Why This Material
Success on the first rung of the workplace ladder depends on being able to cope with the novel demands, responsibilities, and expectations of a professional job. The ability to adapt and the resilience to survive and thrive in this new environment comes from being exposed to the “workplace curriculum” beforehand. The material in Getting Ready for the Workplace prepares students to spot typical situations, name and describe them using the language of business, and have in hand time-tested methods of analysis and decision-making. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Whether in preparation for a junior-year internship or for a first professional job after graduation, students need to develop and demonstrate to prospective employers suitable soft skills such as effective communication, teamwork and collaboration, decision making, problem solving, and critical thinking. The material in Getting Ready for the Workplace identifies common business challenges or circumstances and equips the reader to first, recognize the topic and characterize it properly, and then suggests tools, tips, and techniques for tackling the problem. Each student reaches the upper division of college with a different level of exposure to what is required in the workplace. Many students will not be ready, but articles in Getting Ready for the Workplace can help prepare them so that they become ready. Each article introduces a representative, real-world task that will need doing, an expectation that will need meeting, a problem that will need analysis, or a decision that will need making. Handling novel situations ad-hoc and on the fly risks students falling into common traps and using ineffective approaches. Working through the articles, enables students to not only spot and avoid the pitfalls, but execute well by leveraging best practices. Obviously, you can consume this material in any way that makes sense to you. Given there are 50 articles, it is reasonable to wonder where to start and how many topics you need to read to understand a subject. Unlike a novel or business book, there is no particular advantage to reading these articles in the ordered presented, and each article stands alone.
What's Covered
Prospective employers require that students possess and demonstrate key skills, including: Communications, Teamwork and Collaboration, Decision Making, Time Management, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Technical Literacy, Coping / Adaptability / Resilience, and Professionalism Getting Ready for the Workplace is a collection of 50 concise articles that will equip the student with the context and techniques needed to transition from the classroom to the workplace. The content is: Applicable across industries Relevant over time Identified by workforce professionals as critical for employability Field tested with students and recent graduates Easy to adopt into an upper division course or graduate school curriculum The articles are divided into 8 subjects, allowing the reader to concentrate on a specific area at a time or sample widely. Each article starts with a brief overview of a concept and includes the key take-away. An application section follows that goes into greater detail on the topic or discusses how the ideas and methods can be applied more broadly and in workplace situations.
How to Use This Material In a Course
Students could be asked to read the full collection of articles as part of a course focused on preparation for entering the professional workplace. Faculty might assign specific articles as background for an individual or group project, presentation, etc. Faculty might also assign a specific article, say, once a week and ask students to read it and then submit a discussion post reflecting on the content. Perhaps students can be asked to comment on other students’ posts. The process of reading, reflecting, and then summarizing or discussing, whether one-on-one or in a group format, can allow peers to gain and share insights. One pilot course adoption (two sections) consisted of graduate students, all with an active internship. Students were given access to a repository of the articles and asked to select any article that interested. The top three selections were: “Joining an Existing Team” “Factors in Job Satisfaction” “How to Decide” When students self-select material, we may be able to infer something about what they are seeking. For example, are students particularly apprehensive about joining established groups? Are students concerned that they may get a job but not find the work fulfilling? Perhaps, students are finding career decisions, in general, to be nettlesome. This exploration can lead to a discussion of why a certain subset of topics is of particular interest and perhaps influence which other materials should be brought into the course. Similarly, students can be encouraged to rate articles on a “relevance” scale. Student engagement during one college term can help inform curriculum choices for succeeding cohorts.