Graduate Recruitment

3. Coming Up with an Offer

As a growing number of graduates are choosing to join small businesses, you will have to compete with other smaller firms, as well as large graduate recruiters, to attract good graduates.

Aim to come up with a set of benefits which will make a job in your business appealing.

3.1 Be clear about what you have to offer. Work out both a 'job specification' and a 'person specification' before you start recruiting.

• Decide who the graduate will be working for, and what exactly they will be doing.
• Think about the sort of training and career opportunities you will be able to provide.
• You do not have to have a 'Graduate Programme' as most graduates are looking for a job first and a career second.
• Offer a competitive salary (see Remuneration). Benchmark your graduate salaries by contacting the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (020 8612 6200) for comparative information. Graduate salaries typically start around £18k. If you are based in London and the home counties where the cost of living is higher most graduates will expect to start on between £18k and £20k.
• Do not oversell the job. Be realistic about what you can offer.
• Be aware that discrimination on the basis of age is now illegal. Avoid discriminatory requirements (such as an age limit).

3.2 Remember, as a small business, your main selling points are related to the excitement of working in a small team and having an influence on the business' success.

• In a smaller business it is possible to gain real responsibility early on.
• You can offer the graduate the prospect of becoming a key team worker.
• Working directly with the directors is also a potentially exciting prospect.

3.3 Working for a smaller business offers the chance to experience how the different aspects of a business work - an unlikely prospect within a large company.

• A smaller business can give a graduate the chance of early responsibility in several different roles.
• There may be the chance to get involved in exciting new projects.