Each year, Business Week conducts a survey of companies and new college graduates to assemble a rank list of the best places for new graduates to begin their careers. This year’s research involved data from more than 60,000 recent college graduates and more than 60 of the nation’s top universities.
There was some shocking information revealed by the research this year. For example, of 2009 graduates, only one in five people who applied for a job succeeded in landing one. And those who were lucky enough to land a job are not getting paid much—it is very difficult to get an entry-level job out of college above $50K in today’s market. Many jobs on the list begin at $35K or below.
Some industries were hit particularly hard with regard to entry-level hiring:
Hospitality: -76.3%
Technology: -55.4%
Transportation: -41.6%
Investment Banking: -39.3%
Telecommunications: -30.8%
These percentages were derived by comparing hiring levels in the first half of 2008 versus the first half of 2009. The negative values indicate the percentage of decline with regard to hiring in the respective industries.
Does this all add up to doom and gloom for you? Not necessarily. If you’re a real estate company (or any small business), that is able to offer a bright young person an opportunity to get ahead, you have a window of opportunity to acquire some very talented, young workers.
In today’s environment, you no longer have to compete with high salaries, signing bonuses, and company-provided meals. Instead, many new workers are realizing that it will take hard work and sacrifice to get ahead. (As a side note.. Interestingly, Google—famous for providing their employees free meals—did not make the Business Week top 50 this year.)
One person highlighted in the Business Week feature, an Operations Manager for Nestle, revealed that:
“…he wakes up at 3am to get to work an hour before his 5:15am shift—and often stays late. He’s a good example of what it takes for young people unaccustomed to drudgery to get ahead these days: hard work, long hours, and a willingness to make sacrifices.”
With the changes happening in the talent marketplace, here’s an important question to ask yourself: Is it possible for you to begin competing for the attention of these young, talented employees?
Of course, the traditional wisdom is that a real estate agent needs to be a little older to match the demographics of their buyers and sellers. While there is some truth in this statement, consider the fact that investment banks, insurance companies, and financial services firms consistently hire college grads, and with great success. Is there some way you could make this work as well?
These companies have learned how to grow talent by engaging people at a young age and allowing them to gain experience and build skills on the job. There are some companies who are already taking advantage of this opportunity. For example, of the top 50 companies on the Business Week list, the one that has grown college level hiring the most in the last year (up 75% from the previous year) is New York Life. Their hiring model is not much different than that of real estate, and their compensation scales are among the lowest in the industry. How are they successful? Part of the answer is that they are smart enough to put themselves in the right place at the right time!
Editor’s Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you’re an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the “comments” link below.
