A Fresh Start with a Fresh Mind: Reasons Why Employers Should Hire Fresh Graduates

It’s a common belief that the job market isn’t (and shouldn’t) be kind to newly graduated students. We all know why. It’s the E-word. Thousands of people graduate colleges and universities every year, but all of them have to reckon with that dreaded word. That’s right. Experience.

Basic intuition tells every hopeful graduate that companies would much prefer to hire candidates with experience, than risk gambling their time and budget on those with little to no experience. Thankfully, that assumption is both basic and just an intuition. The reality is far more interesting (and complex), and certainly a lot more hopeful for young graduates.

Let’s consider the facts first. It’s true. Employer do tend to prefer experienced candidates. According to the 2020 Job Outlook Survey of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers would still prefer to hire candidates with work experience, be it general, professional, or internship experience.

But this is hardly the only fact. According to the same survey, more and more employers have established plans to hire more graduates across all industries. The survey also showed a steady demand by employers for new graduates. This means graduate hires are certainly not on the decline.

This is good news. Just as much as employers would prefer experienced candidates, they would always be in demand for fresh graduates. So, if you’re another young face in the job market, then keep your chin up. The market itself tells us that you’ll always have a chance, even if you have little to no experience. If you’re a potential employer, then there are a number of reasons why you might appreciate fresh graduates even over veteran candidates.

Fresh graduates can discover angles.

‍Some of the perceived weaknesses of fresh graduates could actually double as strengths. For example, their lack of exposure to their given field might lead one to believe that they might lack in skills. However, this same lack of exposure could actually lead to new angles in identifying problems. Even seasoned workers can fall victim to tunnel vision, especially on longer projects, and sometimes all a hard problem needs is a fresh pair of eyes.

Since new graduates are not yet acclimated to the “box of what we all know”, they can stimulate new ideas by pressing their questions, suggest new angles in analyzing current problems, and consider points that no one in a dozen meetings have thought of before. Specific projects and even entire companies can be too bogged down in a narrow selection all because of tunnel-visioning. Someone who’s new to the valley that is the company (and is eager to explore it) will always have a newer and much wider view.

Fresh graduates can enhance the workplace’s climate.

Fresh graduates come in a variety of different personalities, but their voice will certainly be heard in the office. Since their eagerness to understand their workplace field and culture will lead them to constant interaction with their fellow co-workers, they can potentially be new buddies and perhaps even long-term friends. They also tend to be much more lively, responsive, and interactive because of their youth and their general need to get to know their work and co-workers more.

Fresh graduates are more technologically competent.

It’s pretty much a given nowadays that younger people are much more tech-inclined than the generation before them. Mistakes can be avoided and time can be saved simply because young graduates probably would no longer require lengthy explanations for any new technology that the company uses. In fact, new graduates can certainly surprise their older managers by showing them new digital or online techniques that they discovered on their own, which can be then shared to other co-workers to aid in overall performance.

Fresh graduates are generally more affordable and more negotiable.

The current job market is and always has been competitive. Compared to experienced workers, new graduates are much more open to adjusting their pay and would take the training and experience of working on the job as part of their compensation. In many cases, it would be much more economical to hire a fresh graduate and train them with an existing veteran worker, than hire a very experienced worker with a high asking salary.

Fresh graduates form a pool of loyal and long-term employees.

Because they have little to no experience, fresh graduates tend to stay for long in their first jobs. This can potentially lead to much more deeper progress in their workplace. For instance, they can develop a familiarity and reliability with company management and procedure because of their longer stay. It might even come to a point where they know everyone by a first name basis and become the trainers of new employees themselves. They thus create a base of dependable and promotable employees who can definitely cultivate a loyalty to the company and be its solid rock should there be any unexpected windfalls.

Fresh graduates are more driven to push forward.

By having earned their degrees, graduates tend to be very eager to prove themselves and put all that hard-earned knowledge to good use. They might possess a whole range of qualities that are not present in experienced workers, which would most certainly surprise their employers.

For example, they are pressed to get their job done right and on-time as they don’t have the comfort and potential complacence afforded to them by years of experience. They can also be much more enthusiastic to gain experience, and will thus work harder and much more consistently. This also means they will ask very often and be very receptive to learning the ropes. Their drive, curiosity, and even passion can be quite valuable assets to any company, especially in the hard times where their fire is needed the most.