May 21, 2010
An opinion piece by President George Waldner, which appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 21, offers some professionalism tips to the Class of 2010.
Dear class of 2010: Put on a tie, will you? Today's college grads are remarkably unprofessional.
By George W. Waldner
Freshly minted college graduates will soon flood the job market looking for employment and internships. Research suggests some will fail to land jobs - or to keep them - for an often overlooked reason: inadequate professionalism.
York College's Center for Professional Excellence recently commissioned a national survey on the state of professionalism among recent graduates of American colleges. The results were an unpleasant surprise: They indicated that many college grads are getting failing grades in professionalism.
The survey informed the college on several scores, including the state of professionalism across the country; recent graduates' ability to measure up as professionals; and the kind of programming that would better prepare students to tackle the workforce.
I hope this year's college graduates can use some of what we learned to find and keep meaningful employment in this challenging job market. Here is some advice:
Be professional regardless of your job. The nationwide survey of 520 human-resources professionals and business leaders concluded that employees don't need to be in a specific field - such as accounting or engineering - to be considered professionals. In fact, 88 percent of respondents said professionalism is a quality of the person, not the field. Anybody in any position should exhibit professional traits and behavior.
Accept responsibility. We asked respondents what qualities recent college graduates should possess. They said it's especially important that they accept personal responsibility for their decisions and actions. Why should an employer hire anyone who won't?
Other qualities deemed important included competence in verbal and written communication, projection of a positive image, and independent thought and action.
Don't worry about immediate promotion. The most eye-opening answers came when we asked what qualities respondents found most often in first-year, college-educated employees. They were asked to rank these traits on a scale from one to five, with one being "rare" and five being "common."
The only quality that scored higher than a four was concern about advancement. While this is a valid issue for seasoned workers, it should not be a top concern among new hires.
Clean yourself up. Our survey found that six traits were often ascribed to unprofessional employees. The one mentioned most was sloppy appearance or dress.
Other unprofessional qualities included poor communication skills, poor work ethic, bad attitude, and a sense of entitlement.
You are not entitled. The survey also asked if newly employed, college-educated workers' sense of entitlement had increased, decreased, or stayed the same over the past five years. Entitlement - defined as expecting rewards without putting in the effort to merit them - is perceived as being on the rise.
More than 60 percent of respondents said they had seen an increase in workers' sense of entitlement, 33 percent said it had stayed the same, and only 7 percent said it had decreased. There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but many American college students don't seem to be getting that message.
Armed with this advice, new college graduates will be more prepared to compete for positions in a highly competitive market. Wash behind your ears. Put on a suit. Be more professional than the rest. Land that job and start your career. Good luck!
Comments
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Robert Carroll said 1 year ago
During the past 40 years of teaching at three universities/colleges, I have witnessed a growing lack of a willngness to exhibit professional traits among some college students. When a professor attempts to instill in them such professional traits as turning in work on time, attending class regularly, being on time to class, spending more time on communication skills, etc. (what the professional word expects), the professor is met with excuses or a sense of entitlement that they should be allowed to do what they want, when they want.
Fortunately, most of the students I have taught realize that they are expected to meet certain criteria in college and the professional world and are willing to do what it takes to meet those standards.
Perhaps a very difficult job market will make more college students realize what they are going to have to do to be competitive in the marketplace.
Bill said 1 year ago
Consequences work; negatively and positively. When the examples set for these young people are less than stellar, they many times feel "if they don't(those in a position of authority) than why should I?" Employers need to positively reinforce the desireable traits if they want to set that standard and negatively consequate those behaviors of which they do NOT desire to become part of their culutre. Then be specific in TELLING the employee why/why not the corresponding consequences were levied.