During the summer months many companies turn their attention to recruiting graduates and this year will be no exception. With a record number of people going to University, the number of talented graduates is on the rise.
But why would a company want to employ graduates? Are the perceptions true that they’re lazy, have an over inflated sense of self worth and demanding?
In my experience this is far from the truth. I know some companies that only recruit graduates and promote from within and others that insist up to 50% of their teams are made up of recent graduates.
Here are my top 5 reasons for employing graduates this summer
1) Graduates are motivated and full of energy and enthusiasm
Far from focusing on getting to the pub on a Friday night, graduates are keen to make their mark and develop their career as quickly as possible. Their enthusiasm and energy is infectious and can make a real difference in a recession-beaten team struggling with motivation.
2) Graduates have lower salary expectations and remain loyal
Graduates naturally have lower salary expectations as your offer of employment maybe their first job. Remember though, this lower salary will be offset against an investment in time and training to raise their productivity. Graduates often remain incredibly loyal as you have given them an opportunity to grow and develop.
3) Graduates are quick to learn and become productive faster
Because of the learning environment at university, where graduates have to disseminate a lot of information on a regular basis, they tend to be fast learners. This decreases the time they are unproductive whilst learning the ropes.
Unlike other trainees, graduates are often further advanced in both their interpersonal skills and technical abilities to undertake the role. Most graduates are also highly computer literate and able to pick up new systems quickly.
4) Graduates are able to adapt to new environments
Because of the frenetic and constantly changing nature of University, graduates are often able to adapt to new working practices and ideas very quickly. Unlike some of their stick in the mud colleagues, graduates often embrace change and will come up with inventive ways of dealing with it.
5) Graduates have few preconceived ideas and can challenge the status quo
Graduates also have fresh ideas about business, life and few preconceptions about how things should be done. If you are comfortable with people challenging the status quo, which I hope you are, then recruiting graduates could be the best thing you have ever done.
Tom Leavesly blogs for SayNoToUnemployment and is also a director of online recruitment company EasyVacancy. A skilled recruitment specialist, Tom helps companies to find the right candidates for hard to fill positions. When he’s not doing all of that he’s often found pampering his pooch.