Why graduates are good for SMEs and SMEs are good for graduates

Have you been put off hiring a graduate in the past? Was it their lack of experience? The absence of a graduate training scheme at your company? It turns out, graduates aren’t only a good fit for big corporations. SMEs can benefit a great deal from hiring graduates and a great many of them are looking for a role in an SME. Here’s why.

Why graduates are good for SMEs

If you’re taking on your first employee and need them to hit the ground running, your best option may not be a graduate, unless they have acquired a good amount of experience while completing their studies. But if you’re looking to expand your SME’s workforce with some fresh talent, consider the benefits of hiring a graduate:

Having little to no work experience is no bad thing – they’ll have no engrained bad habits, no preconceived ideas on how something should be done, and might offer creative solutions that only those new to the working world could devise.

• Graduates are motivated and hardworking, keen to take on any additional responsibilities to prove their ability and progress in their chosen career.
  
  
• Starting salaries for graduates are good for your budget and it has been found that, when looking for work, graduates are now more focused on the opportunities the job offers, not just the high salaries. Invest in their learning and development and your business will reap the benefits.
  
  
• This generation’s graduates are digital natives, they’ve adapted to life through a pandemic and have many tools at their disposal. They come with a valuable skillset that is flexible and transferrable. Look beyond the subject of their degree to think how adaptable and wide-ranging their skills are in, for example, market research, social media account handling, data analysis.
  
  
• Try not to think of the big corporates as competition for getting the best talent, as nearly 50% of graduates want to work in SMEs (AGCAS).
  
  
• SMEs generally offer a wider scope of experience on the job, with a level of variety that larger firms can’t offer. Graduates will be drawn to the chance of experiencing more, progressing faster, as well as working more closely with more senior members of staff.
  
  
• Graduates are becoming more focused on training and development opportunities provided by a prospective employer than on the big pay cheques (Luminate), so SMEs with a strong commitment to these areas will be very appealing to those leaving university.

To find out more about what attracts graduates to SMEs, you can find a full and recent report on the AGCAS website.

How do you recruit a graduate?

Timing is important, but don’t be put off by the fact that a lot of job offers are made and accepted before Easter (Luminate). Starting your recruitment campaign after Easter should put you in a good position to catch the high-calibre talent that just missed out on the graduate schemes or who put off their job search until after their exams.

Use social media to your advantage. Graduates will be all over LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, so make sure your recruitment campaign hits all the major platforms and is tailored to each. Don’t just roll out a standard job advert across the board – you need to be grabbing their attention and speaking to them in a voice they will engage with in a format that fits. You could even hire or offer a work experience placement to a graduate to manage your social media accounts.

And let’s not underestimate the power of existing social networks – it was the second most common way of graduates finding work with SMEs (Luminate). Ask your staff if they know of any suitable candidates. You could even offer a finder’s fee to give them a real incentive.

Creating ties with universities is another option for SMEs to cultivate, not just large corporations. There are several ways of doing so, the most popular being insight days, presentations and talks, and work experience opportunities.

You can also work with a recruitment agency to improve your chances of finding the right candidates. If you would like some support with recruiting a graduate, please get in touch.

Call Key Appointments on 0844 504 4666 or drop us a line at info@key-appointments.co.uk or use our contact form.