Are the New College Grads Ready for the Workplace?

Ask a new college grad if they think they are in a good place to get hired very soon and most will be emphatically positive. The problem is that they may be overconfident. An online survey of recent grads showed a significant difference between expectations and reality as they entered the job market.

The College Graduate Employment survey is conducted yearly by Accenture Strategy. Nearly 75% of this year’s grads expect formal on-the-job training and their salary expectations may prove to be high based on previous years’ data. The survey suggests that their optimism is severely misplaced and it is likely the companies that are expected to hire them are to blame.

Employers are simply not offering the entry-level job opportunities with proper training for success. Other studies also support the data that graduates believe they are armed with the education and necessary skills to be hired as a professional right out of college. Employers disagree. In surveys, employers indicate a real lack of career-learning in recent graduates.

While surveys are not scientific results, they can indicate important information and trends. Hart Research Associates performed a formal study, “Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success.” Online surveys of 400 employers and 613 college students yields some interesting results.

Here are some key statistics:

• 88% of employers believe that students should be prepared for working by completing an applied learning project
• 73% believe that the applied learning project would improve the quality of the preparedness of the student for the workplace
• The majority of employers said that they are more likely to consider hiring a student who has completed a research project, internship, or other community project.

These statistics all indicate that employers value learning and classroom knowledge in tandem with specific skills learned outside of the classroom. For students in college now, start looking for research or internship opportunities to add to your experiences. They count for more than you think.

Employers also value skills beyond the required knowledge for a specific major. Regardless of what the major is, the graduate MUST be able to communicate orally and in writing, work in teams, make ethical decisions, have critical thinking skills, and apply skills in the real world office setting. Thinking beyond the boundaries to the much maligned “core” courses in many curriculums, students should be seeking to excel in their writing and other life skills.

Other skills that employers value include problem solving, organization, the ability to find information, creativity, knowledge of current tech, cultural awareness, current scientific and global developments, and often a language in addition to English.

The study goes into detail regarding the specifics of the value of each skill, but the overall message is clear. Graduates are not getting hired as they expect to right out of college. The reasons are based on the expectations of employers that the new hires are well-rounded and able to think beyond the straight information of their major and apply communication and real-world skills in the workplace. Rather than lower the new grads’ expectations, let’s encourage them to change their focus in college and become more diverse in their experiences.