By Maggie Sharpe, Published in Bay Area News Group on April 26, 2015
- In today’s competitive job market, a bachelor’s degree is practically a prerequisite for getting your resume read.
- According to a recent poll by The Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace, 2/3 of employers said they never waive degree requirements, or do so only for particularly outstanding candidates.
- Another study by the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality revealed that although all 21-to 24-year-olds experienced declines in employment and wages during the last recession, the decline was considerably more severe for those with only high school or associate degrees.
| Before Recession (Employment) |
During Recession (Employment Decline) |
|
|---|---|---|
| High School | 1/2 | 16% |
| Associate Degree | 1/3 | 11% |
| Bachelor Degree | 3/4 | 7% |
- Fullbridge (with offices in San Francisco) – a career accelerator program to help young professional success in the global economy
- Higher education is the baseline for most employers
- Companies also look for: internships, work experience, extracurricular activities and career accelerator programs
- Leadership and participation in skills-building programs
- Corporations value candidates with confidence and a strong desire to learn
- hard skills: Excel proficiency, time management
- soft skills: being able to work with others, work well in teams and eventually become a leader
- college degree indicates how teachable a person is – value a culture of continual learning; discipline needed to complete the rigors of a structured academic program; ‘bias for execution’ – know how to get things done
- real-world experience
- possesses a deep level of functional expertise
- Eight attributes used by “Energy Recovery” in San Francisco in its annual employee performance appraisal – changing the game (innovation), all in (commitment), problem solving, professional maturity, work ethic/commitment to excellence, effective communication, collaboration, and flexibility/adaptability
- unique mix of rebellious spirits, distinctive styles and technical know-how and a whole lot of gumption
- ones that embrace and contribute to company culture, lead by example, and who support and care for one another
- you can teach people new skills, but you can’t train someone to give genuine heartfelt care
- look beyond the CV and dig deeper into an individual’s passion, personality and drive
- people who aren’t afraid to take chance, who want to make a different – people who care about their work impacts others around them
- higher education provides people with a great foundation for acquiring knowledge, skills and abilities
- San Francisco State University, College of Business : Bill Kimpton Hospitality Scholarship
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