4 Reasons Why Startups Should Recruit College Students
I recently accepted a position at HubSpot, a venture-backed Internet marketing software company based in Cambridge. In my nine months interning at HubSpot, I have been mesmerized by the amount of brainpower and prowess that all employees possess – from other interns to higher management. Startups, or companies that function like them, are uniquely situated to recruit and employ college students, and I don’t think they do enough of it.
1. College Students are not ‘Corrupted’
In a startup, thinking outside of the box is commonplace. Their very culture asks employees to question the status quo, and not get caught up in bureaucratic decision-making. I have talked with numerous people who have worked at large, “old-school” companies before working at HubSpot, all of whom say, “You don’t know how good you have it.” There is definitely a necessary culture adjustment for employees coming from larger firms.
2. 20-Somethings are Cheap and Willing to Work Really Hard
Smaller startups are usually cash-strapped. Due to limited experience, 21 year olds are more willing to settle for a smaller base salary and take a risk on high-upside equity than their intellectual ability would usually justify. Thus, a greater onus is put on the interview process, which should be demanding. An internship, or three-month hourly contractual employment is a great way to test out the fit of a young new employee.
With all of my various commitments at school, I am used to working the equivalent of sixty hour weeks between five classes, a job with Residence Life, a job at the mail room, an internship, and freelance consulting. The ability to put the same amount of time into my job is a natural transition. I really value the fact that HubSpot (as evidenced by their vacation policy) values what you do more than when you do it. At college I work some crazy hours, and to be honest, I love it.
3. Campus Recruiting is Efficient
Small companies have an untapped resource in college career centers. For instance, at BU a potential employer can specify requirements (ex. major, GPA, or concentration) and only reach applicants that match their criteria. Recruiting from a top-tier college automatically yields only candidates that have the intellectual capacity to get into said college. While there certainly are outliers, the cost to recruit is near zero and the resumes pile up quickly. In one day of on campus interviews, a company can meet with over 20 potential candidates. Career fairs and speaking engagements are a great way to not only recruit, but also forge connections for the future and display a presence in the greater community in which the company resides (or even establish one outside of it).
4. Startups are Hip
At least at BU’s School of Management, there is an echoing clamor within the undergraduate community to sign with a big firm – Ernst & Young, Deloitte & Touche, or Goldman Sachs to name a few. Not only do these firms attract the most competition, but for the most part the types of jobs that they offer 21 year olds are very undesirable, and are sold on the premise of “climbing the corporate ladder,” a sentiment which is slowly dissipating.
Even as an undergraduate intern at HubSpot, I have started and finished massive projects for some of the brightest people around, and have been recognized for doing so. There are people in their early twenties ‘managing’ entire departments or starting new and exciting experiments. Not only is that accepted, it is encouraged and almost expected. You can build a far more diverse and exciting skillset at a startup in two years than you ever could at a big firm.