HB500 Strive to Survive the Talent War with Recent College Grads

The indicators from all directions point to the fact that this is an excellent time for recent college graduates. Although many may not see it, employers are avidly seeking skilled labor (meaning people with communication skills, computer savvy, analytical and problem solving) and knowledge workers for their business initiatives. According to Jesus Chavarria, Editor and Publisher of Hispanic Business magazine (HB), the HB500 companies are definitely in this mode. However, the highly-sought new talent is difficult to find. That in turn is creating a talent war that according to Pasadena executive recruiter and CEO of Fluhrer & Davis, Alan Fluhrer, began around the middle of this year.

Employers are not bathing in dollars as some may envision as we speak of recovery and hail back to the Internet Bubble. They are being extremely careful about spending decisions. Their caution is fueled by the false economic starts stimulated by governmental tinkering with economic controls that create temporary mini-recoveries but not overall, long-term cures and healing. So employers are being conservative in their business strategies, making increases of all manner in small, cautious increments in order to avoid making a major economic misstep. What Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao sees is the need for employers to take a more assertive stand so that the recovery can be actualized. A more assertive stand would spell a stronger hiring initiative as well as higher entry salaries. According to HB, those are exactly the steps employers are taking.

Hispanic-owned businesses are experiencing a growth boom that surpasses records from ten years ago. In spite of this health, they cite two major challenges: capitalizing the growth, and debt or high-risk aversion. Two of the obstacles hampering further growth for these companies are market conditions and competition. The concepts new graduates should take from all of this is that they should look at companies as places where they can heavily market and trade on their special knowledge and skills in problem solving, analysis, and superb communication abilities. Many are teetering between trying desperately to be humble yet walk away from interviews frustrated that they were not as aggressive as they could have been in flaunting their hard-earned talents. The middle ground is bringing this new knowledge to recent graduates so that they can properly leverage their potential and allow those hard-earned talents to be properly exploited.

Unbeknowst to many, it is time for job seekers to look beyond the Fortune 500 companies and begin including the Hispanic Business 500 in their list of companies to research and pursue. These are young companies with a large amount of space for growth. These are vital companies that exist in all industries. Their locations are as diverse as their offerings. However, the majority of the fastest growing are in the South — Georgia and Florida. Although the companies are in diverse industries, the inner workings of every company come down to the same essential elements: marketing, administration, accounting, IT. To the extent that these businesses can attract and retain recent grads from across the board, they will be ensuring their livelihood.

In fact, many of the companies are experiencing withdrawals from approximately 30 years ago as they find themselves in drastic need of qualified engineers. According to Secretary Chao, the nation is in dire need of qualified nurses. Whatever the industry-unique need, companies need people with recent and current knowledge who are receptive and professional. They need people who are trained or willing to be trained. And they are in need of people who listen while not feeling timid about stepping forward as a leader.

These can be rather tricky goals to fulfill. But then, who said anything worthwhile, like hiring qualified talent, is easy?