Struggling to Launch: Improving Job Prospects for the Class of '13
College commencement season is upon us, and in just a few weeks, the Class of 2013 will begin their post-college life.
Those entering the job market seem to be hedging their bets: 1 in 3 soon-to-be graduates report applying for more than 40 jobs, according to one survey. For them, the news continues to be grim: employers expect to hire just 2.1% more new college graduates this year than they did last year (and that’s down from the 13% increase they projected in the fall).
What’s more, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates in their early 20s is nearly 9%, and when you add in those employed part-time but looking for full-time work and those who have given up, it jumps to 18%.
We know that long-term unemployment for young workers can have impact for a decade, even a lifetime. For too long, colleges have relied on the market to help launch the careers of their graduates, through both good and bad times. But now, given the struggling economy, colleges can no longer take a hands-off approach or else they risk graduating an entire generation of students into the unemployment lines. And that won’t be good for their brand or their fund-raising efforts.
“Too many students are struggling to launch after college,” says Eric C. Wiseman, president and chief executive officer of the VF Corporation, an apparel conglomerate. He maintains that everyone at a college—from careers services to faculty members—needs to take ownership of launching the careers of their graduates.
It’s not just colleges that should better guide students into the workforce. Employers have a role, too. Here are three ways both sides should work together to improve the employment prospects of recent college graduates.
Blend the senior year and work.
Unless students plan to go directly to graduate school, there should be less of a distinction between the senior year of college and the first year of work. College students desperately need real-world experience that will help them connect the concepts they learn in class to the everyday problems encountered in any occupation. Some get that through internships or attend the few colleges, such as Northeastern University or Drexel University, where a co-op job is part of the formal curriculum.
But colleges need to create more pathways to the workplace. One idea is a post-graduate fellowship. Both Colorado College and Davidson College offer such opportunities where students work on substantial projects in non-profit organizations for up to a year. We need more options like Teach For America, the National College Advising Corps, and Venture for America. All three place recent college graduates in schools or start-ups for several years after college as a bridge to a career.
Start career development early
Wake Forest University puts students on a career path before they even begin classes their first year on campus. At orientation, students get a Career Passport, a small booklet that lists the steps students should take each year to prepare them for a successful career after college. The university offers classes on the job search, life skills, such as budgeting, and career exploration. While other campuses might offer similar courses, Wake Forest is unique in giving students academic credit for taking these classes, another sign for students that the university takes their postgraduate lives seriously.
Recalibrate the hiring process
If you read Peter Cappelli’s Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs you’ll know why the hiring process in place at many companies, especially large ones, works against recent college grads. While CEOs might say they favor applicants with a broad education, those leaders are largely removed from the hiring process. The people on the front lines of hiring these days are lower-level managers who want jobs filled by people who can do the work immediately.
"This plays on the prejudices of the hiring manager," he says. "If they think they need someone with a master's degree, they'll ask for that. If they think it will take too long to train a liberal-arts graduate, they will toss those applications aside. All without evidence of what's really needed to do the job."
But the biggest hurdle are applicant tracking systems that automate the hiring process by scanning applications and resumés for certain keywords. "They can't imagine the job skills or experiences you don't program into them," including nontechnical degrees, Cappelli says.
If employers truly want people who can learn on the job and are broadly educated, then they need to recalibrate the hiring process so they don’t toss those people aside.
What else can colleges and employers do to be sure we're not graduating students into the unemployment line?
Jeffrey Selingo is editor at large at The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of the forthcoming book, College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students, scheduled for release next month. Pre-order by May 5 at amazon.com with the promotional code COLLEGEU and receive 30% off the hardcover edition.
Sign up for updates on the book here and receive one of two free PDF workbooks, Making the College Decision or Colleges of the Future, a perfect way to get a head start on College (Un)Bound for students, parents, counselors, college leaders, and others.
Mobile Marketing & Social Media Strategy, MS, MBA
10yI concur. College education process needs to be more relevant to the marketplace. But it will take a community involving industry and education to solve this problem. Current college curriculums must paradigm shift into the Information Age and dispose of Industrial Age methods and concepts. Entrepreneurship must become a dominant partner.
Co-Founder/CEO at Drata
11yAnother great article, Jeff, just seeing this one now. "The people on the front lines of hiring these days are lower-level managers who want jobs filled by people who can do the work immediately." Again, another perfect example of how thePortfolium.com is allowing these hiring managers to determine if new college grads can do the work immediately, by viewing samples of their work online before ever picking up the phone to interview them. We've received very positive feedback from hiring managers at Northrop Grumman, SpaceX and Celula. We'd greatly appreciate yours and anyone else's feedback as well!
Principal Recruiter at Canta Solutions
11yUniversities need to break out of the paradigm they've been living in. They need to work across departments to help students create marketable skill sets. For instance, right now I'm working with a local university to create a Human Computer Interaction and User Research minor program that will involve the computer science, information systems, psychology and art departments. Students will take a guided mix of classes from each department but can still major in any other department on campus. Would a company be interested in a history major that can write software, run a focus group and design a website? Of course. Out-of-the-box thinking like this is what will create the next generation of highly capable professionals.
Educator, Student Advocate, Focused on Experiential Learning
11yI agree with many points in this article, but the most important one that stood out to me was career development. Institutions need to prepare their students for the working world and get their career goals in place BEFORE graduation. Students come out not prepared for the real world or unfocused about their future, so changing this could help students gain satisfying careers after graduation!
Consultant | Helping Businesses Build Stronger Connections and Find Practical Solutions | Focused on Long-Term Success
11yI'm lucky to work at a small private college. While tuition for our market is sometimes repellent, it's the small-school atmosphere that facilitates internships and travel experiences that sow the seeds for employment. I am completely supportive of higher education moving to online media, but I feel that soon-to-be grads should be cognizant of the need to get their hands dirty. Forming personal, face-to-face relationships, building trust on a personal level, volunteering and in-person networking is the way to get a foot in the door. These days, in my opinion, the students most likely to be employed after graduating are the ones who enter college hungry for opportunity, scholarships, and the formation of these personal relationships.