Study shows college grads failing at professionalism

October 26, 7:47 AMEntry Level Careers ExaminerHeather Huhman

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A nationwide survey of human resources professionals and business leaders—those who make final hiring decisions—shows that personal professionalism matters most when deciding whether to extend a job offer. The survey also found that a lot of college grads are failing that test.

Nearly 60 percent of the hiring decision for new college graduates is based on an assessment of the applicant’s professionalism, according to a poll of 520 human resources professionals and business leaders conducted for the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania.

“HR pros and business leaders identified five primary characteristics of the professional they are looking to hire,” says David Polk, professor of behavioral science at York College and president of the Polk-Lepson Research Group, which conducted the survey. “The research also found that a lot of college graduates nationally are not measuring up well in these areas.”

The characteristics are:

• Personal interaction skills, including courtesy and respect
• The skills to communicate, and listen
• A great work ethic; being motivated and staying on task until the job is completed
• Professional appearance
• Self-confidence and awareness

Nearly 90 percent of respondents said that professionalism is related to the person and not the position.

Unfortunately, when human resources professionals and business leaders were asked to rate the presence of professionalism qualities in freshly minted college graduates, they gave out low marks, notes Polk. On a five-point scale where one was “very rare” and five was “very common,” none of the top five traits reached a mean rating of four.

One trait that did get a “four” rating was a concern by applicants about opportunities for advancement. That trait, however, is the least important to the respondents when they are considering a recent graduate for a position requiring professionalism.

One in every three respondents believed that less than half of all new graduates’ exhibit professionalism in the workplace.

When asked if professionalism has increased, decreased or stayed the same among entry-level college graduates during the past five years, 53 percent believed levels of professionalism were the same while 33 percent believed professionalism had decreased. Those who cited a decrease pointed to a young worker’s sense of entitlement for the job, changes in culture and values and lack of work ethic among new workers.

Entitlement, defined as a worker expecting rewards without putting forth the effort to achieve them, was seen as on the rise among first-year college graduates. Sixty-one percent reported the sense of entitlement among first-year college graduates has increased over the past five years.

Business leaders complained that many recent college graduates have a hard time accepting personal responsibility for their decisions or acting independently. Managers also said graduates seem to not have a clear sense of direction or purpose in the office.

Interestingly, the newly-released Spherion 2009 Emerging Workforce Study points to a similar disconnect between employers and employees, seemingly unaffected by historically high unemployment rates. While workers still have high expectations of what their employers should be doing to retain them, the study shows that employers continue to have differing opinions about what keeps employees committed to their jobs, including financial compensation, benefits, work/life balance and growth potential.

The 2009 Emerging Workforce Study reports emerging workers believe:

• They should be required to grow and help the company succeed in order to keep a job
• Loyalty is based on contribution, not tenure
• Their job means more than just a way to earn a living

Additionally, Spherion shows emerging workers prefer a job/employer that:

• Expects them to think of new and better ways to do things
• Provides opportunities for growth, even if it is stressful
• Allows them to think creatively

These beliefs and preferences are very different from “traditional” workers who have been in the workforce for quite some time. So, the study suggests several strategies for employers to take in order to update their recruiting techniques for a new workforce, including utilizing tailored recruitment strategies and believing in the power of work/life balance programs.

But, I strongly encourage you to take note of the employer’s point-of-view during the hiring process. Recruitment techniques will definitely need to change over time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make your own changes in the meantime.