Why you should hire inexperienced graduates
If you ask any recent graduate, they’ll tell you that the hardest part about finding a job is that businesses either want to hire people with experience or unpaid interns. It’s hard to gain experience when no one wants to give you the opportunity to do so. And working for free (without a guaranteed job at the end) isn’t a luxury many of today’s youth can afford.
While it is unfortunate, many large companies simply want to hire people who can do the job straight away. They don’t want to have to mentor and train new employees. They’d rather pay a little more for someone who already knows what they’re doing.
The thing is, there are major benefits to hiring inexperienced employees, especially for SMEs.
They’re Eager
On one hand, inexperienced hires may take longer to do the job at first and they’ll probably make a few mistakes along the way. On the other hand, they’re more likely to work harder in order to improve. They know how hard it is to gain experience and they don’t want to lose the opportunity to do so. They’ll stay later at the office, spend more time reading up on industry news and pay more attention to company guidelines. You won’t find them slacking because they know how valuable their job is.
They’ll Be Loyal
If you take someone on at the ground level and invest in them, they’ll appreciate it. They’ll respect the time and effort you’ve put into helping them with their career. And it’s likely they’ll be loyal to a company that helped them grow. While they may not stay with you forever, a young employee has a lot to learn and they’ll stay as long as they feel they’re progressing. Someone who has less to learn and not much room to develop is more likely to look for higher paying positions elsewhere after a certain period of time.
They’ll Bring New Ideas
A person who’s been in the industry for five years is probably accustomed to the way things are done. Over time, people learn to do things a certain way and become stuck in that process. Whether it’s the industry standard or their own invention, they’re not likely to question it after all those years. Someone who’s never performed the task before may find a new and better way to do it. They offer a fresh perspective and could have valuable ideas on how to improve.
Many employers make the mistake of thinking the only benefit of hiring recent graduates is that they’re likely to accept a lower salary. But that’s not true. Employing someone without experience is an investment in both their growth and the growth of your business.
The content in this article was provided by Boston City Campus & Business College, which provides business schools in Johannesburg.