You know all those 21-year-olds who are poised to leave university this summer without a job?
The ones who have no idea what to do next?
The graduates you’re not interested in hiring?
The ones whose spent last summer litter-picking at Glastonbury and serving strawberries at Wimbledon – not beefing up their CV at a think tank or investment bank?
The ones who didn’t come to your employer presentation at their university because they were busy playing pool with their mates in the pub?
The ones who think graduate jobs at big companies like yours are boring?
The ones most recruiters turn their noses up at?
Well, I love them.
I believe in them.
And I think you should take another look at them.
They are the thousands of people who are buying my book, ‘Dude, Where’s my Career? The Guide for Baffled Graduates’ (Summersdale, £8.99). They are the hundreds who have posted questions to me asking for job-hunting advice on guardianjobs.co.uk (where I’m the resident graduate expert).
I know them inside-out and I promise you, they aren’t useless.
In my opinion (or ‘IMO’, as they prefer), the loss of these so called ‘drifters’ from the talent pool is a scandalous waste of potential. And it’s costing your business money.
In failing to engage them in the graduate recruitment process, the corporate world is snubbing real talent and creativity.
Because many of these so called ‘drifters’ have been misclassified.
Okay, you’re right. They aren’t the most focussed – right now. They haven’t been the most studious – so far.
Does that mean they lack potential? Not at all. It just means that nobody – nothing – has really engaged them yet. Nobody has really bothered to try.
Be prepared to consider candidates who look a little bit ‘rough round the edges’ and you’ll see what I mean. They bring something completely different to the party – sparkle. They aren’t the finger sandwiches or the sausage rolls – they’re the glitterball. Every party needs a glitterball – and having several is magic.
I know sparkle can be awkward. If you can’t work with glitterballs, fine – reject them. But if you’re up to the challenge, they’re yours for life. Get it right, and hiring and teaching them will pay for itself, over and over.
Train them, engage them, love them – and they’ll give you their all. Show them your company can offer them a fantastic start to their career – and they’ll come. What’s more, if you actually deliver on your promise, they’ll stay forever.
Will they have trouble carrying out monotonous work? Probably – so give them tasks that are stimulating. Will they question authority, when they can see a better way of doing something? Definitely. But isn’t that what great organisations like yours really need?
Of course, you need ‘do-ers’ too – and my glitterballs aren’t that. But you have no trouble finding ‘do-ers’ – you hire hundreds of them every year. They’re ten a penny.
My lot, on the other hand, have the potential to be far better than that. And long-term, they are a far more valuable asset to your business.
They’re tomorrow’s leaders and motivators. They’re the ‘people’ people, the ideas people, the super-networkers. The people who inspire others to do great work.
I don’t just love this lot because they’re my readers. I believe in them because a few years ago, I was one of them. So were many of my friends. By the time we graduated from Durham University in 2000, most of us had spent at least a year body-swerving companies like yours at all costs (sorry) - or being rejected by you (thanks). But we only dodged you because we were scared of you and didn’t understand you. Why did you reject us?
Don't feel bad, we're over it now. Today, we are journalists, lawyers, lobbyists and entrepreneurs. One of my peers (now aged 29) is now one of the most senior marketing people at an international luxury brand, having consistently delivered imaginative, headline-grabbing ideas for them, for more than five years. He got a 2:2 at university because his course was ‘dull’.
In fairness to all whose who rejected him aged 21, he was not an impressive candidate back then - on paper. But if any of them had bothered to actually talk to him, a decent recruiter should have picked up on his potential. He was the best-connected person in our year. He knew everyone – and was universally liked. He was hilarious, fun and not afraid to make mistakes. Still sound like a loser to you?
If you’re still confident that your existing graduate hiring strategy is spot-on, ask yourself this question:
“Is it possible that the people we aren’t hiring this summer are actually far better than the people we are hiring?”
It’s a scary thought. If you aren't sure, perhaps it’s time to take a second look at that pile of CVs you marked ‘Reject’. See if you can spot the sparkle.
Tanya de Grunwald is an author and features writer. She has recently written the book ‘Dude, Where’s my Career? The Guide for Baffled Graduates’ (Summersdale, £8.99). For more information or to buy the book, visit www.dudewheresmyblog.com