If you’re a hiring manager, the recent crop of college grads is out there and hungry for experience! But it’s not always clear whether hiring someone for their first job is the best plan, or whether you should hire someone with more experience.
What’s the best way to decide between hiring someone with different levels of skill? It’s very much like other hiring decisions. You need to assess the benefits of hiring a recent grad versus potential negatives. Here’s a brief overview.
Recent grads are flexible.
Young people who recently graduated from college are likely to be quite flexible in their expectations for the job and for the workplace. Flexibility is a net positive for managers! It can be especially beneficial is you’ve recently instituted changes to the job or the workplace and are encountering resistance from long-time employees.
It’s also to their advantage to wear many hats since they are learning. If you need a flexible multitasker, going with a college grad can be a good idea.
The downside? They will, of course, possess little institutional memory. You’ll have to train them. If you need an employee who is already up and running, more experience matters.
They are very comfortable with new technologies.
From Zoom conferences to Slack to Tik-Tok, contemporary workplaces are full of new technologies, enabling communication and driving marketing efforts. Recent grads are grown up with new technologies. They fully expect to work digitally and to make the most of the advantages of technology.
Their comfort level can be a considerable advantage, especially if you’re more into new areas with technology and your older employees aren’t as comfortable with tech.
Potential drawbacks? Assess how your company and team use technology. If you don’t use or need cutting-edge tech, that advantage might end up not mattering – or the younger employee may rely too much on tech.
They can balance out a salary structure.
Because they have relatively little experience and need some training, you can likely hire a college grad for less than you’d pay an experienced person. If your salary structure could use a lower scale, that’s an advantage.
Just be careful that you don’t emphasize salary over experience if you experience required to do the job well. Carefully assess performance expectations versus salary.
Partner with a staffing agency in Springfield, MA!
Considering hiring new graduates or experienced personnel? At Expert Staffing, we can help you find top employees at every skill and experience level. We’re eager to start working with you to find a strategy that works! To learn more about talented part-time, full-time, and temporary job seekers in your area, contact us today.
