5 tips to help recent graduates make the most of their benefits options

While this latest crop of new workers might have an easier time finding their first full-time jobs, understanding the benefits packages that accompany those job offers still remains a challenge. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Another summer has come and gone, ushering in the latest entrants into the full-time workforce. This latest class of workers – many of whom still haven’t framed their diplomas – is entering the labor pool at one of the best times in recent years: with unemployment rates at a historic low and many industries facing both a worker shortage and an impending exodus of experienced workers fast approaching retirement, many employers are more willing than ever to hire those with limited or no experience.

While this latest crop of new workers might have an easier time than others getting their first full-time jobs, understanding and evaluating the benefits packages that accompany those job offers still remains a challenge. A 2015 poll sponsored by Collective Health found that nearly 75 percent of millennials (defined here as those between the ages of 18 and 34) are “often confused about all the benefit options available to them,” compared to 60 percent of all those surveyed.