10 Reasons Why Businesses Should Hire College Grads

With the downtrodden economy, daunting unemployment numbers, and hefty student loan debt, recent college graduates have been a hot topic of debate for some time now. With so many people out of work, the job market is flooding with energetic newbie grads and their older, more qualified competition. Recent college graduates begin to feel stuck in the hole of being under-experienced for “entry level” positions with no opportunities available to help gain that experience. It’s critical that employers recognize the wealth of value recent college graduates have to offer as new employees. They may just be what your business is looking for!

1. Passion: Recent college graduates have something to prove in the professional world. This is their first “real world” experience as working adults. After being told for four years (at least) that they would struggle in the job market, landing that first job instills a lot of passion. As trite as it might sound, fresh graduates aren’t jaded by the occasional monotony of the professional realm. They are passionate and truly ready to work. This sense of caring about their work and their success in any position makes for successful employees.

2. Self-Disciplined: Though they get a bad reputation thanks to social media, college students are indeed some of the most disciplined and focused individuals around. Self-discipline in the workplace is a highly valuable trait. Recent graduates come into the professional world with a student mentality. They don’t just want to finish an assignment on time and take their C grade—they’re shooting for straight A’s across the board.

3. Goal-Oriented: Until this point, college graduates have made all of their life decisions based off of careful goal planning. They set goals for their grades before getting into college, they set their sights on the college of their dreams, they planned out goals for their college experience, and they set goals for their after-college success. This mindset provides opportunities for extremely focused and spirited effort in whatever they put their minds to.

4. Hardworking: Coming immediately from the crowded lecture halls and late night study sessions of the campus life, recent graduates bring that hardworking mantra to the office. All these individuals have known for the past four years is that burning the midnight oil gets you where you want, and need, to be.

5. Tech Savvy: An aptitude with technology is a huge asset in the professional world today. Every industry is working to find ways to incorporate new technologies like social media and cloud computing into their business model. For many college graduates, technology is a second language and one that they are well versed in.

6. Multi-Tasking: As a result of growing up online, recent graduates have become expert multi-taskers. Being constantly plugged into their social networks, friend groups, and conversations, multi-tasking is second nature to most twenty-somethings. Successfully tackling numerous tasks at the same time also helps boost productivity and output.

7. Energetic: Energy is a huge asset with a focus on innovation in particular being celebrated by consumers and employers throughout all industries. With the energy and drive to think up new things and try out different approaches, college graduates have the potential to really make waves in the working world.

8. Flexible: Where “veteran” professionals can become set in their regular routines, new graduates are used to a changing schedule—they’re extremely flexible and open to change which can be important in new or entry level positions.

9. Excellent Communicators: With so much of our professional and personal communication is done through text messaging and online, really being comfortable with these platforms is important. Individuals must be able to carefully and clearly express their ideas, be it through text or email, to the rest of the team.

10. Constant Learners: Emerging fresh from the libraries and lecture halls, most college grads entering the working world still think of themselves as students. While this can hinder some aspects professional work, in many ways that learning attitude is hugely beneficial. They are continuous learners, always ready to take on new tasks, topics, and concepts.

This guest post is contributed by Nadia Jones, a freelance education blogger for OnlineCollege.org. Nadia frequently shares her expertise on distance education and accredited online colleges. She is passionate about education and encourages your feedback at nadia.jones5@gamail.com.