The Lowdown On Hiring Fresh Graduates At Your Enterprise This Summer Consider the abundant resource that is available more and more every summer: fresh graduates.
By Suhail Al-Masri •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
As you approach your hiring pipeline and you sum up your needs for new talent to be added to your workplace, consider the abundant resource that is available more and more every summer: fresh graduates. Although this group of job seekers is well-educated, is highly eager to establish their career, and is aggressively competing in the market, some companies remain reluctant towards them. Here are a few reasons why hiring more fresh graduates may be a highly beneficial business decision.
1. COMFORT WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES
No doubts, a big advantage of hiring a fresh graduate is their ability to adapt to the new and innovative technologies that are constantly developed, specifically work-related software and applications that could facilitate processes and tasks at work. A big portion of the current workforce has begun their careers prior to the big advancements in technologies that have unfortunately replaced job roles and individuals. The new and upcoming generations tend to be more familiar and dependent on technologies and are more likely to adapt and introduce advancements that can boost overall organizational performance.
Without doubt, technology is a cornerstone of business success nowadays. The Bayt.com Ideal Workplace in the Middle East and North Africa Survey showed less than four in 10 employers promote the use of advanced technology in their workplace, despite that fact that 83% of job seekers feel that a workplace should promote this aspect. In addition, the Bayt.com Middle East Skills Report forecasts that "technology and computer skills" will remain the most important skill in 10 years.
2. QUICK LEARNERS
Hiring fresh graduates grants you the opportunity to shape the individual into your current needs and to become part of your organizational culture. Since most fresh graduates have limited work experience, they are often eagerly seeking to learn and adapt to new work environments. Fresh graduates are often perceived as a "blank canvas," which means they are always open to new ideas and opportunities. This should make the onboarding, training, and teamwork processes much smoother.
3. LOWER SALARIES
With little to no experience, fresh graduates aren't expecting high salaries. They are stepping into the job market to learn more about how to perform the job and get hands on experience of the job. In fact, the Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa Survey showed that "lower expectations on salary" is one of the main reasons behind why some industries hire more fresh graduates than others, according to 42% of respondents.
This indeed doesn't mean unfair compensation for fresh graduates, as there are many tools out there, such as Bayt.com Salaries, which help job seekers evaluate the competitiveness of their job offers and compensation packages. It simply means that hiring a fresh graduate doesn't break budgets and can still yield very impressive outcomes in terms of productivity and growth potential.
4. NEW PERSPECTIVES
Having the young generation in your workplace means that there is room for having new innovative and fresh perspectives. Unfortunately, only 30% of respondents to the Bayt.com Ideal Workplace in the Middle East and North Africa Survey believe that their workplace encourages innovation and creativity. Fresh graduates can be one of the resources that bring in creativity, which is needed for every organization. They can bring in many new ideas that could take increase productivity at the workplace.
5. DIVERSITY
Diversity at the workplace plays a vital role in an organizational success. Hiring fresh graduates and young professionals is one way to increase the diversity of your teams. University graduates come from different backgrounds and have had different experience that developed their skills. Diversity is also seen as a critical element in the ideal workplace and a positive influence on company culture, team dynamics, and overall employee satisfaction.
6. LACK OF OFFICE POLITICS
Office politics can create delays, tension, and decreased productivity at any company. Younger professionals who haven't experienced office politics and haven't been in the job market to know what it entails, will help create a new equilibrium among your teams. In most cases, they will come in with a neutral and openminded attitude and will want to impress the employer by focusing on performing their best and avoiding unnecessary fuss.
GETTING THE NEWBIES IN
There are cases in which companies aren't sure when to hire fresh graduates. First, if the organization has employees with specific skills who need an assistant or someone in a junior position, then fresh graduates are the perfect fit. They will learn from the experienced employees on how to perform the job and work closely with them.
Also, if the company is a startup or has a limited budget for salaries, then it's a good opportunity to hire fresh talent and train them to grow with the company. Even larger companies with clear structures and job descriptions can easily benefit from fresh graduates. Employers tend to look for job roles with small business risk or roles that handle new or temporary projects and assign them to fresh graduates.
Alternatively, offering an internship opportunity benefits you and the fresh graduate. Internships mitigate the risk of hiring an individual who the organization isn't fully sure of. Within the internship period, the hiring manager can observe performance, learning potential, workplace ethics, and other qualifications that the interns possess. Internships can help the hiring manager predict future performance instead of giving an unfair judgment from the fresh graduate's CV.
In a Bayt.com poll, titled Internships in the Middle East and North Africa, more than seven out of ten employers (73.6%) stated that internships allow them to identify talent for future positions. At the same time, internship opportunities help fresh graduates to get hands-on experience and further develop skills and qualifications needed for the job market and the industry.
Another way that companies usually follow to have a successful experience with fresh graduates is by having training schemes that create a smooth transition for students between university and work. Some companies usually invest in hiring and retaining candidates who have a strong academic background and little to zero years of experience. These programs usually last a year or two and they offer students the chance to rotate around different business sectors before settling for their final career path within the company.
Sometimes, hiring managers focus solely on the CV and interview, and in some cases, overlook the right candidate. Therefore, it is recommended for hiring managers to further explore the potential of the fresh graduates' applicants pool. To hire the top talent, employers are advised to be aware of the following common mistakes:
1. NOT TREATING THEM AS YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Some employers fail to treat fresh graduates as young professionals and often perceive them as amateurs or students. In fact, many fresh graduates are serious about their career and are approaching every opportunity they come across with excitement and determination to develop their skills and impress the company. Therefore, employers are recommended to treat fresh graduates exactly as they treat experienced employees.
2. THE WRONG IMPRESSION
First impression plays an indirect yet critical role in the hiring process. It can attract the most attention to one candidate or push away the interviewer from another candidate. These distractions lead to hiring the wrong talent and fail to give the hiring manager the opportunity to further explore real qualities and traits.
Fresh graduates are new to the job search and interviewing process, and often find it difficult to give in their best during an interview. Therefore, employers are encouraged to be comforting and thorough in their selection process to minimize stress, and to avoid relying on first impressions.
3. NOT DISCOVERING POTENTIAL
Some fresh graduates have had some experiences in internships or leadership programs, while others might not. However, their quality cannot be measured by past experiences and most recent job performance. Thus, they need more opportunities to widen their skills set and get on site training. Hiring managers should evaluate their willingness to learn and adapt to new environments.
As fresh graduates enter the job market and workforce with little experience, they are just short of training from management and seasoned employees to unleash their creativity and potential. Learning from previous experienced employees with the creativity and innovation that the younger generation holds can be a huge asset to all organizations to reach their objectives. They are also a huge segment in the Middle East and North Africa region, which affords companies more choice when hiring. On Bayt.com, over 32 million job seekers are registered on the platform, many of whom are fresh graduates and young talent. Employers regularly navigate through the database but also make use of precise filtering tools to ensure they don't compromise on relevancy and qualification, even with young talent.
Hiring the younger generation is a reality that organizations have to make use of at one point or another. They are the upcoming professionals that could lead organizations into innovative and creative spaces.
