Are Employers Too Hard on Grads?

Two of the biggest frustrations that I hear on an almost daily basis are from employers and graduates. Employers complain about the lack of experience possessed by many graduates. The graduates complain that they can’t get hired because they lack experience. Are employers being fair to graduates, or are graduates looking for experience in the wrong places?
James Richards, in his Work-related Blogs and News, seems to side with the graduates. He feels that “employers are expecting far too much and giving little themselves.”
I agree that is the case with some employers, but I believe that it is also true that many graduates tend to be a little too black-and-white. For example, I hear from some graduates that no one will hire them. When I scratch the surface a bit and ask if they’ve asked why, they tend to tell me that they lack any experience. I’ll ask them what they’ve done to correct the situation. They’ll often look back with a kind of deer-caught-in-headlights expression. Although they’re being told that they lack experience, some are unwilling to do anything about it and instead keep applying for jobs which require experience.
So what’s the solution? If no employer will hire you, then how do you get the experience? Easy. Don’t get the experience from an employer. Instead, get it by volunteering. If you’re an accounting major or recent graduate, volunteer your services to prepare the tax returns of some underprivileged people or do the books for a non-profit. If you’re a marketing major or recent graduate, speak with the manager or owner of a small business that you patronize and offer to prepare a marketing plan for them at no cost. Explain to them that you won’t charge them and they don’t have to use your work but you feel that they’ll benefit seeing your analysis and recommendations and that you’ll benefit from the experience.
One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again even though it fails to produce the desired results. Are graduates who keep applying to jobs for which they’re unqualified insane? No, but they also need to take more responsibility for their lack of experience and correct the situation. Employers are not social welfare agencies. It is not their responsibility to provide graduates with a chance or with experience. Every student should have attained practical work experience in their career field prior to graduation. For those who didn’t, they have only themselves to blame. So while I agree with James that some employers may be too demanding of graduates, I also believe that many graduates need to be more demanding of themselves.