Outside the classroom: The importance of building skills was originally published on College Recruiter.
By Allie Danziger, founder of Ampersand
College is such an important time for our youth to develop into the humans they become. I look back on my days studying at the University of Texas – Austin and recall inspiring lectures by professors I’m still in touch with, deep belly laughs with lifelong friends, and access to incredible experiences and internships that changed the trajectory of my life and career. However, there’s a serious problem hidden underneath: the issue that higher education is not properly preparing our young professionals for their future careers.
A survey in 2018 found that only a third of college students actually feel like they will graduate with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the workplace and job market. Another one by McGraw-Hill found that just 40% of college students feel prepared to pursue a career after graduating. And they aren’t wrong! 9.2% of college grads will leave school without jobs and 43% will take jobs that do not require a college degree, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of NY.
So how can college students enhance their career readiness and eliminate the skill gap between education and employment?
- Actively Improve Necessary Soft Skills
A report from GetSmarter detailed that soft skills like interpersonal connections, leadership, and a willingness to continue learning are increasingly sought-after priorities by hiring managers; the responsibilities of the specific job can be taught later. These skills—common responsibilities like navigating corporate communication, effective brainstorming, budgeting, writing a solid cover letter, and more—are often overlooked and seldom taught, but more applicable than most college courses.
Consciously building these qualities during school, or upon graduating, by actively asking for feedback (and implementing this feedback in real time), stepping out of your comfort zone to keep learning, and proactively communicating with those you are working with will help young professionals stand out in a crowded space of eager job seekers.
2. Determine Who You Are, and Get To It!
While 37 million people today are carrying $870 billion dollars of student loan debt (more than auto loans and credit card debt!), it’s more important than ever to ensure that students are getting the most out of their college education.
However, more people than ever before are not graduating in 4 years due to changing majors. The National Center for Education Statistics found that within 3 years of initial enrollment, about 30 percent of undergraduates in associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs who had declared a major later changed their course of study at least once, and 1 in 10 students changed their major more than once.
While it’s nearly impossible to determine what you want to be when you grow up at the age of 18 (or 16 for some programs), taking the time to do some deep introspection on your tangible skills, unique abilities, and professional superpowers will create a clearer path toward a career that make sense for you. If this is an active part of education, rather than the extra-curricular afterthought it often is, it will serve students well, far into the future.
At Ampersand we use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the supporting career assessments, but there are a ton of other great personality assessments that can help young professionals find their path, like DiSC, Kolbe, StrengthFinder, and the Unique Abilities workbook.
3. Gain Real-World Experience
A study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed that students with completed internships were offered jobs quicker and offered a higher salary than those who did not previously have an internship.
No matter the career path, learning about an industry in the classroom is quite different from actually doing it. Students can’t really know what a job entails and know if this makes sense for their careers, until they witness real-world exposure. Even if interning, volunteering, or job shadowing simply affirms a young professional’s interest in their intended field, it shows hiring managers a commitment to, and understanding of the industry, making them more likely to take a chance on an experienced candidate. During COVID, tons of companies can benefit from assistance, and young professionals can glean invaluable insight to further specialize or better understand how to succeed in certain roles.
4. Increase Your Network
Research shows that 70% of all jobs are not published publicly on job sites and as much as 80% of jobs are filled through personal and professional connections.
The power of networks has always been important, but this creates a significant gap in the access to opportunities for those without such strong connections, creating inequality from the moment a person is born. It is important for young professionals from any and all backgrounds to seek out networking opportunities both at their universities, and outside of school, in the field they want to work in. It can be terrifying to reach out to strangers, but it’s an awesome way to build connections and strengthen your professional network. All it takes is a quick LinkedIn request or email sourced from their website asking someone to coffee, lunch, or even a 15 minute Zoom call to ask about how they got to where they are today.
The intention of higher education is to teach eager minds how to think and what to think about. These are important life skills, but to kickstart a successful career, one must extend beyond the classroom walls.
— Allie Danziger is the founder of Ampersand, a career readiness bootcamp eliminating the education to employment skills gap and giving young professionals a head start on their early career development through virtual curriculum, 1×1 mentoring, and immediate placement in rotational internships. “I don’t think higher education is preparing students for what they actually need to know to walk into their jobs day one,” she explains. “Our program gives participants the skills that they need to excel and advance in the workplace, day one.”
