The Case for Hiring New Graduates

Think back to the start of your career…how did you get your foot in the door? Who took a chance on you? Did you build a resume based on internship, volunteer, and academic experience before you had an employment history? Did you leverage your connections to improve your chances? 

State of New Graduate Hiring

Today, there are two job openings for each unemployed person in the U.S., yet college graduates are struggling to fill those positions. 

A 2022 University of Chicago graduate recently recounted her personal horror story of applying to nearly 90 jobs and never hearing back from any of them. To corroborate her story, a new study found that nearly 90% of job applications submitted by recent graduates didn’t get any response from employers, and only 2% resulted in interviews. 

Moreover, a LinkedIn report on their own job postings found that 35% of entry-level jobs require three or more years of experience.

So, without any experience, how can new grads get entry-level positions? And, if it’s not a numbers game (apply to many jobs to improve job offer odds), how can they get their foot in the door? 

That’s where employers come in; it’s ultimately up to them to create the conditions necessary for new grads to get hired—and it’s in their best interest to do so. 

Why Employers Should Care About Hiring New Graduates

On this week’s episode of America Back to Work, we sat down with Brien Convery, a purpose-driven, people-centric talent executive with decades of global transformational change and values-based leadership experience in varying disciplines and multiple industries. 

Convery is a published thought leader, TEDx speaker, and podcaster who has been featured in many publications, books, and magazines. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work and passion for supporting talent and their careers—especially early careers. 

“I feel like there’s a lot of opportunity to help young individuals think about mapping their futures with all the static and information overload they hear. I find it very rewarding to connect with young people and understand their generation, which also helps us,” says Convery. 

According to Convery, these are the reasons that employers should care about hiring new grads: 

• Tap into fresh perspectives. Recent graduates often bring fresh and innovative ideas to the table. They’re more likely to think outside the box and challenge existing norms and practices, which can lead to creative solutions and improved processes. “You’ll find that they really have a passion for making a difference in the world. They’ve grown up with the tragedies we’ve seen in the last few years, and they wanna make a difference,” shares Convery on the episode.
  
• Gain technological proficiency. Younger generations who recently graduated grew up with technology, making them digital natives who can bring unparalleled digital literacy to organizations. Between the growing use of AI, the increased popularity of remote work (which demands digital transformations within a company), and a heightened emphasis on data, having younger, tech-adept employees is becoming increasingly advantageous for employers.
  
• Boost engagement. New graduates bring new energy. “The eagerness, innovation, mindfulness, empathy—all the things that we want to bring to the office now—are the things they come with,” explained Convery. For teams burning out or teammates finding it difficult to stay engaged, young hires—and their enthusiasm for work—could be the inspiration they need. 
• Reach diversity goals. Gen Z is the most racially diverse subgroup in the workforce, bringing a variety of backgrounds and experiences to the table, which can contribute to a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Recruiting from this talent pool can bring more diversity of thought to the business, which has been proven to improve problem-solving and decision-making. 
• Save money. Hiring new graduates is often more cost-effective than hiring experienced professionals since their salary expectations are lower and because they are more easily trained to fit the organization’s specific needs (rather than coming in with a rigid, specialized skill set).
  
• Invest in the long-term. On that note, because employers can train new hires for specific skills and guide them towards specific roles, hiring new grads is a kind of investment in the future. It can help HR with succession planning and will make young employees feel valued—leading to better employee retention, productivity, morale, and satisfaction. 
• Improve employer branding. Employers with a strong internship-to-hire program or a well-known campus recruiting program are seen as an entity that invest in developing young talent, care about diversity of thought, and are technologically advanced, which can be attractive to prospective employees. 

Given all these benefits, it’s clear that investing in young employees has a high return, but how do you get access to the talent pool? How do you attract and recruit top talent from graduating classes? 

We’re covering that later this week on the blog, so check back soon or subscribe to America Back to Work to get access to the episode.