College Graduates: Training the Next Generation of Employees Factors of Impact for College Students Entering the Workforce

by Sheila McElroy

Amidst uncertainty regarding employment for graduates throughout the pandemic, many college students’ search for internships and full-time roles continues. Students and graduates are searching LinkedIn, making cold calls, and attending networking events in the hopes of making the perfect connection to secure a job post-university. However, amidst guideline changes and ongoing shifts in university modality, new criteria emerge that college students are considering that exceed base pay, benefits, and travel.

Shifts to online learning exposed many students and graduates to learning modalities that, to be frank, were not their primary choice. Such changes result in stripping away usual benefits of the campus experience (social, personal development, team-based learning, etc.) and replacing them with zoom fatigue, greater mental health awareness, and higher determination to be valued in the workplace. Increases in anxiety, depression, and more leave students floundering for resources while also seeing fluctuations in class quality. Student organizations work to overcome this challenge with new tutoring systems, mental health days and activities, and advocating for student voices. Graduates will be more attuned to employers’ mental health and wellbeing resources. As companies, we must ask ourselves a key question: are we prepared?

While some might argue that the preparedness of the newest generation of workers is less than previous groups due to different learning techniques, this newest group of graduates is more prepared for hybrid learning than any other group. Their understanding of technology and the ways they utilize it should not be overlooked.?

Talent Acquisition Versus Talent Retention

Companies need to up their game when it comes to the newest college graduates not just in talent acquisition- but also in talent retention. Talent acquisition historically often relies on in-person interviews- and as restrictions lift- it would be tempting to return to old ways. However, online interviews have proven just as effective, with thousands of individuals hired and onboarded without meeting in person. Talent acquisition needs to continue to better prepare interviewees and interviewers for an online interview outside of instructions and practice videos.

Talent acquisition also emphasizes students’ current training; job descriptions are often a wish list of everything an employer wants in an employee. However, there is also a tremendous amount of on-the-job learning that takes place. Organizations should rework job descriptions to their baseline requirements and take advantage of the learning agility of the newest generation to learn quicker in pressure-filled environments. Their ability to set strong boundaries also contributes to a higher turnover rate. For this reason, companies should also work on retention techniques for college graduates specifically.

Ryan Craig from Forbes states that “70% of graduates leave their first job within 2 years”[1]. This reality highlights a need for more work from companies to retain employees. Of Forbes’s six top retention strategies, investing in employee growth and emphasizing employee wellness[2] likely hold most importance to college students. Graduates’ desire to climb the corporate chain foreshadows more growth, mentorship, and leadership opportunities for entry-level roles to allow for fast professional development. Their experience with the pandemic also leaves this group as advocates for wellness and strong social connections, requiring better benefits from companies and more social groups to allow bonding between workers outside the company vision and mission.

How College Graduates Will Change Workplace Culture

COVID-19 and online schooling have opened graduates’ eyes to the true meaning of workplace boundaries and self-advocacy. With the newest generation of workers calling for more work-life balance, mental health resources, and growth opportunities, corporate culture will shift to accommodate resources that less directly connect to the company mission and connect more directly to employee wellness, as it contributes to a positive workplace climate.

Corporate social responsibility extends past volunteerism and should expand to include their responsibilities to their employees, and the newest generation of workers holds the power to inspire this change.

[1]https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancraig/2018/01/19/helping-new-grads-launch-in-the-workforce-and-why-its-vital-to-companies/?sh=40aa7bc42d8a

[2]https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2022/02/22/employee-retention-strategies-to-implement-in-2022/?sh=59e8e89c4421