Recent graduates unprofessional, survey says

A recent York College of Pennsylvania study indicates that a sizable percentage of college graduates fail to exhibit professional conduct in the workforce.

However Penn’s courses and departments — especially in pre-professional disciplines — are doing their best to prevent this problem.

After surveying over 500 human resources and business professionals, York’s Center for Professional Excellence found that most employers felt only 50 to 59 percent of recent graduates exhibit professionalism their first year in the workforce.

Among the problem areas, employers named appropriate attire, communication skills, work ethic and attitude.

Senior associate director of Career Services Rosette Pyne acknowledged that professionalism is not a skill set that should be overlooked, noting that the professional skills undergraduates cultivate will “stay with them throughout their lifetimes.”

To help undergraduates meet workplace expectations, Pyne launched an “etiquette workshop” several years ago aimed at instructing students in appropriate workplace behavior.

According to Pyne, the first half of the two-part, annual workshop addresses “business etiquette,” which includes issues ranging from attendance and professional relationships to computer and telephone use, cultural differences and dress.

“There’s a difference between your behavior when you’re in college and when you’re in a professional work environment,” Pyne said, adding that one of the main objectives of the workshop is to develop students’ awareness of workplace “expectations.”

However, she emphasized that to her knowledge no employer has contacted Career Services with complaints regarding unprofessional behavior.

“Penn students are cognizant of what the expectations are and the importance of being professional, whether it’s in a not-for-profit organization or Fortune 500 company,” she said.

Stacy Franks, associate director of the Wharton Field Challenge — or Management 353 — echoed this sentiment.

The course places students with host companies and requires them to integrate themselves completely in the work environment.

She recalled that while pitching undergraduate students to host companies, some — perceiving undergraduates as less mature — expressed some initial reluctance to hire them.

However, due to the course’s rigorous application and screening process, Franks maintained that Field Challenge students are “the best of the best.”

“Undergraduates tend to work harder than MBA students” because they lack experience, Frank said, adding that “host companies have been very happy with [Management 353] students.”

According to Professor Keith Weigelt, who leads the course with Franks, Management 353 compels team members to hold one another responsible partly through peer evaluations.

Both Weigelt and Franks specified that the program does not train students in workplace etiquette.

“We assume they have a basic skill set,” Franks said, mentioning that in the past the course has provided a training session on presentation skills and courtesy but no longer does so.

“We only intervene if there’s a problem — if we meet with the client or host, and we feel they’re out of line,” Weigelt added.

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