Ready, set, work!
Monday, September 28, 2015 1:56 am
NEW hires need to be prepared to hit the ground running if they want make a good impression on their bosses, new research finds. Entry-level workers, in particular, have just a few weeks to prove they are up for the challenges posed by their new job.
Nearly 30 per cent of executives say their companies form an initial opinion on whether an entry-level employee will be successful in less than two weeks, according to a study from the educational technology company Fullbridge, Inc.
In the study, 78 per cent of respondents said they form opinions of new workers in less than three months.
Part of the reason employers may be quick to judge is because they are focusing their hiring strategies on finding entry-level workers who already have some on-the-job training. The study revealed that more than half of executives said they prefer hiring entry-level candidates with previous internship or training experience, compared to only 32 per cent who place more value on where an applicant graduated college.
In addition, just 14 per cent of those surveyed said they prefer hiring job candidates who had high grade point averages in college.
“Degrees from a prestigious school or high GPA no longer carry the same weight they once did,” Candice Carpenter Olson, co-founder of Fullbridge, said in a statement. “College graduates are expected to come in and perform on day one.”
Executives are also looking for new employees who will be engaged in their jobs, which the respondents said isn’t defined by one single quality. Among the qualities that those surveyed said contribute to employee engagement are an internal motivation to succeed, the ability to solve problems, a commitment to the company’s success and a “can-do” attitude.
“Engaged millennials translate into big cost savings for companies,” Olson said.
The study was based on surveys of 319 corporate executives at companies with revenue of at least $US1 billion.
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