Five Key Elements for Recruiting Recent Graduates

February 26 2020 - College is there to equip students with the skills they need to go out and be successful in the working world. It's where they hone their skills and come out ready to take on the world of work.

However, studies show there are a large number of college seniors out there who feel like they're not equipped to go out into the working world, so why is there the gap here between our expectations of college and the realities?

It might be slightly alarming that 4 out of 10 seniors feel they aren't equipped to go out into the working world, but on some level, it makes sense. People are always worried about the unknown, which the working world is to many of these students.

The fact is, there are many brilliant graduates out there, and plenty who will thrive in your business, but how do you find the ones that are ready to enter into your company, and what skills should you be looking for?

Teamwork

One of the big changes for students who are starting out in their professional careers is adjusting their mindset from focusing on the individual to the team. College is about doing the necessary work to get yourself to graduation with the best possible grades, but all that changes when you begin your career.

You still have individual goals and aspirations, but your true value is in what you can do for the company as a whole. Some students find that switching their mentality towards working as part of a team can be difficult.

This is partly why many recruiters look for students who have excelled in sports and received scholarships with companies like asmscholarships.com. These graduates have shown the ability to balance individual goals with working as part of a coherent team and this bodes well in a professional environment.

Leadership

Graduates might be coming in as the newest members of your team, but you soon want them to be showing leadership and using their own initiative. Part of this is about how you induct them into the company, and give them the confidence to lead, but you can also see signs of leadership in peoples' college history.

Again, sports can play a big role in this, but there are many opportunities for leadership on a college campus. If someone has shown a willingness to take on leadership roles in college, then the chances are they are more likely to step up when it comes to a professional situation too.

Finding employees that are going to thrive isn't easy, but what people have done in college can give you some indication of their leadership qualities.

Problem Solving

If you strip everything back, then many professions come down to peoples' ability to solve problems. Your employees need technical knowledge, which is one of the main reasons people go to college, but they've got to be able to solve problems with that knowledge.

Problem solving is seen by many recruiters as a top requirement, and although it's a little bit difficult to judge based on a CV alone, you can design your interviews to find those graduates with particularly good problem-solving skills.

Using behavioral interview questions is a good way to find out how people go about solving problems, and spotting those who might be the right fit for your company.

Work Ethic

A graduate can have all the skills to be a success in your company, but if they don't have the right work ethic, then they're just not going to cut it. Identifying those candidates with the right motivation and work ethic to succeed is vitally important to get the right fit for your business.

You can tell a lot about a person's work ethic by speaking with the references they provide on their resume and really get a feel for their character. Have they been doing everything they can to keep their GPA up while they find time for extracurricular activities?

People who develop a good work ethic in college tend to carry it on into their professional careers, which will greatly benefit your company.

Written Skills

There's still a big place for written communication in the modern age, but sometimes this is an area where college grads can struggle. Business communication is quite different to other forms of communication and it's important that graduates can adapt their communication style and get their point across.

Technology allows for businesses to function without having employees in one central office, and there are a great number of benefits to this, but employees have to be able to communicate effectively to make it work.

Resumes and cover letters are strong signs of a candidate's written ability, but it's something that is worth delving into in more detail during an interview. Written communication is a key part of modern business, and graduates need to be able to demonstrate that they have the required skills.

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