There’s a rush of excitement, but also nerves, that come with starting out in one of your first “real-world” jobs.
While some yearn to make the jump to the workplace after years of post-secondary education or other training, it can also be a rude awakening for those experiencing the day-to-day grind for the first time.
As the class of 2025 gets set to graduate this spring, experts say it’s important to be ready for the challenges that will lie ahead when they transition to the workforce, especially in the current economic environment.
Mike Shekhtman, a workplace expert and senior regional director for recruiting company Robert Half, said there’s been an “erosion” of resources to help young employees navigate their new-found responsibilities and fit in.
“Companies just don’t have the resources to be able to support great experiences when it comes to new hires,” Shekhtman said.
“With an acceleration of increased retirements, less hiring—or more methodical hiring—over the last couple of years, leaner teams, it creates a little bit less bandwidth to maybe support the more formal mentorship programs that were in place.”
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A survey released last week by Robert Half identified limited mentorship opportunities as the top challenge encountered by Canadian workers early in their careers, with 47 percent of respondents saying they lacked a workplace peer to help guide them.
The survey of 835 Canadian workers also found 37 percent of respondents felt unprepared due to inadequate employer training and 34 percent said they entered the workforce without previously completing internships or having relevant work experience.
Shekhtman said that could reflect companies’ declining investments in learning and development teams over the years.
“When you have robust teams, you can allocate resources to those new hires, but if teams are being spread thin, you’re not going to get that one-on-one onboarding experience that will set people up to be successful,” he said.
Meanwhile, one-third said they struggled with managing workloads and 32 percent felt they couldn’t make an immediate impact with the skills they possessed.
Respondents highlighted key steps they took as first-time professionals to help overcome those challenges, such as researching companies to determine fit or seeking out networking opportunities.
Bob Menard, a graduate career adviser at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business, said his advice when he speaks with students is that they should arrange coffee chats with people already working in their field and ask questions about what skills their employers look for.
“Most of the students I deal with feel like they have to get the referral, like the only way they’re going to get noticed by the companies is if they have sort of a rubber stamp from someone,” he said.
“They don’t realize that learning more about whether or not they do have the right skills and experiences is very valuable.”
Menard also said post-secondary students should take advantage of internship opportunities and co-ops that are offered while they can. He noted the nature of those programs has changed over the years, with most now being paid opportunities where first-time workers can hone their skills.
“Companies have recognized the value of an internship, not just to get something done, but really to fill the pipeline for their future,” Menard said.
“Not to say that every internship becomes a permanent job, but it’s a great way for companies to continue interviewing a candidate for four extra months to find out if they really can do the job.”
A separate Robert Half survey of more than 1,050 hiring managers across Canada found 34 percent of them are offering paid internships for current students or recent graduates, while 32 percent are recruiting at colleges and universities.
Shekhtman said that with economic uncertainty weighing heavily on some industries this year, new grads should be “flexible and agile coming into the workforce.”
That could mean taking on contract work or other temporary jobs as a “way to get a foot in the door” at the beginning of their careers.
“It’s going to be especially crucial through the next number of months because we know uncertainty is going to be our constant and we know that it will continue to be a market that’s going to be complex to navigate,” Shekhtman said.
“A lot of new grads will have to be quite flexible and maybe open up opportunities.”
