce applicants to the job and predict which candidates will be most successful in the role. A key advantage of job simulations is that they serve a dual purpose. Simulations immerse applicants in the job, helping them experience what the job is like so they can decide if it is right for them. Simulations also help employers by offering a direct measure of performance so employers can decide if applicants are right for the job.

Employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention all increase when candidates know what to expect and understand what the job entails.

4. Streamline prescreening interviews

If you’re spending hours conducting phone or in-person screening interviews, switching to virtual interviews will help you take control of your time, schedule, and results. No shows, late arrivals, delays, and time over-runs add to the stress and hassle of interviewing. Repetition and fatigue also take a toll on interviewer effectiveness and reduce the quality of each interview.

Virtual Interviews are an affordable and effective solution to the constraints of live interviews, helping you quickly identify top candidates to proceed in the selection process. Applicants can complete the interview at their convenience—anytime, anywhere. And you can review interview responses on your own schedule—in a fraction of the time and cost.

5. Listen for their smile

Sometimes we are so caught up in the hiring process that we forget our customers. Whether you’re hiring seasonal workers or full-time employees, remember—these are the people who’ll work directly with your customers. You might have the best product or service in the world, but if a customer has a bad experience with one of your associates, you may never see that customer again.

Providing world-class customer service starts with a smile. That smile is as important over the phone as it is in person. So, when screening candidates, don’t just look for that smile, listen for it in their voice.

With an efficient, engaging, and accurate hiring process, you can breathe easier this summer knowing that each new team member has what it takes to hit the ground running and to provide stellar service and support to your customers.

Ready to engage the best new talent this summer? We can help! Click here for a free consultation or call 888-332-0648.