Why Hire Recent Graduates? The True Value of an Internship

If you’re struggling to hire right now, you’re not alone. The world is plastered with help wanted signs. Whether you call it the big quit or the great resignation, people are leaving their jobs en masse and employers in all industries are left short handed. Meanwhile, the demand for digital learning is growing. We need more eLearning developers, more learning technologists, and more assessment developers than ever before. What’s an employer to do?

Raising wages is a good start, but that won’t necessarily solve all of your problems. If you can’t find someone who meets your skills and experience requirements, it doesn’t matter how much you offer to pay them. So what if you change the requirements?

Interns and Recent Graduates To the Rescue

We’re not saying you should hire just anyone. In fact, at Teamed, we carefully vet and assess every teammate before recommending them to an employer. We know it’s essential to find the right fit.

What we are saying is that you miss an opportunity if you demand five or ten years of experience for every role. Experience is valuable, but it isn’t the only mark of a good teammate. A highly experienced employee may be able to settle in a little faster, but they’ll deserve higher wages and will likely have their own ideas of how things should be done.

Meanwhile, recent grads and interns can grow into experienced employees. They’ll learn your systems and processes and will likely appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow with you. There’s some value to hiring recent grads and interns that you may not realize if you’re focused exclusively on the most experienced teammates.

Why Hire Interns and Recent Graduates

Here are three reasons why you should consider deleting your “years of experience” restrictions so you can hire recent graduates and interns. he current crisis is over. That means, in the midst of a general talent shortage and wage crisis, the demand for talent to fill digital learning roles is growing.

1. They Command Lower Wages

Someone with a decade of experience deserves to be paid for that level of knowledge and expertise. A new grad or intern will likely be willing to take a lower (but still fair) wage, because they expect to be learning on the job. Salary expectations are growing. If you can raise wages, you should. If you can’t, hiring recent grads and interns might be the next best thing.

2. The Talent Pool is Wider

Gaining experience takes time, and like any time consuming task, not everyone does it. The more experience you’re asking for, the smaller your talent pool becomes. But if you’re willing to welcome people with a lot of knowledge and less experience (i.e. interns and recent grads) you widen your talent pool considerably. More applicants to choose from might make it easier to find someone who matches your professional values and philosophy of learning.

3. You Can Train Them

Interns and recent grads don’t stay inexperienced for long. Every day they spend on the job they’re learning and growing. What’s great is that they’re learning your process, your systems, and your philosophy of learning. These newbies are often eager to learn and make a name for themselves in your organization. Hiring an intern is an investment in the future of your organization.

But what if we train them and they leave? It’s a common worry, but you’ll have to train any new hire on your processes and procedures. So there’s not much lost there. As for those new grads and interns. They might stick around and continue to grow in your organization or they might eventually leave and enrich the talent pool. Either way, they’ve benefited your organization.

Don’t Forget Career Switchers

To the list of people who deserve a chance, we should add career switchers. Right now, many people are switching from in-person education to digital learning roles. Others come from human resources, technology, or corporate project management positions. These career switchers have valuable skills they can apply to new roles. All they need is someone willing to give them a chance to shine.

So before you write “ten years of experience” on your next job posting, consider what a new grad, intern, or career switcher could do in that role.

Experience Still Matters

Of course, this isn’t a one-size fits all strategy. Experience is still valuable. It’s just not the only thing you should consider. Often a shared philosophy of learning, professional values, and willingness to learn is just as valuable. And all employees deserve fair and equitable wages.

Whoever you need to hire next, Teamed can help. We match digital learning professionals with the organizations that need their services. Whether you’re looking for full-time, part-time, contract, or freelance staff, we know where to find the digital learning professional you’ve been looking for. Contact us to start your talent search.