Executives to new grads: Shape up!

cnn ^ | February 1, 2012 | Anne Fisher

[george76]

Most senior managers are unimpressed with the entry-level job applicants they're seeing, reports a new survey...

Note to recent college grads and the Class of 2012: You may not be as ready for the working world as you think you are...

a 65% majority of business leaders say young people applying for jobs at their companies right out of college are only "somewhat" prepared for success in business, with 40% of C-suite executives saying they are "not prepared at all." Not only that, but even those who get hired anyway may not rise very far. Almost half (47%) of C-suite executives believe that fewer than one-quarter (21%) of new grads have the skills they'll need to advance past entry-level jobs.

And what skills might those be? The most sought-after are problem-solving (49% ranked it No. 1), collaboration (43%), and critical thinking (36%). Also in demand is the ability to communicate clearly and persuasively in writing (31%).

...

And whose fault is it if most college grads haven't got what it takes to get ahead? The executives surveyed overwhelmingly believe that academia has failed to keep up with the breakneck pace of change in the business world: More than three-quarters (77%) blame educators for new grads' lack of readiness.

[Alas Babylon!]

Well, the cold hard economic fact is if your business cannot sustain a profit it dies. Simple as that. Those that do make a profit survive.

So if a huge herd of millenials decide to take it easy and not work hard, and this becomes the business style of America, American business will have its lunch eaten.

Maybe the mellenials will have no impact, because there won’t be any jobs here.

Another way for them is to man up , roll up their sleeves, and get busy. I believe that’s the only option, and, in fact, will be the outcome for that group.

[The Working Man]

I hate it when you bring up points like that. But I have to admit you are probably quite correct.

I talked to my son yesterday, he works for one of those warehouse stores and he told me that they wanted him to get into management. He also told me that they were looking to go to the Wal-mart method of staffing. The floor people would all be part-timers and the Department heads and store management would be the only full-timers left.

I see lots of bad times ahead, lots of them. And what happens with the corporations finally off-shore everything and nothing is made here? Taxes need to be paid to keep the bread and circuses going and who will pay them?

[Solson]

Unrealistic? How about showing p, offering something worthwhile and have a strong and positive work ethic? It is hard to find.

[Future Snake Eater]

So, if they didn’t bring a hardcover book, they should’ve just stared at the walls? Would that have gained your approval?

[Future Snake Eater]

Well, then you’re a deadbeat. Go back to the 1980s usage of cell phones. Anything more than that, and you’re a zit on society’s ass. Or so many on FR seem to think.

[Atlas Sneezed]

With a graduation rate of over 90, where does the winnowing occur?

---

For elite colleges, it occurred in the admissions process. Because of the demand, these top schools can reject 90% of applicants, and still have every admitted with a 4.0 grade average and first chair violin or equivalent. Those students already know how to study and learn, and there’s no reason they should be weeded out.

[aruanan]

For elite colleges, it occurred in the admissions process. Because of the demand, these top schools can reject 90% of applicants, and still have every admitted with a 4.0 grade average and first chair violin or equivalent. Those students already know how to study and learn, and there’s no reason they should be weeded out.

And the greater number of students they reject compared to the number they admit, the higher their school ranking according to the US News school rankings. That is something that kept the U of Chicago out of some of the top spots. Another thing that keeps a school in a top ranking is having a low drop out or transfer rate. This is probably what was behind Harvard's notorious grade inflation. If they're getting great grades, they won't drop out and that will keep the rankings high. The U of Chicago is a difficult school and has a higher than average drop out and transfer rate. That was another thing that pulled down its ranking. A gigantic endowment also pushes a school's ranking toward the top. Get a good ranking, inflate the students' grades, ensure alumni support. Another hinky one is the neighborhood or urban setting. There has been some really weird gerrymandering going on in the ratings that keeps some schools' ranking up and others down. There are some places in the East where students have to take buses between campuses because it's too dangerous to walk yet their neighborhood crime factor is low because the "neighborhood" lines were drawn very tightly around each campus. But there are other places where surrounding police precincts are bad, though their own is quite good, and their neighborhood crime fact is high because the boundaries were expanded, causing their ratings to go down.

[King Moonracer]

C Suite Executices are those a-holes who will ship your job to china, hide dangerous information from their customers, envision how they rule the country, they envy Romney, and will support whichever POS is in the white house, etc, etc, etc. They believe enlightened self interest is the same as self interest.

[Alberta's Child]

I work in a management position in an engineering firm, and my experience is that the quality of U.S. college graduates has declined considerably in the last 15-20 years. The primary flaws I have to deal with include:

1. No serious work ethic (they're not lazy, they just don't care very much about doing a job right).

2. No pride in their work or their profession (see #1).

3. A serious lack of critical thinking skills.

4. Poor writing and speaking skills (and these are Americans I'm talking about, not the ones who are foreign-born).

5. Lack of any decision-making ability (even the ones who do things well only do them well after they've been instructed about things that should not need explaining).

I'm convinced that none of this is a problem with college education at all. It's a much bigger problem related to how we raise our kids.

[SaraJohnson]

Academia have been to busy “radicalizing” the young students.

---

Globalist corporation CEOs think that is cool as they ride in their limos and meet with their ad agencies. They just don’t like how the Marxist socialization of American youth works in real life.

[mia]

Good for group #2. Glad to hear they are getting the useful training and skills necessary to move them ahead in the business world.

[DBrow]

“Well, then you’re a deadbeat.”

lol ubetcha! I’ve turned travel time into billable time!

[dragnet2]

and petroleum land management graduates are getting $85k per year.

And after all the taxes that's what? 49k a year?

Considering the dollar is becoming more worthless by the month...well..

[dragnet2]

This is the big lie behind companies saying, “We can’t find people with the right skill sets”.

This is code for, "We want more people from India will to work for 38k per year and won't bitch"..

As the overpaid multimillionaire CEO's and corporate insiders concoct schemes to pay what is left of their employees phony commissions, prizes and unachievable incentive scams, in lieu of real pay raises.

Hell, this is going on all the way down to the retail/service level.

[indthkr]

"They WILL change it, simply because they will be so desperately needed and there won't be anyone standing in their way."

I'm sure they all plan on having a career at Facebook.

[Puckster]

There are a lot of people that think that “socialism” is not the same as “Marxism”......I deign to differ.

Socialism is Marxism waiting to happen.

Socialism is Marxism 101.

Socialism is Marxism waiting for a major societal upheaval to provide its entrance.

Under Marxism, if I were to ruminate too much, I’d be in a Gulag.

[wastedyears]

My dad sent me a link related to that industry, though I don’t have enough money to set myself up with a place and enough credits for a welding class or something of that nature.

Though I have a medical problem and I know that any further education would be wasted money, no matter how simple because the condition leaves me in a mental fog all day. If it was just work training, I could do it, but a classroom makes my brain go numb.

The idea is definitely interesting though, I’m in my mid-20s and I’d really like a high-yield job, even if just for about 5 years or so to get a good head start for myself because I’m lagging behind my peers pretty badly.

[wastedyears]

And after all the taxes that's what? 49k a year?

Considering the dollar is becoming more worthless by the month...well..

That's entirely understandable, but for someone in their mid-20s looking to get ahead, it's incredibly lucrative and attractive, despite the taxes being taken out. If I had the chance to work 60 hours a week and bring in $60,000 after a year or so, I'd definitely do it.

[dragnet2]

That comes out to about 19 bucks an hour...After taxes, your 60k is now 44k or less.

[wastedyears]

Better than making $10 an hour at a temp job.