Are you ready for the class of 2013?

Welcome to possibly the best educated class ever to march to “Pomp and Circumstance”! Are you ready for them? Better question may be, are they ready to work?

This is the first class that completed their university years entirely during the current economic condition. One would think they’d hit the ground running, rarin’ to jumpstart those careers. Surprisingly, a survey conducted by Achievers and ConnectEDU (http://www.achievers.com/resource/whitepaper/class-of-2013) found that fully 46% of this class has never held a full time job. About 10% has never even held a part time job (I guess it was all those music lessons and soccer practices). And 41% have never had an internship. So how prepared are they to assume positions in the workforce. Part of me says woefully so. Yet they are wildly optimistic about their prospects. Over two-thirds are confident that they will be able to find jobs in their field. Only 5% want to work in large firms (more than 5,000 employees) and fully 80% of them expect that they will receive lots of immediate feedback on their performance. Both they and their managers are in for a rude awakening.

Because they will not find that securing a job is as easy as they expect, and they will not get nearly as much hand-holding or feedback as they might like. On the other hand, I pity the manager that does not look at the expectations of the emerging workforce and adapt the way they run their shop. This is not a workforce that believes in or will tolerate a pure “command & control” workplace. They have voices and they expect to use them. Managers will do themselves and their organizations a big favor by paying attention to the expectations of the class of 2013. Our and their future depend on finding a path that meets the needs of both.

Welcome Class of 2013, it’s time to get to work!
Only the best,
Ron

2 thoughts on “Are you ready for the class of 2013?

  1. I have an intern this summer – a rising senior. Her first day of work she showed up in super short shorts and flip flops. I gave her a “real world” experience by sending her home to change clothes. This wouldn’t be so sad if she hadn’t already seen our dress code……

    • Tina, none of that sounded unusual until you mentioned that she’d already seen the dress code. Maybe she thought that only applied to “regular” employees? And didn’t realize that she was one!

      But you did the right thing and you did both her and her future employers a big favor!
      Thanks for your comment,
      Ron

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