A lot of businesses assume that making a graduate scheme appealing to candidates comes down to benefits and the salary that is on offer – if you are prepared to offer a high salary and perks such as bonuses or a company car, you cannot fail to appeal…or can you?!
This may have been the case previously, but the reality is that perks and high salaries are commonplace among a lot graduate schemes today. This is not always what recent graduates desire however.
Monetary compensation is clearly very important, but it is far from the most vital thing. What makes a scheme stand out in today’s job market is a solid commitment to supporting graduates in order to ensure they achieve their full potential. This can be achieved by helping them develop their knowledge, skills and passion in a way that makes them feel confident and valuable to an organisation.
The benefit for employers is that this is something that everyone has the potential to offer, even if they cannot afford to offer benefits or high salaries.
Show a path for career progression
Being in the same role for too long is never ideal – especially for a millennial generation who have a strong desire to improve and work their way up the career ladder. Despite wanting to take the next step, candidates often complete a graduate scheme and then end up unsure about where to go next.
One of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is to have a clear plan of progression for graduate employees. This does not mean that any step forward will be immediate once they have completed the scheme, but at least if candidates are aware of their options they can start working and planning to achieve it.
Leadership is not the end goal
When looking at the idea of progression it is important to note that you should offer routes that are not simply focused upon leadership. Whilst becoming a leader may appeal to the long-term goals for a lot of young employees, it may not be for everyone.
As a result, it is important to show that you have opportunities for candidates to improve and develop in other ways. Helping graduates to become experts on a particular subject, or evolve their role into a different area, are great ways to demonstrate that there is scope for growth without the requirement to enter into a managerial role.
If you’re an employer looking to attract the best graduate talent, find out how Discovery Graduates can help.
