Opening Employment Doors to Young Graduates

Most successful company leaders have common sense and sound judgment, leaving their personal feelings and issues aside when business decisions are concerned. However, it is not rare for executives to frown when someone tells them it’s important for young graduates to be hired and trained to develop their potential.

The reason why that happens that many old-school executives end up disappointed with the education and professional performance of their children or grandchildren. If you ask most men on top why they don’t like helping young people get experience, they will share a common reason: they started at the bottom when they were young, and working their way up through different positions all kinds of obstacles got them where they are today. Every young person should be willing to do the same.

These leaders share a common understanding: they would hire more young people in their companies if the candidates were qualified enough to work for them, but not many of them have the needed discipline and skills to succeed in the tough working environment.

The paradox of “unpractical” education

The number of people who have majored in liberal arts is immense, although this discipline isn’t seen as the most practical way to prosper professionally. Many graduates from liberal arts colleges say that they are looking for employers who would train them for positions that don’t require degrees in computer science or engineering. They would be eager to get a chance to master the skills of Internet marketing, quality assurance, customer service, supply-chain procedures, or inventory control.

However, hiring managers are not likely to answer their pleas in near future. Corporate environments are looking for employees who already have the knowledge, training and technical skills needed for the opened positions. The candidates are required to have the right college degrees or at least a specialized internship in order to be considered for a job. These policies put a large burden on young graduates, who are concerned about the tuition debt and the inability to afford serving unpaid or low-paying internships.

Two or three decades ago, hiring managers were much likely to give chances to young people. Today’s executives fail to realize that such graduates make great team players, do their best to acquire new skills and spend long hours in learning and practicing. Giving them the chance to receive corporate training makes them productive.

Today’s determined focus on specializing at specific skills prevents many young people from learning crafts, getting jobs right after graduation and earning income. When compared to the overall unemployment rate (which is under 7%), the unemployment rate of 11% for people aged from 20 to 24 is big enough to indicate that something is wrong with the hiring policies.

Old-school executives would tell you that young graduates aren’t trying hard enough to find work, but that’s not the case. One of the problems these job seekers face is competing with experienced applicants willing to work for low salaries.

How can things be changed?

Essay on colleges suggests instead of waiting for the government and educational institutions to make a bridge for the generational gap, hiring managers and company executives should think of ways to introduce young people into their companies and give a chance to unskilled, but auspicious people to prosper.

We shouldn’t forget about two-thirds of the adult population, which includes people who don’t have college degrees. If a young person has attended only high school or has dropped out of college for whatever reasons, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a chance in high-demand apprentice programs.

Instead of narrowing their focus on qualifications, hiring managers should be looking for potential. They should welcome energetic workers who are willing to give their best in order to make an impression and contribute towards the company’s success. Hiring inexperienced young people into a company isn’t based solely on goodwill, because this policy of transforming recent graduates into productive employees will give a competitive edge to the business.

Hiring managers should take the risk and accept graduates of “less practical” disciplines into their workforce. The company’s success won’t suffer from these decisions; in fact it might be improved when the manager is willing to use the potential of this population eager to prove its worth.