Why Recent Grads Are Struggling in the Work Place

Last week a friend and I had an interesting conversation over dinner having to do with hiring new grads from college.  The two of us agreed that we have seen a rise over recent years with the number of people coming out of college ill-prepared for the working world.  But why?

We discussed the disparity that exists with some new grads and their ability to actually put their years of scholastic achievement to work in the real world.  Regardless of their GPA many of them struggle and it has employers concerned, especially in the engineering world.

This is where our conversation hit a crucial point and where the rubber meets the road for our recent college graduates: theory versus application.

In academia theory is served up on a silver platter.  Students learn by lecture, book and lab.  They learn the ideal setting and framework of hundreds of concepts.  What they learn is ‘HOW’ something works, where it comes from and should you need to replicate it follow these guidelines, etc.  Kind of like a recipe for baking a cake.  Follow these instructions and the result will be a nice red velvet cake.  My favorite!

Unfortunately what we get a lot of times after the supposed recipe has been followed by new grads is not red velvet cake at all.  It’s a pile of crap that doesn’t remotely resemble a cake nor is it edible.  Simply being able to follow a recipe, or recite a definition for that matter, does not mean you truly understand the concept which can be a really rude awakening for a newly hired recent graduate in the working world.  Our recent engineering grads may be able to tell us the definition of Ohms Law, reciting it verbatim however they struggle to actually use that same theory in practice in the working world when it actually counts.

What academia fails to accomplish is teaching and engraining in its students heads the ‘WHY’ part of the recipe, not just the ‘How’.  Learning the ‘WHY’ behind a concept provides us with a larger frame of understanding rather than just surface level information.  This articulates the important difference between information and knowledge. (information = theory whereas knowledge = application)  When we know why something exists we can better apply said concept to real world settings and or make suitable adjustments when things go array.  The ‘WHY’ piece also addresses creativity.  When we’re confronted with an issue or challenge in the working world there’s no professor or recipe to help keep us on track. No directions that say ‘substitute this for that if this happens’.  One has to be able to draw on their creative juices AND theory to come up with possible solutions.

Why do recent grads struggle with applying their education in the workplace?

My humble opinion falls on two primary contributors:

1. Academia: Our current academic system creates a worker profile that is more zombie than ‘imagineer’.  When we grow up in a system that indoctrinates our youth with the credo ‘do what I tell you to do’ rather than ‘question for the sake of understanding and discovery’ we create a mindset that simply follows directions rather than uses a creative process to dissect, understand and implement.
2. New Grad Ego: New grads need to take more responsibility for what they bring to the table.  You may have an impressive GPA and or went to the best school but that doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be the best of the best in the work place. The people that eventually have the most successful long term careers have an initiative and willingness to go beyond expectation because they know that’s what is needed to succeed, not because they were told to do so.

Don’t worry employers.  Fret not new grads, we can fix this challenge so that everyone comes out on top.

​How can we change this to help our new grads?

1. Internships.  Soon to be college graduates should be required to take on an internship or co-op in their field of study as a requirement for graduation, for all disciplines.  While this won’t fix the issue completely it will provide crucial hands on experience in the real world which will benefit students and employers immensely.
2. Graduate Mentor.  We should encourage new grads to obtain a mentor in the field of their designated career.  Mentors provide incredible insight and information which would be incredibly helpful to a new grad looking to make their mark on the working world.