When it comes to filling a vacancy, many companies will instantly disregard graduate recruitment as a viable option. Some of the main reasons given by companies for not employing a student or somebody who has recently graduated are lack of experience or them being over qualified due to their qualification levels. Although these may be true, there is a long list of reasons why graduate recruitment could also be the answer to your problems.
One of the main criteria for a lot of companies who want to employ somebody is experience. If a new employee has experience they think that this will instantly mean that they will require less training and will pick up aspects of the job quicker than somebody with no experience. Obviously graduate recruitment is likely to mean that they will have very little on-the-job experience. If a candidate is considered to be over qualified then employers may think that there is no long term benefit to graduate employment. They may think that over qualification means that the graduate will not want to remain in the position very long and is simply using it as a stop-gap to a position more suited to their skills and interests.
Although both of the reason above may be true in some graduate recruitment cases, the benefits of graduate recruitment may outweigh these. By employing a university leaver they may be intelligent enough to learn the job role extremely quickly. Being a fast learner can make up for a lack of experience. Relevant experience usually costs money so employing somebody with a lack of experience will prove cheaper. Graduates are also likely to be extremely keen to do well and to learn new skills meaning that you get a dedicated and hard working individual who can also be moulded into the employee you are looking for easier than somebody older and more experienced who may be set in their ways.
Graduates are also likely to have excellent written and oral communication skills, problem solving qualities, presentation, organisation and data analysis skills as these are basic requirements for anybody who has succeeded in a university environment. Being new to the work environment also gives a different perspective to that of established employees and this can lead to better working practices.