Perception of New Graduates

You know what really grinds my gears?
When you can't find the droids you're looking for.

And also, when an entire generation/group is perceived one way and sucks to your case-by-case basis nonsense.

For instance! My parents have been superheroes in trying to help me navigate this murky job-hunting water/market/hell. Absolute superheroes and I would be a lost little sailor without them. Anyway! My mum recently heard back from a contact of her's looking for an administrative assistant saying that this contact wasn't sure if they were looking for a new grad or someone more stable, implying that all young people/recent grads are unstable and will move on in a year or so.

While the stats may show that the majority of new grads will move on from their first "real people" jobs within a year or two, I think it is a mistake to assume a person is an unstable candidiate for a job simply because of their age/time of life.




First of all, I want to examine what those stats are based on. Fact? Fiction? Urban legend? Personal experience?
What kind of jobs are new grads being hired for that they are leaving/moving on within the first year?
Are they quality jobs with room for growth and advancement or are they jobs like an administrative assistant?
Are they jobs in the new grad's field of interest/study? Or is it something to pay off the debt and live?
Also, how are these people treated within these jobs? What was their reason for leaving?

There are just too many questions that simplistic statements like "new grads will move on from the job within a year and as such are unstable hiring candidates" miss completely. We're not examining the quality of these jobs and just assuming that new grads are all flakey. Some are. Don't get me wrong. Some will just up and leave whenever they want to without a second thought for the people who took a chance and gave them a job. I have another theory about that, though.

Look at the economic times we've grown up in. It's become increasingly drilled in to our heads recession after recession that many corporations/businesses regard people as expendable. We've seen parents, family and friends laid off because the company couldn't afford to keep them, yet CEOs and top management take home multimillion dollar salaries. It seems to me like the natural response to that is to have less loyalty to a company. I'm not saying that that's necessarily the correct response, just that it's understandable that a generation would be influenced (NOT DICTATED) by the surrounding conditions of their youth.

However, some aren't. It's not a good idea to assume that any one group of people will all act in the exact same way. Come on people.

Generational differences man, they're so interesting. I've had many debates with my mum on this very subject. As much as I dislike it, I think my generation needs to play ball with the current generation in power a little better. At least for a little while. I just hope once we take over for the Baby Boomers, we remember these feels and find more effective ways of incorporating the new ideas and perceptions we'll be faced with into our experience.