The graduate is sitting in front of you, saying all the right things, but you have a nagging concern that there is no substance behind their words. They seem so sure in their ability that even their body language marries up with their messages, but would that be the same if they are thrown into the white-hot cauldron of a sales meeting? Yes, they have some impressive work experience, but how much of that is watching others work rather than doing it themselves?
Recruiting graduates is often an uncertain experience. Exciting, but uncertain.
The reason for that uncertainty is clear, and it is difficult to overcome. They have spent the majority of their life in academia, the last three or four years of which in half-filled university lecture halls, where the only pressure was to hand in their essays on time. Yes, they may have done some work experience for the sake of their CV, but it is entirely unclear how they have performed in these roles and what sort of an employee that will turn out to be.
Despite all the sophisticated psychometric tests and personality assessments, hiring grads has always been a bit of a lottery. The issue has been that no one has had the chance to get to know them before that first round of crucial job interviews. This is a problem for the employers because they are taking a (calculated) risk, but it is also a problem for the grads because they often do not have a trusted advisor. Until now.
I am proud to say that Brightsparks has created a dynamic community of highly talented graduates, for whom the guesswork goes out of the window. We employ thousands of students and recent graduates in demanding, client facing roles; a great place for them to develop and for us to gauge their employability and where they are most likely to succeed in their careers. We communicate with them, we get to know them, and then when it is time to graduate, we are in the perfect position to broker that vital first steps on the career ladder.
We are able to complete enough of the jigsaw puzzle to add that extra degree of certainty in the choice to be made. However, we understand that just knowing someone isn’t enough, and we combine our personal relationships with bespoke tech and values-based assessment to give the most detailed insights into a talent pool where this was previously utterly lacking. Once in their new role, we support them throughout their career via our Brightsparks Academy (view our process here).
So many business decisions revolve around mitigating risk, and there are few riskier HR decisions that when you take on your intake of grads. These potential future leaders will undoubtedly be intelligent, they have the grades to prove it, but they may also be utterly wrong for your business. For wrong or right, social media has made it easier to get an insight into their personal lives, but Brightsparks can bridge the gap and give you an insight into the beginnings of their professional lives too.
We see thousands of students and graduates in action when they are at work.
We know what makes them tick and where they are likely to succeed.
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