A recent study conducted by Millennial Branding using the Experience Inc. data pool of more than 100,000 U.S. companies confirmed the job gap and employment challenges graduating college students face. There were 225 participating employers and the results identified three areas students need to keep in mind when job searching. The survey also provides insight into what employers want in new hires and possible reasons for the 50% unemployment rate among recent college graduates.
The three areas are: Skills employers are looking for in new hires, student employment gaps and sources of hiring.
Dan Schawbel,Gen-Y workplace and career expert, and owner of Millennial Branding, encourages millennials to take more personal accountability for career growth. The employer-employee relationship has changed, and employers are looking to minimize risks associated with making a bad hiring decision and want employees who have work experience.
Soft skills matter
Findings from the study indicated employers are now focusing more on soft skills when hiring for entry-level positions. Also known as interpersonal skills or people skills, soft skills include communication skills, conflict resolution and negotiation, personal effectiveness, creative problem solving, strategic thinking, team building, influencing skills and selling skills, to name a few. Keeping soft skills in mind is especially important for recent graduates who have focused primarily on obtaining knowledge and technical skills. The results confirm the significance of soft skills throughout your entire career, regardless of industry or field of interest.
Soft skills can influence a decision-maker to hire you. When employers were asked to rate the qualities they thought were important in an employee:
98% of employers chose communication skills,
97% chose having a positive attitude, and
92% chose teamwork skills.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, demonstrate strong rapport-building skills and keep a positive attitude when meeting employers.
If you feel your communication skills are lacking, consider attending networking events or forums where you can strengthen your face-to-face rapport-building skills. It’s easy to become adept at one style of communication, such as social media or texting, but in the job market, interpersonal skills are just as important.
Another interesting finding is the lack of preparation for an interview. Employers expect students to know how to interview, and since it’s easy to do research online, the candidate who comes to an interview unprepared and unenthusiastic is making a mistake.
Get some experience
Work experience is important, and Dan Schawbel said, “The premise behind the study was to convey different ways to gain experience and how students can adapt to employers needs. What may work for one graduate might not work for the other, so you need to stay flexible in a changing market.”
Personal accountability attracts employers because it shows you are industrious and will do what it takes to acquire work-related experience.
One of the biggest challenges facing students is getting real-world work experience, and in the past internships filled this void for many and offered a path into an employer. Today’s market is different when you consider 91% of employers surveyed think students should have 1 or 2 internships before graduating, and 87% believe internships should last at least three months.
The problem is 50% of employers haven’t hired any interns in the past six months, and when you combine the employer’s view that internships should last at least three months, you can see the problem, and this finding points to why 50% of recent grads are jobless or underemployed.
Fix the problem
How do you get work experience if you can’t get an internship position? Being entrepreneurial helps, and starting a small business is one way that students are addressing the problem. Don’t overlook networking with family and friends about ways you can gain work experience. Even if you have to volunteer, it’s important you get that experience.
What sources will employers use to find talent? According to the survey employers use job boards and referrals as their main sources of hiring. This means employers are continuing to use of traditional recruiting methods instead of relying on social media as the primary source of leads. The student who is comfortable communicating through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or texting will need to develop stronger networking relationships by leveraging their online connections to generate introductions to hiring managers.
What other reasons do you think lead to employment gaps between employers and students?
