In an increasingly challenging labor market, small businesses may offer newly minted college graduates something that larger firms cannot: a job.
Joe Watson, the founder and chief strategist at Hey Joe Media, a Tucson, Arizona-based communications firm for nonprofits specializing in criminal justice reform, said he specifically seeks out younger workers to fill openings and hired three recent grads this spring.
Even as artificial intelligence reshapes the workforce and eliminates some entry-level positions, “criminal justice requires intense human relationships, and it is not something that can be replaced by AI,” Watson said. “The relationship is the product.”
Those just starting out have demonstrated “the initiative, energy, and willingness to make mistakes and learn from them along the way,” he said. “Experience is not the only asset.”
“I hope that more small businesses, rather than turning to AI exclusively, will continue to give these young folks — who may not have the experience on paper — an opportunity,” Watson said.
