How to Hire a New Graduate: Career Insights from a Gen Y Perspective

Graduating from one of Canada’s top universities in 2005, I was faced with a huge problem: What was I going to do next?

The obvious answer, of course, was to enter the workforce. But how?

I had an above average BA in Economics, a summer internship under my belt, and was very active on campus. But the dozens of employers on campus weren’t knocking on my door.

And I was not the only one in this position. Taking a sample of 6 of my college classmates, all of whom were in Arts or Engineering programs, none of us were recruited on campus.

With no prior plan to do so, 4 of us went to graduate school and ultimately when we entered the workforce, it was through a connection.

This suggests a major problem; Each year, as more than 300,000 graduates enter the workforce, a significant portion of high-potential, high-energy, malleable, low-cost talent goes unseen.

How can we solve this problem?

In short, ‘recruiting outside the lines’. By viewing graduate degrees and qualifications as secondary to the basic skills gained by earning them; By looking beyond direct work experience and into life experience.

Realizing that you are not hiring us for what we already know, but for what we have the potential to do.

Employers who look beyond the obvious will discover a vast pool of talent with experience in a wide variety of undergraduate subjects, uniquely armed with the superior analytical skills required to be truly remarkable members of their team.

Important points for employers:

• Don’t worry too much about what we already know: Graduates are eager to learn. You can train us on your systems, policies, culture, and yes, even teach us the skills required for the job, on the job.
• Focusing on our potential: As newcomers to the workplace, we are uniquely qualified to hit the ground running, contribute energy, and solve new and complex problems through unique innovations.
• Look beyond direct work experience: The fact is that most students are smart, energetic, resourceful and ambitious, and that combination means work experience shouldn’t always be a necessity. Instead, employers should look for a demonstrated interest in all areas of a recent graduate’s background.
• Encourages ‘resume outside the lines’: In the summer after my junior year, I interned at a major Canadian bank. Several years before that, I decided that I wanted to be an actress, and as a result, I bought a domain and started a web community for young actors. I also appeared in two commercials. Which of these experiences do you think ranks first on my traditional resume? The banking internship, of course. And which one most accurately sends employers the right signals about my potential within their company? …My acting ‘phase’. The point is: by encouraging ‘resume outside the lines’, employers give us the freedom to present the most relevant and accurate signals of our potential within an organization.
• ‘Recruit outside the lines’: Look at graduate degrees and qualifications as secondary to the basic skills we gained while we were getting them. College is not “career preparation,” but rather IS an environment that fosters analytical thinking, principles of responsibility and independence, and the development of leadership skills—all skills that make recent graduates exceptionally high-potential candidates. tall.

In today’s fresh graduate market, there is more to hiring than trade degrees and degrees, and employers who embrace this and ‘recruit outside the lines’ are likely to be the ones with the most diverse and innovative workforces in the world. coming years.

Source: University degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded (The Daily, February 7, 2008: http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080207/d080207c.htm),