Employing graduates is something of a gamble, as they have little, if any, work experience. Many companies balk at the thought of being the first to take a chance on someone fresh out of university. But Nola Payne, the head of faculty: information and communications technology at The Independent Institute of Education, has a different view. "The benefit of appointing someone fresh out of higher education who has a solid understanding of an industry and the most recent trends, who also has the ability to implement what they have learnt in the real world of work, should not be underestimated." She has the following advice for wary employers: • Ask questions in interviews about the university the candidate graduated from, for example: How practical and career-focused is the degree? • Do some research to work out where the most capable graduates come from. • A quality to look for in graduates is the desire to keep learning, rather than the attitude that there is no need to learn further...
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