[PaulHoule]

For one thing it is a bad idea for a hiring manager to advertise that the company wants a new grad because it can be perceived as age discrimination; they could get sued. What they can say is that the position is "entry level".

Startups often like to hire young people for various reasons but in a company that has 2 or 3 employees, everyone has to carry their own weight -- they usually cannot give you a lot of on the job training.

One trends I have seen is companies who hire young people to make cold calls; often these people have a PMA and some sales skills, but they don't understand the offerings they are selling well and don't have a complete set of sales skills.

An established company with name recognition and a well-worn playbook can get away with that, but I see many small (<25 employees) companies that struggle because there are two kinds of people you can talk to: (1) busy people and (2) people who will talk all day and never buy anything. Since you get one chance to make a first impression, an initial contact with a poor salesperson can be a very bad thing.

Don't ask "do you hire new grads?" because the real question is "will you hire me?" which can have a different answer if you communicate that you can bring something special.