Here are some highlights and takeaways from our panel event held as part of Techweek 2022.

“Makers of culture, not takers of culture.” 

Hiring juniors rather than seniors mean people come to your organisation free of ingrained workplace culture.

“Hire a team rather than an individual.” 

The gap between experienced team members and juniors can be closed by hiring a team of juniors whose skills collectively bridge that gap.

“Hire for core skills.” 

You can teach technical skills, but you cannot teach team fit.

“Think about the impact.” 

Hiring juniors means your team is learning how to teach others. This learning mindset flows through into other areas of your organisation.

“It’s an experiment.” 

You won’t always nail it the first time. Still, it is a great learning experience for your team to hire juniors and figure out how best to integrate them into your organisation.

“Virtuous circle.” 

By hiring junior talent, you attract even more junior talent and show other employers the value of doing so.

“Build rapport.” 

If you’re hiring interns months before starting, keep them in the loop leading up to the start date by inviting them to meetings. It’s the same for when your interns return to study - if you want them to return to your organisation, put the work in to make sure you keep in touch.

“Make sure the team is ready to support them.” 

If the team is not prepared to support juniors and help them grow, then you will not reap the benefits of junior talent and potential.

“Don’t expect them to know everything.” 

You have to teach them. Teaching juniors is the perfect opportunity to improve your processes and the documentation of processes!

“Career switchers ask all the right questions.” 

So don’t just look for University graduates - look for that diversity of experience. It’ll open up more options for you. 

“Have a central support system.” 

Ensure the juniors have somewhere to go outside their direct team to seek support. 

“Sustainability.” 

If you do a great job with your juniors, they’ll spread the word about how great it is to work for you and attract new talent - this creates a pipeline of talent for you! Because, as we know, the senior talent pool is running out.

Thank you once again to Miki, Treen and Prae for bringing their energy and sharing their wisdom during our panel event.

Watch the full 58-minute recording of event below.

We talked through these insights at our Employer Drop In event on 1 June. If you’re employing interns or grads, join us next time! Employer Drop Ins are a virtual cuppa where we share insights from Summer of Tech and connect with the employer community… grab a cuppa and join us online, 10:30am on 13 July, please rsvp here.