Graduating college is a milestone that a lot more people are experiencing today in our society. Many businesses turn a blind eye to recent graduates. They fear their lack of experience and question if they are competent enough to fill an existing position that housed a more experienced employee. Being a recent college graduate myself, I have witnessed that in this difficult time, more students are seeing their parents or family members being laid off. This has definitely caused a stir and forces students to become more practical and driven. College graduates may not have the most favorable experience, but they are hungry to work and that is something to definitely consider in the hiring process.
1. Hungry and Driven: Students are well-aware of the growing competitive market around them, and something to be said about our youth is their energy and strive to win. Survival instincts kick in when they see the world of unemployment around them, so recent graduates are thriving with motivation. After being in school for many years and fresh out from a long stint of learning, it only makes sense that these recent graduates will still have that same desire to learn, which is highly beneficial.
2. Experience and Career-Focused: Many students gather experience elsewhere other than their field of work. I know personally, my parents instilled in me the importance of gaining valuable knowledge and a strong work ethic doing part-time jobs and volunteer work. Not only did it help me get a grasp on being financially responsible, but it gave me the maturity and expectations to bring forth once I was ready to tackle a full-time professional career. Internships are becoming more accessible for students as well, because businesses are able to create jobs at a low cost which are great tools for gaining know-how experience that is essential when pursuing a career.
3. Comfortable with Technology: We live in a generation where social media is prominent. New graduates expect to work with technology and learn rapidly at that. In a world where Facebook and Twitter are our core means of communication, what better way to bring into a company someone who has extensive knowledge of the latest communication tools. Not only does it benefit your company with fast growth, but it also gives older employees the chance to learn and profit from this high-value quality.
Now more than ever is the time to consider hiring new college graduates. Many employers don’t think of recent grads as hiring material for their business, but it is time to think again. They are fast-learners with a willingness to discover what it takes to be successful. Coming from an educated background, they can provide a continuous learning attitude as well as bring new innovation for the future that can be very valuable for businesses. You may never know what you are missing with a candidate if you stop short of their recent graduated status. It might benefit you in more ways than one.
-Natalie Castellana, Executive Assistant at Kavaliro