The Role of University Education in Getting a Job - Case Study Example

Does Education Equip Accounting Business Graduates with the Skills Prospective Employers Want? ID Lecturer Submission Date University Introduction There has been immense debate in the wake of understanding what university graduates need to do in order to secure jobs that are commensurate with their respective qualifications. Similarly what prospective employers require of them is another manifestation that has made the rounds in the recent years. The accounting / business graduates of today therefore have their task cut out since they are on a constant look out for finding out the exact requirements that are asked of them and what they need to do in order to get the perfect job that they have always dreamed of. This paper takes a keen look at the various ways and means through which university graduates have been able to ascertain what they desire from the employers and how the same employers have been able to pinpoint meticulously what they need of these students in the long run. Skill Set – A Point of Differentiation When the employers seek to hire new trainees or recruit students who are fresh off the universities, they aim to find the ones who are most deserving. These deserving students need not be the ones who have stood out academically but these comprise of those students who have combined their study regimes with their talent to form a perfect mix – the ones who can distinguish between the amateur world of business and accounting and the professional areas. Greene, Hardy & Smith (1995) believe that this is indeed the much discussed difference that the employers are seeking in the time and age of today. The reason for the same is because they want to be cent percent sure that the students they are hiring have enough knowledge within their folds and a little bit of experience with regards to prior work experience in the form of an internship or two. This helps in judging what exactly their credentials are and what they have been able to do whilst being in the luxury of a workplace. Gaff (2002) believes that it is called a luxury because this gives the student the much needed advantage over another one and therefore forms the eventual basis of his hiring within this organization. However one should never forget that interviews, group discussions and academic excellence also play an important part within the recruitment and selection process of the individual in an organization. Pickman (1997) feels that the graduates therefore should have a proper knack of instilling those skills which are deemed as necessary from the accounting and business fields as well as make their own selves aptly secure with regards to how companies require of them to work within their respective regimes in the future (p. 217). Having a skill set is as important to getting a job as understanding the dictum of having an important place within the organization where the individual is trying to win a place. Ulrich (2006) asserts that it is like the missing cog in the wheel which needs to be fitted in to give the complete grasp that the organization is looking for. Skills work in the favor of the student as much as his prior work experience, which need not be in the form of a proper job, but could also work in the form of an internship. The Role of University Education in Getting a Job There is a great deal of confidence that can be fed into a student if he understands the role of the university within the securing of a job after he has graduated. In other words, this student must know beforehand that if he excels academically and uses his talent in a good enough manner, he will surely reap the rewards for the same in the times to come. Often times it has been seen that those individuals who are not very good within their studies end up getting the best jobs. Freeman (1994) suggests that this is because they realize that sticking to books alone would not do any favors for them within the future and hence they devote their energies and time towards instilling a mix of skills and not just studies alone (p. 128). Menzies & Chunn (1997) think that this is a very important aspect which must be understood by the university students since they are embarking on a journey which is filled with hurdles and obstacles every now and so often. The role of university education within such realms is one of an immensely significant one and no one can deny the same. The university brings out a proper modus operandi for the students to have a feel of how things will shape up in the coming times. It then tells the students to follow the set procedures for their own success. However it is all up to the student to follow the same or otherwise they might just lag behind their colleagues in the battle to win a place within the most esteemed organizations of today. How Personalities can be molded? In order to allow students to be an effective part of the university regimes, it is important that they know beforehand what universities ask of them in the first place. The university education allows them a chance to open up and explore the possibilities that remain within their personality realms. Basically the universities look up to the organizations to recruit their students more and more so that their university ratings increase and more students join the auspices of the educational facility. Osipow & Walsh (1988) perceive the fact that there are seminars within the university domains that take care of the students’ requirements so that when they go out and look for jobs, they have a definitive advantage (p. 185). Moreover the job placement departments within the universities are helping these students with each passing day as there is a proper check and balance mechanism in place. The universities therefore play their important role at telling the students how to mold themselves in line with the requirements of the modern day workplace and more than anything else even gives them a chance to intern at a number of different companies, which are in close association with the universities that have proper placement departments under their aegis. Garis, Rayman & Herr (1993) suggest that the universities in essence give these students a chance to be a part of the corporate world even before they enter them in reality (p. 271). This is a very positive aspect and must be given emphasis by those universities which have not yet implemented such initiatives under their university domains. The placement departments seem to be a very good initiative, which will essentially bring a number of positives in the long run – both for the students as well as the university’s long term standing within the educational realms. Recommendations A few recommendations that could be given to students here include the various ways under which they can seek internships at different organizations and thus improve on their academic performance over a period of time. Also they can look for better opportunities to do projects and small workshops with these organizations so that their horizon could expand and thus they gain a very clear cut perspective of the professional undertakings. This makes them feel as professionals even before they step into the real corporate world. For the sake of the universities, it would be a very wise step to have the placement departments within their folds so that they can encourage their students to get jobs and internships through the contacts that have been developed within different industries. According to Poock (2001), nowadays some of the organizations even ask the universities for their graduates to come and work for them in different capacities which are also a plus point for having a placement department within a university in the first place. For organizations, it is always advisable to undertake measures that will allow the students to be a part of their workplace domains. This will allow them to recruit individuals who have a better grasp of the work manifestations than the ones that are already working within them. Conclusion Hence the accounting and business graduates of the present times have their tasks cut out. They know exactly what to do and where to go in order to be a part of the corporate world in the coming times. There is guidance available for them, however it is totally up to them as to how they employ the same and attain the best possible benefits for not only their own selves but also for their families, as Daniel (2007) reaffirms. Their career aspirations are important and hence the need to have proper mechanisms in place which would allow them the route to envision their future years. The role of the organizations in allowing the students to have a proper route towards their domains is also very pivotal as it offers them a chance to pick and choose the best and most rewarding career for their own selves. According to Griffiths (1995), this is a very good opportunity for the students to know that they can literally have a number of different passages after they become accounting or business graduates from their respective universities. References Daniel, C. (2007). Outsiders-Within: Critical Race Theory, Graduate Education and Barriers to Professionalization. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, Vol. 34 Freeman, J. (1994). A Vision for the College Placement Center: Systems, Paradigms, Processes, People. Praeger Publishers, p. 128 Gaff, J. (2002). The Disconnect between Graduate Education & Faculty Realities: A Review of Recent Research. Liberal Education, Vol. 88 Garis, J, Rayman, J & Herr, E. (1993). Handbook for the College and University Career Center. Greenwood Press, p. 271 Greene, R, Hardy, B & Smith, S. (1995). Graduate Education: Adapting to Current Realities. Issues in Science and Technology, Vol. 12, Winter Griffiths, P. (1995). Reshaping Graduate Education. Issues in Science and Technology, Vol. 11, Summer Menzies, R & Chunn, D. (1997). The Getting of Wisdom: The Ideology an Experience of Graduate Education among Students Enrolled in Anglophone Canadian Criminology Programs. Canadian Journal of Criminology, Vol. 39 Osipow, S & Walsh, W. (1988). Career Decision Making. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, p. 185 Pickman, A. (1997). Special Challenges in Career Management: Counselor Perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, p. 217 Poock, M. (2001). A Model for Integrating Professional Development in Graduate Education. College Student Journal, Vol. 35 Ulrich, C. (2006). Freedom and Guidance Allow Grad Students to Take the Lead: Graduate Education and Research in Human Ecology Sharpen Students Skills for Success on the Cutting Edges of Their Fields. Human Ecology, Vol. 34 Word Count: 1,532 Read More