importance of writing skills.
Many employers in Stevenss
Why college graduates in
tech-related fields cant write?
Employers in the technology
industry are troubled by
poor writing skills of college
graduates. However, among
many skills that students hope
to develop, writing skills is often
the most undervalued.
According to a 2005 study,
communication skills including
written communication in the
workplace are in high demand.
What communication skills do
employers want? Silicon Valley
recruiters respond is a study
by Betsy Stevens, an associate
professor of management in
the Martha and Spencer Love
School of Business.
In this study, Stevens
distributed questionnaires
to 104 employers who were
recruiting at career fairs of a
Silicon Valley state university.
The study revealed that
employers in the technology
industry are not satisfied
with writing skills of students.
Even though technology has
intensified, the significant role
of written communication is
more emphasized than ever.
When employers were asked
how satisfied are you that
your recent new hire college
graduates have sufficient
writing skills to perform
Huong Cao
the tasks required by their
positions, the mean score
of employers responses fell
in the neutral range, which is
below satisfied, indicating
that employers were not fully
satisfied with their new hires
writing skills.
According to Forbes, in
a different survey, 44% of
managers also said that new
graduates were most lacking in
writing proficiency.
The Wall Street Journal also
addressed the same problem.
In an article Our college
graduates cant write, Bruce
Nolop, the former chief
financial officer of Pitney Bowes
Inc. said while adept at crafting
bullet points, graduates cannot
write complete sentences or
paragraphs.
The article also revealed a 2004
survey of 120 corporations in
the Business Roundtable which
concluded that most companies
consider written communication
skills when hiring and
implied that many current or
prospective employees lack the
requisite skills.
Nolop believed that the cause
of the problem is that colleges
do not emphasize enough the
study would agree with this
view as the responses collected
argue for more rigorous writing
and editing standards in college
courses.
To be a good writer, strong
editing skills is required.
Employers believe that
attention to detail developed
from rigorous editing will help
students handle data and
numbers accurately.
A creative mind to come up
with innovative ideas and
technical expertise are not
enough, without the ability to
express ideas in words as well
as the ability to communicate
by emails professionally.
According to Stevenss study,
employers urge students not to
use slang and the kid stuff
from email messages. A college
student may not get hired due
to these things because of
negative perceptions from a
client, an employer revealed.
The ultimate question is how
students improve their writing
skills when they are in colleges
or after getting hired.
Students or graduates should
pay attention to grammar and
proofread written assignments
or even emails sent to their
professors. Many proofreading
apps are free to download.
A book called Wait, how do
I write this email written by
Danny Rubin is also a good
read.