The economy took a major toll on people seeking employment, many of those being college grads. Unemployment rates have been dropping, average starting salaries have decreased. With the economy in recovery, the future is looking a bit brighter. If you’re in hiring mode, you’ve no doubt thought about the graduate market. The question remains, should you select the recently graduated?

That’s not an easy question to answer our right. There are many factors to weigh, some leaning in favor of hiring graduates while there are many questions which can make graduates a gamble. Easily, the biggest factor in favor of hiring grads is cost. Lower salaries, cheaper health insurance (generally), are both factors which save you all kinds of money when hiring grads.

The problem with grads is lack of experience, and work ethic. The lack of actual work experience really goes without saying. These potential employees were under a school environment for 2-4 years, therefore adapting to the work place might take awhile. Homework and tests really don’t prepare you for many real world nuances. As for work ethic being a question mark; I’m not saying you’re going to get a lazy worker from hiring a new graduate. Again, not having an employee mindset can provide a mental block for some grads. Giving them time to acclimate is a must.

A recent study has shown that only 24 percent of college grads have a job lined up directly after college. This is actually an increase from last year when that number was only 20 percent. Unfortunately, the average starting salary dropped 1.7 percent as well.

The safe route most companies take when hiring graduates is to simply hire them for an entry level position. Here you probably shouldn’t go against the grain, as entry level positions are simply made for college grads. What you don’t want to run into is hiring the wrong person for the wrong position, based solely on the idea of ‘grads should be put at entry level’. Trust in your interview, and if a grad answers his/her’s qualifying questions to a heightened degree of certainty, then perhaps they can be better utilized for an even greater role.

Taking into account the shape of the market and what your company’s status is, the graduate market is a fertile place to find talent. Saving money, while potentially finding an employee who will bring fresh ideas and an eager naivety, could be what your company needs. Just be cautious and trust your instincts.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 27th, 2010 at 11:14 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: John is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.