The industry-academia gap is the reason so many new graduates are unable to find jobs while at the same time, employers bemoan the lack of qualified graduates.
While universities bicker over meaningless rankings, the fact is none of them are adequately preparing their graduates for the workforce. However, identification of the problem is the first step and you need data for that. A recent survey conducted by Career Advisory and Assessment Services aims to portray the employers’ side of the matter.
Here are the major highlights and breakdowns from the survey.
According to the survey, the major factors that influence hiring for new graduates (on a scale of 0-100) are:
The main takeaways are that while the degree matters, the grades don’t comparatively. Soft skills and personal grooming, two factors often completely neglected by students specially in technical fields, are the 2nd and 3rd most important things.
These are the skills missing from the toolsets of new graduates according to employers.
The ability to communicate effectively, in both written and oral form, is the most important when it comes to making yourself an attractive resource to employers. Lots of things like a positive attitude and stress tolerance can’t really be judged from a short interview. That’s why young graduates should look to add things to their CV that illustrate these skills.
For example, are you a coder? Show work on open source software. Are you a business grad? Mention that time when you organized a large event. The main thing is that you shouldn’t expect employers to hand out jobs just because you completed a degree. It takes a lot more to succeed at any good job and often your CV and interview can tell employers all they need to make a decision.
The online survey was conducted by Career Advisory & Assessment Services via Google Forms. Shared with the CHROs/Director HR/Head HR/Manager HR of over 500 companies on Monday 6th June 2016, it has so far been filled out by 171 respondents from 160+ companies. Answers will be accepted till 30th September 2016.
You can check out the complete report here.
