Entry-level recruitment plays an indispensable role in talent management. Having said that, entry-level recruitment is not just about recruiting recent graduates. Many jobs do not require a college degree. Additionally, there are experienced employees who want to move into a new career and thus are willing to accept an entry-level position.

Read more: A glance at the changes of recruiting in the digital age

Benefits of recruiting entry-level professionals

Every year, thousands of college graduates venture out into the ‘real world’, looking to make the most of their first jobs. These entry-level jobs require little to no experience and allow the graduates to gain invaluable experience and connections and beef up their resume for future career advancement. What they lack in experience, they make up for with passion, enthusiasm, fresh ideas and skills that the older generations may not have.

Read more: 5 reasons why you should not refrain from recruiting fresh graduate

There certainly are advantages and disadvantages to hiring recent college graduates. But the pros can far outweigh the cons.

1. They help you save money on payroll

It is undeniable that affordability is one of the most appealing aspects of hiring graduates. In addition to lower salaries, entry-level jobs also require lower hiring costs. While hiring an entry-level employee often costs 20 per cent of their salary, the cost of hiring an executive position can be more than 200 per cent of their salary.

2. They help you maintain an effective talent pipeline

Hiring a student or a recent graduate can benefit your business in the long term when there are mid-level or executive positions that need to be filled. Entry-level recruitment has a proven track record of finding the next leaders for the organisation. There is no lack of stories of prominent business leaders who rose from the bottom rung.

Read more: How "potential" are your candidates in the succession plan?

The legendary General Electric CEO Jack Welch joined the company as a junior engineer in 1960. During his tenure as the CEO between 1981 and 2001, the company’s market value rose 4,000 per cent.

Jim Skinner, McDonald’s CEO from 2004 to 2012, started his career at the company in 1971 as a restaurant manager trainee.

William Weldon started out at Johnson & Johnson after graduating from college in 1971 and became the company’s CEO in 2002.

When she began her career at Xerox Corporation, Ursula Burns was just an engineering intern. She went on to become Xerox’s CEO in 2009.

Compared to experienced employees, graduates are more shapeable and hence can fit your company’s culture more easily. Fresh out of college, these young talents are still full of energy and eager to climb the corporate ladder. With proper training and mentoring, they can become the future of your organisation.

Read more: Understand company culture and its importance in talent acquisition

3. They have unique skills and traits

Recent graduates, without a doubt, are comfortable utilising the latest workplace technologies such as mobile apps and social media. If you want to turn your company into a digital workplace, young talent definitely is central to this transformation.

While it is true that Millennials, those who were born between 1981 and 1995, are also tech-savvy and familiar with technology, many of them were born well before computers, smartphones, and the internet became mainstream.

Generation Z, on the other hand, truly are digital natives. The world to them has always been a connected one. They have not experienced a life without digital devices and services.

Additionally, these young people tend to be more global than their parents and grandparents. As a result, they can work well with their peers across borders and cultural differences. As the workplace is getting increasingly diverse, global-minded young talent can definitely have a positive impact on your business.

Read more: Building an agile digital culture for today's workplace

4. They can work longer hours and are easier to manage

More experienced workers tend to have other personal life priorities, such as family matters. Students or graduates, on the other hand, are more willing to work longer hours. This is highly desirable for certain jobs.

This holds true especially for Gen Z. According to a survey by Monster.com, up to 58 per cent of Gen Zs are willing to work nights and weekends, compared to just 41 per cent of all workers.

Young graduates are also easier to manage. They are less likely to get caught up in office politics and instead focus more on the task at hand. In addition to that, they generally do not have as much of a sense of entitlement as many experienced staff. Research has proved that entitled people tend not to follow rules and instruction.

Stay tuned to our upcoming articles where we introduce Generation Z, their characteristics as well as some of the best practices in entry-level recruitment.

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