Managing early-career hiring could feel messy. Communication is scattered, candidates are lost, and TA teams are drowning in manual processes. It’s chaotic.

"We saw these issues firsthand," says Ben Siegel, Co-founder of Abode. "During my sophomore year, my co-founder and I both got offers in the fall for internships starting the following summer between sophomore and junior year. We signed the offers in September and literally heard nothing until a week before we were supposed to start. Terrible experience."

This is why we built Abode. We had one goal in mind. To streamline the experience so that candidates and talent acquisition teams enjoy it.

What’s Wrong with the Current Methods

Traditional hiring methods are outdated. Fragmented communication, missed details, and disconnected new hires are common complaints. Current processes take long and are prone to errors.

Early-career leaders need something that centralizes and automates these procedures to create a seamless and engaging candidate experience.

Excessive Turnover

Turnover among interns and early-career employees is disturbingly high. For instance, Gen Zers switch jobs 134% more often than before the pandemic. LinkedIn also reports that 72% of Gen Z employees consider leaving a job that doesn’t offer flexibility. These are issues that must be addressed urgently.

Communication Breakdown

Communication is a big issue in early-career hiring. Early-career teams are usually overwhelmed with emails to keep interns and new hires informed. These manual methods are slow and prone to errors.

Our data shows that 80% of students want monthly updates from their employers between accepting an offer and starting the job. Yet, many employers struggle to deliver this regular, meaningful communication, which leads to disengagement and anxiety.

Disconnected Experience

Welcome emails are fine, but Gen Z expects more than that. They want to feel like they are part of the team before starting.

For example, 70% of Gen Z talent wish to build relationships with peers and future teammates before day one. And 94% want to connect with their hiring manager or mentor. Traditional processes fail to enable these early connections, leaving new hires feeling isolated.

Decentralization and Inefficiencies

Early-career and TA teams struggle with decentralization and inconsistent candidate experiences. Post-offer engagement often happens across isolated systems, leaving room for human error and inconsistency.

These manual processes consume many hours each week. This made it clear that a cohesive and more intuitive solution is needed.

The Birth of Abode

Recognizing these persistent issues, we understood that the industry needed a new and disruptive approach. "We realized the bad experiences we had in college weren't because companies didn't care," Ben explains. "They just didn't know what to do or have the right tools to improve it. So, we created Abode to fix that.“

Abode was born to centralize and automate early-career hiring processes while creating an amazing experience for everyone involved.

The platform aims to ensure a smooth, engaging experience for early-career teams and new hires by addressing the shortcomings of traditional methods.

Let’s consider some of Abode’s features.

Automated Communication

Endless manual emails are the norm in this initial phase, but this need not be the case. Our platform automates communication, ensuring new hires receive all the information they need at the right time.

‍Onboarding documents, mentor introductions, event invitations—everything is handled seamlessly. This saves teams hours every week while engaging and informing new hires.

Building Relationships Early

Connecting new hires with peers, mentors, and hiring managers early on is crucial. This reduces anxiety and promotes a sense of belonging. Our platform includes welcome videos, community forums, and peer interactions to build excitement and a sense of community from the start.

Centralized and Efficient Processes

Our platform centralizes communication and task management, automating many manual processes involved in pre-boarding.

This saves team members roughly ten hours per week, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives without sacrificing the quality of the candidate experience.

Data Insights

Our platform tracks over 100 candidate engagement data points, giving early-career teams a clear picture of who’s engaged and who needs attention. These insights allow early intervention, reducing the risk of employee reneges and turnover.

These detailed analytics help teams continuously improve their programs and candidate experiences.

Benefits of Using Our Platform

• Consistency: Delivering a uniform experience for all new hires, regardless of their role or location.
• Community building: Directory and Forum features encourage a sense of community, helping new hires form relationships before starting.
• Efficiency: Automating communication and task management saves teams time and reduces errors.
• Engagement: Interactive content, forums, and events keep new hires excited about their new role.
• Data-driven decisions: Detailed analytics provide insights that help early-career teams improve their strategies and deliver better candidate experiences.

Redefining Early Career Hiring Processes

We created our platform to tackle the unique challenges of early-career hiring. High turnover rates, fragmented communication, and inefficient processes make traditional methods inadequate, especially for Gen Z.

At Abode, we centralize and automate processes and communication throughout the recruiting and hiring journey, ensuring candidates enjoy a seamless and personalized experience from the start.

Our platform transforms early-career hiring by delivering automated communication, fostering early relationship-building, enabling centralized management, and providing comprehensive data insights.

Conclusion

So, perhaps it’s time for Talent Acquisition decision-makers and early-career program managers to rethink their hiring processes. A platform streamlining and enhancing the candidate experience would benefit early-career teams and new hires. That’s precisely why we created Abode.

‍