Article: Poll says new college grads aren't ready for work

What do you think recruiters? Uphill battle for new graduates?

Fifty-three percent of U.S. employers plan to hire 2013 college graduates this year. The rest aren't hiring largely because they don't have jobs to offer.

But according to survey results released Tuesday by the Society for Human Resource Management, there's more than a sluggish job market to blame.

The survey revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the graduates' perceived job readiness, as well as a technical skills mismatch between the applicants and job requirements.


Almost half of human resource officials polled by the professional organization said this year's college graduates lack basic English skills in grammar and spelling. Eighteen percent said the grads come up short in math and computation. Thirteen percent faulted the grads' spoken English, and 10 percent cited a lack of reading comprehension.

The biggest complaint by hirers was that the graduates lack "professionalism" or "work ethic," a deficiency listed by half of those surveyed. Nearly half detected a lack of "business acumen."

The generalized complaints - obtained from members of the human resource association - were reported along with more detailed revelations about why organizations were or weren't hiring. Among hirers, 20 percent said the graduates were "underqualified" for their job openings.

Job categories that hirers described as "very difficult" to fill were engineers, computer technicians and programmers, scientists, and skilled-trades workers such as carpenters, machinists, mechanics, welders and plumbers.

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I agree. I cringe when some of these 2012/2013 grads come in for interviews. Improperly dressed, chewing gum, not acting one bit interested in the job, only how much it pays. Then they tell me, my mom/dad said I should at least be making $50K. WTF? What is going on in career services? Where are the mentors? These grads need help.

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