College education is viewed as key to a greater future. While it has been proven time and again that investing in a college or post-graduate degree really pays off well in the long run, a survey has found that not all college graduates find themselves in a job that actually fits them.
The survey, conducted by national career matchmaking firm GradStaff, found that recent college graduates are having a hard time finding jobs because they are either unaware of career opportunities waiting for them, or are unsure of how to utilize the skills and learning they acquired in college.
Robert J. LaBombard, CEO of national career matchmaking firm GradStaff wrote in a commentary in CNBC that the survey, which was conducted between May and September this year, showed that graduates were insufficiently prepared for job searching and landing an entry-level job.
The survey revealed that graduates did not lack in motivation, but rather were needing awareness and guidance regarding the career opportunities open for their degrees. In fact, about 75% of respondents said they didn't know what job positions are the right fit for them, About 46% said they didn't know what to do with their college major.
While nearly 71% of all respondents said they visited their college career services office at least once as an undergraduate, LaBombard notes that the high number of graduates not knowing what to do with their degree or those not knowing the right fit for them indicate a great need for career coaching and counseling. Of those who availed of career services, only 36.6% say their experience was good.
The most popular job searching strategies for recent graduates, LaBombard writes, are job-posting aggregators Like Indeed, conventional job-posting sites like CareerBuilder, and professional networking sites like LinkedIn.
These findings bring about the following conclusions, LaBombard says:
First, students graduating from college often leave without the necessary job searching skills, as well as the knowledge about jobs that are a fit.
Second, career services offices need to improve student experience, and do their best to connect with students.
Third, new graduates tend to rely heavily on online job-searching tools, and are likely overlooking many job offers that cannot be found online.
