Challenges for students seeking

employment after graduating from

University;"
By David Glover.
Table
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

of contents:
Introduction.
Program relevance and compatibility.
Non educational skills required for employment.
Creating an identity.
Conclusion.

Introduction.
Students are lead into a false sense of security. They are lead to believe that if
they learn the curriculum as set out by each course and unit it includes for their
chosen field, they will be set for employment. This is wrong. Employers are
looking for so much more than the subject knowledge learnt from a degree. More
so they want to know that the potential employee has the knowledge and skillset
that they value most. This report explores the challenges and other
considerations graduates need to be aware of while completing their degree in
preparation for gaining employment after graduation.
Program relevance and compatibility.
People enrol in course programs to prepare themselves for their desired
occupation. With so many courses available in todays education landscape, how
does a future student know which course will prepare them with the
competencies that future employees value. These points are discussed in the
article Do business schools value the competencies that businesses value by
Abraham and Karns. This article concludes that although businesses and
business schools generally agree on the competencies that are important,
business schools are not emphasizing those competencies in their curricula. The
article states this might be for several reasons such as the time constraints of
each program, accreditation and certification requirements as well as local
education requirements. In addition to this there is an expectation that some
general competencies would be expected to already exist in individuals at that
level of education and therefore they are not emphasized. (Abraham, Karns,
2010, page 354 & 355). The challenge for students is to research what
competencies employers value and do their best to match their program to
meet their requirements. Programs can lend themselves to being too specific or
alternatively too general. Students need to identify areas that require further
study after graduation to ensure they are best prepared to meet the
expectations of employers.
Non educational skills required for employment.

Aside from the knowledge and skills that each graduate may have learnt during
the completion of their degree, employers also look for skills that would not form
part of a particular degree. In the article How prepared are undergraduates for a
career by Suvedi, Ghimire and Millenbah it lists ten abilities that employers
want to see in new employees.

To
To
To
To
To
To
To
To
To
To

communicate verbally with persons inside and outside the organisation.

work in a team structure.
make decisions and solve problems.
plan, organize and prioritise work.
obtain and process information.
analyse quantitative data.
have technical knowledge related to the job.
have proficiency with computer software programs.
create and or edit written reports.
influence others.

(Suvedi, Ghimire, Millenbah, 2016, Page 13 & 14) These abilities are not those
that can be totally attributed to being learnt by completing a degree. Graduates
may have developed a certain level aptitude during their program but they
would need to demonstrate their experience or competence to employers when
applying for positions. Ways students could gain experience and increase their
capacity in these abilities could be to gain employment while studying, sit on
committees or to be an active member of a sporting club.
Creating an Identity.
Employers want to know who they are employing. Aside from common social
media platforms like Facebook, twitter and Instagram, graduates need to use
Linkedin to create an employment based identity for themselves that prospective
employers could view so as to ascertain an all-round picture of their prospective
employee.
Graduates need to create a profile that best describes their identity and who
they are as a person giving as much specific information about themselves to
help gain employment. The article Applying uses and gratifications theory to
students LinkedIn usage by Bela Florenthal states that Linkedin has 200 million
subscribers and has become a meeting place for recruiters and professionals
who are perusing career opportunities (Florenthal, 2014, Page 17). This outlines
the importance that a Linkedin identity can have in gaining employment after
graduation. By creating a profile on Linkedin it allows the graduate to address
their suitability for their chosen career. It also brings their identity into the
spotlight of recruiters and employers.
Conclusion.
Finding employment after graduation is not just about having a completed
degree. Employers want to know that your degree is relevant to the position you
are applying for. In addition to this, employers place a great amount of value on
skills an attributes that probably do not form part of the curricula being taught in
the degree. Graduates need to address these issues to give themselves the best
chance of employment after graduation. Students that have just graduated more
than likely will not have any substantial employment history so it is important

that they create themselves and identity using Linkedin to give a holistic view of
the person they are to prospective employers.

References

Abraham, S.E. & Karns, L.A. 2009, "Do Business Schools Value the Competencies
That Businesses Value?", Journal of Education for Business, vol. 84, no. 6, pp. 350356
Suvedi, M., Ghimire, R.P. & Millenbah, K.F. 2016, "How Prepared are
Undergraduates for a Career?, NACTA Journal, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 13-20.
Bela Florenthal, (2015),"Applying uses and gratifications theory to students LinkedIn
usage", Young Consumers, Vol. 16 Iss 1 pp. 17 - 35