Authored by Phil Cohen
New college graduates are discovering a changing trend in the labor market: “entry-level” jobs that are anything but.
Thanks to the recession and our slow recovery from it, employers have struggled to cut costs and have focused primarily on employment costs to streamline their operations. Technological innovations have aided this endeavor, to the point that most job duties formerly carried out by an entry-level employee are now automated.
Employers have also had the benefit of a larger labor force from which to choose their employees, allowing them to raise the bar in terms of experience and qualifications. Advanced degree holders and experienced professionals who were downsized from prior positions are competing against an inexperienced younger demographic; therefore, business owners can require their recruits to be even more prepared for what have increasingly become more demanding positions.
Another element influencing the shift in entry-level positions is the transition of the economy as a whole. Once again, automated office functions have minimized the need for employees in traditional bottom-rung positions while creating new ones that require a different set of skills – skills that, of course, employers expect their prospects to already possess before walking into an abbreviated orientation.
For college students and recent graduates, the best way to gain the experience that used to be available through entry-level positions is to spend time in internships and externships while in school. The financial feasibility of internships to supporting that demographic is another story.
Factor Finders’ commercial factoring program offers cash flow solutions to business owners who aim to streamline their own operations or recruit new talent from the expanding pool of prospects. For more information about small business factoring and to get a free quote, contact Factor Finders today.