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Career tips for new graduates and the companies that hire them

It is indeed graduate season. So with a little help from Forbes and their contributor Maynard Webb, we’d like to share some advice for the graduating class and the companies that may hire them.

Here are six tips for the graduates about to embark into the world of work:

It’s all about integrity. It is quite simple, do and mean what you say. Kindness, compassion and honesty will take you far further than any cheap tricks.

Have a great attitude. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you are a nightmare to work with they will find someone else. Be positive, enthusiastic and above all fun.

Work for a higher purpose. In work as in life, we need more than just a number on a pay check to make us feel happy, fulfilled and motivated. Millennials are already making this shift. We will all make a mark on this world before we leave it, you just need decide what your impact will be.

Be honest with yourself. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Improvement is contingent on self-awareness.

Don’t confuse action for traction. You know the old adage, “actions speak louder than words.” Focus on concrete outcomes and learn to pick your battles. As my college professor told me: finish what you start. It is always better to have one finished product than a thousand half-hearted ideas. So prioritise where you direct your energy.

Have fun. Alan Watts wrote that “the real secret of life is to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realise it is play.” It is cliché, we know, but follow the trajectory of your passions and have fun with what you do. It’s where all the best ideas come from, after all.

Employers, now it is your turn. Here is our advice to how you can make your latest team members flourish:

Get voted on the team every day. We really like this idea. With such a competitive market for both recruits and recruiters, you need to ask yourself, what are you doing to make them want to stick around?

Let them make an impact. Millennials weren’t made to be mindless drones or clogs in a machine. Research has shown that they want more than just a pay check: they want to change the world. So why not let them? When you are passionate about what you do success will follow. So encourage entrepreneurship and let their enthusiasm translate into progress.

Give them validation and feedback. A yearly review just is not enough anymore. Give feedback constantly as like we said before, it is only through self-awareness and criticism that we can progress.

Provide coaching. Millennials love to be mentored. Invest your time in them, nurture their enthusiasm and dedicate yourself to their improvement. The rewards will be swift and sweet.

Be flexible: The world of work is changing. Traditional systems of rigid hours, set work spaces and a deep schism between the personal and professional no longer reflects the desires of people today. Management behaviours should move with the times, not against it.

Allow them to speak up. Not only do they want to be part of the dialogue, they have things to say. Who knows what revolutionary ideas have been lost to the clamour of a conference room. Let them speak up and see for yourself what ideas you may uncover.

Here at GradLink, we’d like to congratulate the new graduates and wish them all the best for their futures. If you want to start chasing that future today, why not check out our job listings page.