Many recent graduates initiate their career paths by exploring employment opportunities, crafting high-quality resumes, honing their interview skills, and applying for their dream jobs. In many cases, they have trouble landing those first employment opportunities even when they do get called and interview well. One reason for this is lack of experience.
Sure, they excel at research and technical writing. They know the origins of various business models. They understand the importance of diversity and ethics. The knowledge is there, but they haven’t yet applied it to real life experiences.
Understandably, college graduates don’t have much job experience simply because they haven’t yet had opportunities to obtain any. The phenomenon contradicts itself, which truly seems unfair. There is an expansive gap between college graduation and the professional world, and not all universities sufficiently prepare their students for work skills. Furthermore, any valid experience they may have usually isn’t enough.
As a result, many former students become discouraged and question the value of higher education and the significant investment of resources it requires. Fortunately, there are effective means of responding to this issue. Perhaps the most meaningful and far-reaching possibility is for universities to expand their roles in this area.
It would arguably be a worthwhile investment for colleges to dedicate entire departments to work skills. They may offer classes in which the realities of the professional world are explored, such as maintaining a work-life balance, salary negotiation, strategic networking, navigating office politics, and conflict resolution. Admittedly, internships do shed some light into some of these areas, but they by no means thoroughly reflect corporate culture. Furthermore, many areas of study do not require students to complete internships at all.
If universities hosted programs dedicated to work skills, these departments can then forge relationships with prospective employers, eventually facilitating connections with students. This not only benefits the students, but the employers as well. With a wide pool of prospects before them, they need not waste resources scouring the internet for candidates and recruiting elsewhere.
Universities that don’t currently operate such programs would also benefit. Based on programs’ design and effectiveness, the schools would attract a plethora of potential students and donors. With the solution of bridging the gap between educational institutions and the workforce being academia-based work centers, all parties involved could expect to enjoy some perks. Most importantly, graduates would be prepared to step into the professional world with the experience they need to excel.