What Employers Want from Recent College Graduates
A survey from Intelligent.com found that 6 of 10 companies surveyed fired a recent college graduate they hired this year. Why? The top reasons given for recent college graduates’ lack of success are (in order) a lack of motivation or initiative, lack of professionalism, poor organizational skills, poor communication skills, challenges with feedback, lack of relevant work experience, poor problem-solving skills, insufficient technical skills, bad culture fit, and difficulty working in a team.
Other surveys have similar findings. A General Assembly survey found that executives view entry-level employees as not meeting expectations in terms of communicating, collaborating, and adapting. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers asked employers what they look for on resumes when hiring new college graduates, and their responses included problem-solving skills, ability to work in a team, communication skills (written), initiative, strong work ethic, and technical skills.
Most of the skills and qualities mentioned above can be described as human skills (or durable skills) and habits or qualities related to professionalism, but it is important to recognize that technical skills are also important. A recent survey of professionals administered by Washington State University Carson College of Business and Research, in partnership with KRC Research, finds that 74% of professionals would like recent college graduates to have AI user experience. In terms of AI being used in the workplace, 56% of professionals said they already are using AI for tasks such as “analyzing data and to produce content or communications.” A Microsoft survey finds 66% of business leaders stating that they would not hire someone without AI skills, and 71% stating that they would rather hire a less experienced applicant who possesses AI skills over a more experienced applicant who does not have these skills.
The survey results related to human skills, professionalism, and AI literacy suggest that while some recent college graduates are excelling, others are struggling or lack the attributes that employers are seeking. Addressing these gaps will require intentional efforts from both higher education and employers that are informed by productive collaboration that creates a shared understanding of what students need to be successful in the workforce of today and tomorrow. And this must be done while acknowledging and supporting the broader purposes of higher education that go beyond preparation for the workforce.
What Higher Education Can Do to Ensure College Graduates are Prepared for the Workforce
It is important to acknowledge the complexities of preparing students for the workforce. Addressing the gaps discussed above will require experimentation and time to determine what works best, and it will require understanding of what is constant and what is not in the ever-changing nature of work. Many institutions have made this issue a priority and have launched programs focused on preparing students for the workforce while others are trying to catch up.
The surveys make clear that it is especially important to prepare students to apply the skills developed through their studies to the workforce. When enrolled in higher education, students are required to communicate and think critically within disciplinary contexts, and they primarily produce work with academic audiences in mind. There are typically very few opportunities to demonstrate these skills in ways that students will utilize them in the workforce.
To address employer concerns, faculty members can create assignments that require students to communicate with general audiences. Examples of assignments that do this include having students summarize their research in a one- or two-page document or communicate to a general audience through a poster or PowerPoint presentation.
Internships, co-ops, and other forms of experiential learning are also helpful as they provide opportunities for students to demonstrate and receive feedback on these skills in work environments. This is especially important for humanities majors whose disciplines do not have clear connections to roles in the workforce and who would benefit from the feedback and experience offered by experiential learning opportunities.
Habits or qualities like meeting deadlines and other professional behavior along with working well in and leading teams, all attributes that employers seek, can be developed through faculty members’ expectations for students. While it is advisable to ease students into college work, at some point expectations for students should align with those of the workplace so that students are prepared to meet employers’ expectations regarding professionalism, such as meeting deadlines and communicating with other employees in a professional manner. Expectations like this can be communicated on syllabi and managed by faculty members. Recent graduates who display these habits will distinguish themselves from those who do not.
The ability to work in and lead teams is also sought after by employers. Students can develop this ability through graded and ungraded assignments that require the production of a tangible product. Peer feedback can help students and faculty members understand individual contributions to the group in terms of strengths and areas for growth.
As surveys note, job candidates with AI literacy have an advantage. Many colleges and universities are in the process of incorporating generative AI into their curricula and other parts of the student experience and institutional operations. To develop the AI literacy desired by employers, students should have assignments in some of their courses where they are required to use AI. But even before this, they should learn about the strengths and weaknesses of AI, including its biases, how it produces inaccurate information, and the ethical issues inherent in its use. Students should also learn when and when not to use AI and that overreliance on generative AI can undermine the development of the skills that will make them competitive job candidates.
Higher education must continually explore the future of work to identify the different ways work and the workplace might change. This will allow colleges and universities to prepare students not just for the jobs of today, but for the roles and industries of tomorrow. The rapid advance of technologies like AI, the shifting demands of global economies, and evolving workplace cultures all point to a future that will require a strong foundation of human skills and the ability to learn to keep up with and leverage the capabilities of rapid technological advances. By considering different ways the future may unfold, higher education can ensure students are equipped to thrive in the multiple possibilities that the future of work may bring.
While higher education plays an essential role in preparing students, these efforts must be complemented by employer initiatives to ensure recent graduates thrive in the workplace.
What Employers Can Do to Onboard Recent College Graduates
Employers are responsible for building on the development recent college graduates bring to the workplace. This requires recognizing that many new employees have the skills that employers are seeking but that they lack experience applying these skills in the workplace. Assessing applicants during the hiring process to determine their human skills and professional habits will be important for employers to determine the potential of new employees. Skills-based hiring approaches that are increasingly being used can be helpful in doing this.
Once hired, professional development focused on skill and habit development and application can help new employees adapt to the workforce by building on the human skills they developed in their degree programs. This will enable employees to utilize these skills in new contexts. The same is true of professional habits. Employers should communicate clear expectations and provide support to ensure that new employees understand and can act according to these expectations. Mentoring programs and effective feedback mechanisms can support employee growth in all these areas. Additionally, providing opportunities for employees to learn how to use new technologies through upskilling efforts can help address employer concerns about technical skill gaps and strengthen new employees’ ability to learn.
Collaboration
Neither higher education nor employers can address skills and habit gaps alone. They must collaborate. One place to start is by jointly discussing results from surveys like those mentioned above to clarify where recent graduates are falling short and highlight opportunities to better align the student experience with workforce needs.
Employer advisory boards at the academic program, college, and institutional levels can help inform changes to the curriculum, how it is delivered, and other student experiences. Alumni, donors, and regional businesses are great starting points for finding advisory board members who care about the institution and its students. Employers can also create more internships so that students gain experience demonstrating what they know and can do and receive feedback on their performance in the workplace. Collaboration between faculty members and employers will ensure that the goals of internships are understood by all stakeholders and that there is an effective approach to providing feedback to students and programs. This feedback should be formatted in a way that allows students to identify their strengths and areas for improvement related to employability. It should also provide programs with insights into their students’ performance to inform curricular and other changes.
Collaboration can address immediate workforce needs through targeted skills bootcamps, micro-credentials for in-demand skills, and partnerships between higher education and employers to provide accelerated workforce readiness programs to recent graduates who are not meeting employer expectations in terms of skills and professional habits. Collaboration between higher education and employers is essential to preparing futures-empowered students who can thrive in varied future of work scenarios due to their human skills, professionalism, and ability to adapt to technological advances.
The feedback from employers is clear: many recent college graduates lack key skills and behaviors needed to thrive in the workplace. Surveys show that the top reasons students pursue degrees are related to careers. Higher education and employers have a shared responsibility to ensure students are ready for the workforce, and they must work together to fulfill this responsibility.
The views in this article are those of the author and not the views of the United States Military Academy, United States Army, or United States Department of Defense.
Image created on January 5, 2025, using OpenAI’s DALL·E