By Greg Ashton, founder @ GROW, a media company and conference series specializing in online retail.
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With the class of 2023’s graduation just around the corner, it’s a great time to ask yourself, “Should my business hire recent grads?” In my opinion, the short answer is yes. But the long answer is way more satisfying, so let’s get into it.
Companies are facing two major challenges right now as the economy works to get back on its feet. The first is cutting costs; the second is retaining good employees. Unfortunately, for the first, many companies are conducting layoffs (paywall), including giants such as Amazon and BlackRock. The second challenge has been an issue for industries across the board. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (via SHRM) cited that 4.25 million people quit their jobs in January 2022. In an Indeed survey, the most common reasons for quitting came down to work-life balance, work environment and lack of fit between personal interests or passions and job roles.
Let’s pair that with the fact that graduates are arguably entering one of the biggest hiring job markets since before the Great Recession if measured by the number of job offers they receive before graduating. In fact, recent data from NACE shows employers are planning to hire 14.7% more new college grads from the upcoming class than they did from the class of 2022.
So why are so many companies turning to inexperienced hires in the wake of everything? I think it’s likely because doing so can be cost-effective, they’re malleable and they can bring a fresh perspective companies are dying for to cut through the competition. If your company is having a hard time hiring and retaining employees, it might be time to turn to the less experienced pool. Here’s why.
1. Malleable learners are good for business.
If your company is suffering from high job turnover, consider the benefits of hiring an employee that you get to train from day one. With less experienced hires or recent graduates, you’re likely not getting many “bad habits,” so to speak. You have the flexibility to train them on your programs, brand guidelines, company ethics and so on before anyone else. This could be as simple as getting them G-Suite cozy over Outlook or as in-depth as certifying them on platforms your company uses daily (like a CRM).
In my experience, recent graduates are eager to learn, so you’ve got a great opportunity to train your dream worker from the ground up. Just be sure that you are hiring someone who’s willing to learn from the get-go. Some common traits often listed as traits hiring managers look for are eagerness, ambition, problem-solving and teamwork skills. If the foundation of your candidate aligns with your company’s own values and traits, you can go anywhere from there.
2. Less experience means less money.
Look, I’m not saying you shouldn’t pay your hires well, because that is an easy way to lose them. You want to be cultivating employee satisfaction and happiness, and money is part of that. However, that being said, salary is not the most important thing for all recent grads. In a survey conducted by the NACE (via Vox), students are citing embracing diversity and the ability to make the world a better place as some of the most important qualities in the jobs they consider. Salary has fallen to number 11. The article explains, “That’s not to say it’s unimportant—when all other things are equal, students say salary breaks the tie—but it’s not their primary desire.”
Your employees want to know they have a future within the company. That means being offered promotions, financial growth, taking on more responsibilities—you name it. Hiring recent grads could allow you to start on a lower rung of the ladder financially at a time when your company could benefit from it, but it also provides space for them to grow with your company (and, hopefully, the overall economy).
3. A fresh perspective is good for competition.
In a time where innovation can make or break you, you’d be a fool to not listen to a fresh perspective. The great thing about recent graduates is that they are likely to be on the cutting edge of technology, trends and case studies that we just don’t always have the time to stay on top of ourselves.
Take, for example, marketing directors in America. According to Zippia, the average age of a marketing director in the United States is 39 years old. I am confident many don’t know the ins and outs of TikTok the way a 21-year-old college grad does. Yet this platform is a popular one for advertising and marketing purposes. The young college grad on the team can offer up fresh insight on what works and what doesn’t, as well as how to actually implement those strategies in a way that makes sense. This doesn’t just apply to social media roles. Companies should work to shake up their diversity across the board, from age to race to gender. When we bring in new perspectives, we can get closer to creating products that matter. And I believe those products are the ones that will come out on top—even in an economic downturn.
Bonus: You’ll even learn about yourself along the way.
Finally, a student is only as good as their teacher. Hiring less experienced candidates is an interesting way to shine a light on the downfalls of your own company. Are you having trouble explaining any of the platforms your company uses to your new hire? Maybe it’s time to implement certification courses. Are you finding yourself saying “because that’s the way it’s done” rather than providing real answers? Maybe it’s time to dig into some recent statistics. You don’t have to question everything you do, but if you’re finding spots that seem a little lackluster in the training process, this could be a critical moment to evaluate what works and what doesn’t in your company’s own pipeline. At the end of the day, you want your company to function at its best, and this could be a great way to figure out what “best” means to you.
