College is supposed to prepare students for their future careers, but half of America’s employers believe that today’s graduates are unprepared for the labor force. For this week’s installment of “Diverse Conversations,” I spoke with Dr. Lynn C. Owens, Associate Professor of Communication at William Peace University in Raleigh, NC, about her research on the intersection of higher education and the labor force.
Please provide me with a little background information on your study.
Since 2008, I (along with my co-author, Professor Deb Wenger of the University of Mississippi) have been doing a content analysis of journalism job postings to discover what skills and attributes journalism employers are looking for in their new hires. Our findings have been published in several journals and books, including Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Electronic News, and The Future of Journalism Education, Training and Employment. Our most recent paper won third place at the World Journalism Congress this past summer.
What findings did the study reveal?
Our findings show that employers want new hires that can do a little bit of everything. In the past several years, we have seen a shift from employers demanding a focused skill set to a much broader one. For example, five years ago, reporter job postings may have sought someone who could write, conduct interviews and generate story ideas. Now, they are calling for someone who can do all those things, plus shoot video, edit, write for the web and market stories via social media.
What did your findings reveal about the job market for all industries?
