The Guardian gave some gruesome statistics on graduate employment and without being alarmist it will continue to get worse towards the middle of next year. However, you can either see this as a time of difficulty or a time of change and opportunity. The rules for the economy are yet to be written and the leaders yet to be elected, so why not capitalize on what graduates do best …. CREATE IDEAS?
As John Lennon said once in an interview ‘ there is nothing rock n roll about doing what some else has done’. This new era of economy will be driven by new ideas, creativity, and innovation. People are desperate for them as a matter of fact, which puts young fresh minds at a total advantage, you can either compete with industry or enhance it, either way Graduates stand to win. Well, those that have the insight to start their own idea.
THECUBE has several Graduate enterprises such as WHY! and The Gateway, who started an enterprise based on needs they observed within their peer group.
Our Graduate Packs, offer meeting space hire, 5 hours of coworking usage, and virtual office services.
5 Things Graduates should be doing
Create new industries
Instead of waiting for one to come along which is going to capitalize on all your new found knowledge, start one of your own. Think Facebook ( social networks). One of the next industries will be collaborative software, there are many software developers creating new on-line tools to help entrepreneurs communicate and share ideas on-line. There is also coworking spaces, which will be the future of working and networking. What is other industry can you start?
Create Think Tanks with other Graduates
Right now your network of people is at its tightest, so use that to start something. Form a diverse and interesting group of people and really push diversity, the last thing that you want is a room full of the same type of people thinking the same thing. Push away from your comfort zone, knowledge, and capabilities to a create a group of people that will create interesting ideas. Meet up every week and start thinking, observing, creating, prototyping, and discussing.
Create Partnerships
Once your ideas have flowed, start to create partnerships with other Graduates and start an enterprise. Create something that is lean and can be implemented straight away, this way you will not need to rely on investment or resources. The best resource will be the strength of your idea and the people that you have partnered with.
Turn your industry upside down
What are they not doing? Is it a saturated industry ? Where are they failing their clients? Can the industry be better as a hybrid? Does your industry need to pivot? Are there markets that your industry needs to reach?
Move away from the crowd
Leadership never occurs from moving with the crowd, observe what all other people are doing and move away. Most are going through graduate training programs, dead-end internships, or simply sitting in isolated rooms sending one faceless CV after another. So, look at opportunities observe the world around you and create something new or contribute to companies that are starting up to gain experience.
