3 college experiences you want to find in new graduates
Employers have always competed to find the best and brightest new graduates. The involvement of young talent gives companies a surge of new ideas and perspectives. While new graduates may lack years of wisdom and experience gained, they are excited to impress the company they believe in.
But every year as graduation is approaching, there’s one consistent problem: how do employers rate unverified employees?
Many employers have developed a method of evaluating new graduates over the years of trial and error. However, startup leaders often don’t have the time or knowledge to solve these problems. These employers now need young talent.
Fortunately, new research has revealed that there is science behind recruiting new graduates. In fact, a Gallup study released last month found that there are six key college experiences associated with workplace readiness. The more of these specific experiences graduates had, the more confident they were in their ability to succeed in their first job. Experience includes:
- They believe that their professors take care of them as a person
- Have at least one professor who excites them to learn
- Having a mentor who encourages them to pursue their goals and dreams
- Participating in an internship that allows them to take advantage of what they learn in the classroom
- Work on a project that took more than a semester to complete
- Be extremely active in extracurricular activities
For inexperienced employers, it may be unclear why these experiences are essential for success in the workplace or even how to evaluate them during the hiring process. Let’s take a look at a few of these experiences and what they reveal about new graduates:
Work on a long-term project
What this reveals about new graduates
Higher education takes place in segments. Each class focuses on a specific set of skills or knowledge, and after the semester, students move on to the next topic. There is rarely an overlap between disciplines. Students do not need to use a periodic table in psychology classes.
But this is not how we use knowledge in the real world. To solve complex problems, we must pull out the different tools that we have learned to use throughout our lives. Participating in a long-term project gives students practice to see a bigger picture, which is influenced by different disciplines.
Long-term projects also force students to learn how to allocate their time. They have to decide what small goals and deadlines to set themselves so that they can build to complete the overall purpose of the project.
How to assess the impact of experience on new graduates
It never hurts for a student to participate in a long-term project. But some new graduates gain more from experience than others. For example, if an advisor micromanaged their progress, the new graduates were just completing assignments. They did not learn how to use different skills to solve time management problems.
During the job interview, ask for details about the part of the new graduate in the project. See how they fit into your schedule. Ask if they have made mistakes that lead to non-compliance with deadlines. If so, go on to see what they have learned as a result.
Having a professor who excites them to learn
What this reveals about new graduates
New graduates, despite having completed their education, do not know everything. Every day in their first job will be a new experience for them. You want to find young employees who are passionate about continuing education.
Knowing why a particular professor aroused their thirst for knowledge also shows what the new graduate is interested in. Was it a subject? Did the professor teach like this? These answers will help you determine if the motivation of new graduates matches your organization’s mission and way of doing business.
Ako posúdiť vplyv skúsenosti na nových absolventov
Nepýtajte sa, prečo sa novému absolventovi páčil profesor a trieda. Dostanete vágne odpovede typu „vyzeralo to zaujímavé“. Chcete ísť ďalej, aby ste pochopili, čo ich vzrušuje.
Požiadajte ich, aby opísali svoj prvý deň v triede alebo o konkrétnej hodine, ktorá vyniká. Informujte sa o ich pôvodných očakávaniach od profesora a o tom, ako boli splnené alebo zmenené. Venujte pozornosť ich tónu a slovám, ktoré používajú. To vám dá lepšiu predstavu o tom, čo je potrebné na to, aby ste v novom absolventovi vyvolali vášeň.
Mať mentora
Čo to prezrádza o nových absolventoch
Vzťahy zamestnanca s ich manažérmi určujú ich šance na úspech. Ak títo dvaja nedokážu správne komunikovať alebo ak zamestnanec nedostane podporu, ktorú potrebujú, sú pripravení na zlyhanie.
Vzťah nového absolventa s mentorom je dobrým indikátorom toho, aký typ manažéra potrebuje, aby prosperoval. Napríklad niektorí noví absolventi mali mentorov, ktorí ich usmerňovali tým, že im kládli otázky. Namiesto toho, aby novému absolventovi dali odpovede hneď, vedú ho k riešeniu tak, že ho nechajú reagovať a premýšľať o problémoch nahlas. Ak manažéri vašej spoločnosti takto nepracujú, mladý zamestnanec pravdepodobne nedostane vo vašej organizácii to, čo potrebuje.
Ako posúdiť vplyv skúsenosti na nových absolventov
Ask new graduates if you can contact their mentors as a reference. It is more likely that mentors can provide insight into which “managerial” strategies worked best in young adults.
Find out what each new graduate struggled with and what successes they achieved. It can also be useful to describe your manager to a mentor and get his opinion on whether he would be suitable for the new year.