When you think grad programs, large corporate organisations and structured business development opportunities traditionally come top of mind. But with start-ups in Australia breaking the record for the most capital raised in a quarter in the first quarter of 2022, there's no reason why this rising interest in the start-up space can’t translate to looking to the grad market for expansion.
Grads are 'fresh’
Hot off the press of uni, you can expect graduates to bring the fresh ideas and new perspectives to your company – which after all, isn’t what start-ups are all about? Most importantly, they’ll be motivated to and hungry to learn, which is key to growing a small start-up and persevering through inevitable challenges.
Grads are open-minded
It’s no secret that sometimes a little bit of pitching in from everyone in the team is required to get the job done in a start-up. With their ostensibly open-minded nature and willingness to adapt, grads are the perfect candidate to be flexible and take on other tasks when needed. Or course, it goes without saying that this shouldn’t happen every time and considered planning and discussions are necessary to ensure that this doesn't lead to exploitation or an ongoing role they didn’t sign up for!
Grads are a great ROI
As a start-up, you are in a unique position to give graduates unparalleled exposure to multiple areas of the business, as well as the opportunity to take leadership of certain projects. If grads feel they have a sense of ownership and responsibility over tasks, they will be more likely to have a sense of loyalty to the company, plus an appreciation for the growth opportunities you’ve been able to offer them. More often than not, this will translate to you having an invaluable team member and fantastic return on investment when you begin to upscale your company.
Start-Up Spotlight - PUSHAS
| Co-founded and owned by Justin Truong & Sandy Li in 2017 after a few years reselling in the local community, PUSHAS began as a start-up born from a shared love of sneakers and has grown to become one of the biggest sneaker stores in Australia & New Zealand. Awarded the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Retail & Ecommerce in 2022, PUSHAS now consists of a team of sneakerheads based in both Sydney and Los Angeles – including grads! If you need to pick up a fresh pair of Air Jordans, Nike Dunks or Yeezys, as well as some fresh new talent, read on for our chat with Co-Founder and CEO, Justin Truong and find out how PUSHAS approaches hiring graduates to their team. |
1. How many grads have you hired for your start-up?3 so far! 2. Why did you choose to hire grads for your start-up?As a start-up, our whole job is to solve problems that haven't been solved before. This means it's actually a blessing in disguise that graduates are fresh, without many idiosyncrasies and 'right ways of doing things' to unlearn. Most graduates are also very intelligent, ambitious and keen to prove themselves which is the energy we need at a start-up. 3. What do you think has been the most valuable thing to come out of these graduate hires?The fresh perspective and keenness to challenge even our own organisational inertia is very valuable to us. We need to keep pushing boundaries and it's great to have new graduates come in and push our limits as well. Check out PUSHAS on GradConnection here. |
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