Why Finding and Fostering Hidden FGP Talent Benefits Both Sides
When we first mentioned to friends that we’d be writing thought leadership pieces on First-Generation Professionals (FGPs), the typical response was, “That sounds interesting! … But what exactly does that mean?”
Our definition of an FGP is derived from the US Department of Commerce’s: An FGP is among the first in their immediate family to achieve a four-year college degree and/or to secure a higher-level professional role beyond what their parents held.1
The term “first-generation” is often associated with immigration status or being the first in a family to attend college. However, the concept of being a First-Generation Professional, in terms of class migration within the workforce, remains underexplored. Why is this important distinction often overlooked?
Often coming from working-class families, first-generation college students hear frequently: “Work hard, and everything will work itself out.” It becomes ingrained in us that a degree, and a degree alone, serves as our passport into more prosperous worlds. And while that is partially true, such beliefs do not include the reality that upward mobility in the white-collar world is dependent on one’s social capital, a strong network, people skills, and sponsorship in addition to technical capabilities.
The first-gen experience doesn’t end at college. You are first-gen forever. In college, the first-gen experience can feel isolating and bewildering. As an FGP, those feelings compound with even more frustration as you navigate another unfamiliar world, and now with student loans to pay back and generally higher stakes.
Consider that 81 percent of first-generation college students cite financial stability as their reason for pursuing a college education—and they graduate with a degree but without key pieces of knowledge and the accompanying skills that will facilitate their professional upward mobility, limiting their earning potential. 2
This knowledge gap, however, is something that can be rectified by companies for the mutual benefit of the organization and the FGPs themselves.
We know through our own research study and as stated by BCG that FGPs are loyal, motivated, high-potential employees, ready for their capabilities to be unlocked.3 They are 40 percent more likely to be intrinsically motivated than their peers, and of those 40 percent, 48 percent are likely to pursue management positions later in their careers. These individuals can be steady, high-performing talent for their employers—if only the employers knew to look for them. Their identification at the early stages of their careers can help companies reduce attrition rates. FGPs who have demonstrated strong technical capabilities could make for strong leaders, populating leadership pipelines with diverse talent.
All of this value will continue to be unrealized until employers, first, recognize the potential of FGPs, and second, invest in them. And considering that first-generation college students currently make up 56 percent of the United States’s undergraduate population (8.6 million students),4 and this population is trending upward, we advise that talent leaders become familiar with this category of employees and their capabilities. 5
Our research is helping us understand where in their employees’ journeys companies can apply an FGP lens to optimize their talent-retention and high-potential identification strategies. Interested in learning more? Comment below or reach out to hello@baemleadership.com.
Footnote: "First Generation Professionals Initiative." https://www.commerce.gov/cr/programs-and-services/first-generation-professionals-initiative
"Facts About First-Generation College Students." Brandeis University. https://www.brandeis.edu/academic-services/sssp/i-am/facts.html
"Hiding in Plain Sight: First-Generation Professionals," BCG.
https://web-assets.bcg.com/49/9c/184a60f14ed9b17f8fabfd7c9d6c/hiding-in-plain-sight-first-generation-professionals-bcg-study.pdf
"Center for First-generation Student Success Becomes Independent Organization Under New Brand—FirstGen Forward™." FirstGen Forward. https://firstgen.naspa.org/files/dmfile/FGF-Inaugural-Press-Release.pdf
“Children from Immigrant Families are Increasingly the Face of Higher Education,” The New York Times.
15 October 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/15/us/immigrant-families-students-college.html