So you've decided you want to hire a graduate. Now what?

𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦.
Before anything else, define exactly what this person will actually do in their first three months. Pick a specific task tied to a real need. "Build and maintain a weekly dashboard tracking activation and churn" works. "Help with operations" doesn't. Clear brief, clear results.

𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴.
Most founders skip straight to posting a job ad. Before advertising widely, speak to a university careers service, especially one that's strong in your field. They already run structured employer partnership schemes and want local SME and startup partners. This often results in better-matched candidates than a completely open application process.

𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦.
At this stage, a CV tells you far less than how someone learns, takes feedback, and whether they genuinely want to be in your sector. Interview for those things directly, not for polish.

𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥.
You don't have to commit to a full permanent hire on day one. A short paid trial, followed by a clear decision point, protects both sides. Recent US employer data shows intern-to-hire conversion has climbed to over 60%, the highest rate in five years. That's a strong hit rate for a low-risk start.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘒, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘺.
Larger companies often have unused levy funds they can transfer to smaller businesses. Depending on eligibility, many SMEs can have most or all of the training costs covered for apprentices under 25. It won't cover your recruitment costs, but it can meaningfully reduce what you spend on formal training.

𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦.
Get one graduate right before you build a whole scheme around it. Once you've proven the fit works, formalising it into a proper programme is easy. Doing it the other way around rarely works.

Keep it intentional, not complicated. Do that, and you're not just hiring a junior - you're growing your future team.

Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 2026 Internship & Co-op Report (US employer data).