Personal and Professional Development: Preparing Students for Career Success

Abstract

This paper addresses the educational implications of inadequate profession preparation of business students and proposes a possible answer to the following question: How can business schools meet the ever-changing marketplace needs for professionally prepared graduates and deliver an enhanced educational value? To propose a possible solution, the researchers followed a four-step procedure: First, research was conducted on the general topic of personal and professional development programs for career success of collegiate students. Second, based on research findings, a plan for personal and professional development of business students was developed that would be understandable to all business students regardless of academic level—freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior. Third, the personal and professional development plan was implemented for an initial trial run. Fourth, action steps for continuous improvement of the plan were recommended.

Introduction

Current economic stimuli challenge collegiate business schools and programs (B-schools) to learn new ways of competing not only globally and financially but also professionally. In general, higher education is a catch-all for educational programs that lead to degrees (Randall, 2011). At various times in the history of business education, there have been concerns that B-schools are headed in the wrong direction. For example, are B-schools training people for vocations or educating for professionalism; or, are B-school outcomes targeted toward being good or only looking good (Gioia & Corley, 2002)? Such concerns are illustrated by a comparison of (1) positive indicators such as unemployment levels falling about seven percent for 20- to 24-year olds who have college degrees and of (2) negative indicators such as the underemployment rate for young college graduates being 14.9 percent (Grace, 2016, pp. 2-3).

York College of Pennsylvania’s Center for Professional Excellence found in one of its polls that nearly 60 percent of the hiring decisions for new college graduates are based on assessments of applicants’ professionalism; 86 percent of those hiring believe that levels of professionalism have not increased (Gioia, 2010). Conclusion? Do B-schools need to reclaim professionalism as a part of their mission and vision and begin a more focused effort on personal and professional development skills of its graduates?

Only 17 percent of May 2014 graduates had jobs at graduation; and more than 80 percent of college students graduate without a job (Svrluga, 2015, p. 1). It is possible that today’s college graduates may be too optimistic about career expectations (Kadlec, 2015, p. 3). While such low percentages may have something to do with economic factors, another possibility is that B-schools are not providing needed professional development skills for students. There is a wealth of anecdotal information about the potential need for professional development for college students and organizations. Unfortunately, there is a smaller amount of qualitative or quantitative research aimed at how B-schools are evolving to personally and professionally prepare students for career success.

Purpose and Design of Study

This paper addresses the following question: How can B-schools meet the ever-changing marketplace needs for professionally prepared graduates and provide enhanced educational value for graduates’ career success? To provide a possible solution to the question, the researchers followed the following procedure:

Research was conducted on the general topic of personal and professional development programs for career success of collegiate students. Quantitative, qualitative, and secondary research efforts were sought.
Based on the research findings, a conceptual model was prepared for personal and professional development of business students which would be understandable to all business students regardless of academic level—freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years of business students.
The conceptual model developed in step 2 was implemented for a trial run.
Action steps were proposed for continuous improvement of the personal and professional development plan.

The impact of personal development and professional identity has a large potential for positioning a B-school in a community, on the job market, and among colleagues, competitors, parents, and students.

Professional Development Research

Qualitative, quantitative, and secondary research reports typically point in a more negative direction than a positive one for what is happening in the area of business professional development. A possible reason for that problem is the awkwardness of defining or agreeing on what professionalism looks like (see Gavett, 2014). Has anyone actually developed a list of the professional skills and attributes needed? Should the conceptual model for personal and professional development in this study prove effective, students will receive the career development support they need and desire. They will excel in their profession, expand their knowledge and skills, and discover new possibilities and strategies.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

To understand professionalism, it might first be helpful to recognize the hallmarks of a profession. Three somewhat simplified characteristics of a profession include, first, explicit membership rules and legal recognitions that exclude unqualified individuals; second, an ideological and ethical component; and third, an increased understanding of the nature and purpose of knowledge (Trank & Rynes, 2003, 191). Based on these three characteristics, it may be obvious that the meaning of professionalism is multidimensional and not static. Analysis of professionalism has demonstrated changes in its interpretation and function (Evetts, 2012, p. 8).

An argument has been made for five specific attitudinal dimensions of professionalism: desire for professional autonomy, commitment to the profession, identification with the profession, professional ethics, and belief in collegial maintenance of standards (Kerr, Von Glinow, & Schriesheim, 1977). Professionalism has been found to be a predictor of organizational commitment, role stress, and turnover (Bartol, 1979, p. 815). It has been viewed as strategies and rhetorics by those seeking to improve status, salary and conditions (Hoyle, 1975, p. 315). Other critical analyses of professionalism explore the value of service offered to people of higher status as opposed to the qualities inherent in a particular occupation (Ozga, 1995, p. 22).

Professionalism has been perceived as “a socially constructed, contextually variable and contested concept … defined by management and expressed in its expectations of workers and the stipulation of tasks they will perform” (Troman, 1996, p. 476). In addition, one interpretation of professionalism is that it consists of attitudes and behavior about ones career (Boyt, Lusch, & Naylor, 2001, p. 322). The question is raised as to whether business executives consider hard skills—technical expertise and knowledge more important than soft skills—interpersonal qualities and personal attributes. One study had 90 executives narrow down a list of 517 soft skills to the top 10 soft skills; 57 executives then rated to level of importance of each of these 10 attributes. The 10 soft skill attributes needed in today’s workplace, as categorized from executive listings, are: communication, courtesy, flexibility, integrity, interpersonal skills, positive attitude, professionalism, responsibility, teamwork, and work ethic (Robles, 2012, 455).

An attempt to learn what young managers needed to help them grow in their jobs resulted in the following list: mentoring, coaching, training, support from others, working as part of a global virtual team, and changing job functions (Hamori, Cao, & Koyuncu, 2012, p. 20). Without such, top young managers stay in a nonstop job hunt. Thus, the compatibility between an organization and professionalism could depend on an organization’s willingness to reward professional development (Hall, 1968; Kerr et al., 1977). One thing is clear: professional development remains “a key process within the wider agenda of raising standards and increasing societal growth capacity” (Evans, 2008, p. 22).

Secondary Research Reports

A survey of 613 students from public and private two- and four-year colleges and 400 employers whose organizations had at least 25 employees was conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU). They found that 37 percent of employers think students are well prepared for careers; 46 percent of the students think the same thing (Jaschik, 2015, p. 2). A different survey of 2,001 students (18- to 24-year olds) or recent graduates and 1,000 hiring managers who had interviewed recent graduates said only two out of five were prepared for a job in their field of study (Dostis, 2013. p. 1).

Another study, resulting from a test administered to 32,000 students at 169 colleges and universities, found that 40 percent of college seniors fail to graduate with the complex reasoning skills needed in today’s workplace (Selingo, 2015, p. 1). One study discovered a disconnect between the readiness of college seniors and what employers want. On a range of nearly 20 skills, students were consistently rated low by employers. For example, only 25 percent of employers agreed that students were creative and innovative; 57 percent of students said they were creative and innovative (Selingo, 2015, p. 2).

In a survey of opinions regarding 17 career-learning outcomes, on 15 of those outcomes the percentage of students who said they were well prepared was at least double the percentage of employers who felt that way (Mulhere, 2015, p. 2). A McKinsey & Company survey found that 40 percent of employers said students lack the proper skills to fill entry level positions (Fuscaldo, 2015, p. 1). A similar study by Instructure agreed: Only 8 percent of managers said entry-level employees were “very prepared” to contribute immediately (James, 2015, p. 1).

A survey of employers conducted by AACU and Hart Research Associates discovered that 58 percent of employers said improvements were necessary to prepare students for success in entry level positions; over two-thirds said more needed to be done to prepare students for corporate advancement (Fuscaldo, 2015, p. 1). A report which analyzed the student skill index for job preparation in their field of study revealed that only 39 percent of employers felt recent graduates were prepared for a job; yet 50 percent of the students said they were very or completely prepared (Grasgreen, 2013, p. 1).

One report emphasized cultural fit as the biggest factor when a hiring manager chooses employees (43 percent); the top three characteristics desired were a positive attitude (84 percent), communication skills (83 percent), and an ability to work on a team (74 percent) (Rogers, 2014, p. 2). Most studies seem to agree that important components of job preparation include enthusiasm about learning, internships, extracurricular activities, initiative, case interviews with employers, mock interviews with alums, and workshops for students. In general, it could be said that “integrated project-based learning and real-world internship experiences build the crucial link between academic achievement and future economic success” (Edutopia, 2014, p. 1).

A project team for Conference Board reported deficiencies in Professionalism/Work Ethic for both two- and four-year college graduates: 31.3 percent of employers said professionalism and work ethic deficiencies existed among two-year college graduates; 18.6 percent agree the same was true for four-year college graduates (Casner-Lotto & Benner, 2006, p. 21). The director of Michigan State’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute, speaking on behalf of students, said employers are asking 23-year-old new graduates to know as much as 35-year-old experienced workers (Selingo, 2013, p. 1). Professional knowledge can be “the ultimate manifestation of an organization’s [e.g., a B-school’s] competencies and the fruit of a knowing culture” (Hatten & Rosenthal, 2002, p. 2).

Present day B-schools are included in the seemingly popular view that U.S. colleges and universities are not producing job-ready candidates. This view is based on three trends: (1) academia is teaching obsolete skills—e.g., teaching writing by assigning term papers and reports; (2) academia has lowered its standards—grade inflation; and (3) academia treats students like customers—revenue streams (James, 2015, pp. 1-3).

If the above is true, responsibility needs to be shared with recruiters to fill gaps; specifically, recruiters need to delve deeper to find the work ethic, find out what they’ve achieved that they are most proud of and what truly motivates them, hire for attitude rather than skills, and educate B-school faculty how to develop skills future employees need to excel in (James, 2015, pp. 2-3). At some point, however, students must learn to educate themselves about the needs of employers and the marketplace. Not all college graduates, however, have high-quality college experiences, link key college experiences to workplace engagement, or look beyond grades, test scores, and resumes (Busteed & Seymour, 2015, pp. 1-5).

The following are some suggestions for what colleges (and specifically B-schools) could do for current and future students:

Provide career counseling and job search training starting on day one. Require students to complete coursework providing education on the job market, where specific majors can be applied in the workforce, how to identify one’s transferrable skills, how to construct a résumé, how to interview, how to network, etc.
Staff career services with professionals who know something about the job market, people with practical job market expertise who are experienced in connecting job seekers and hiring companies.
Improve outreach to the small/medium employer market, use virtual career fairs and video interviewing technology to schedule interview days for employers, and enlist alumni to assist.
Create internship opportunities for undergraduates, and be more aggressive in working with employers to create them.
Publish job placement statistics—quantify the number of grads going to grad school, the number employed in professional positions using their degrees, and the number unemployed or underemployed.
Be open to innovative third party intermediaries who know how to connect new graduates and hiring companies (Svrluga, 2015).

Because of a growing need to demonstrate value-added education, it seems reasonable to shape a unique professional development niche. A few universities are experimenting with how best to add values to the education they offer. Some are trying to do a better job of blending a liberal arts education with professional career readiness. Some are attempting to connect students with alumni mentors or having students shadow executives. Others are adding entrepreneurship programs to their curriculum and using executives in residence to work with students. Still others use academic discipline clubs as a base for inviting practitioners to campus to speak to students. One larger university invites leaders of companies started by their alumni back to campus for seminars and networking with students. One detailed professional development plan for students has been published on a university website (University of Texas, San Antonio, 2016).

In addition, colleges can help students gain competency via four activities: (1) encourage teamwork—“working in silos is counterproductive for adulthood;” (2) be future-focused—measure post-graduate success; (3) teach complex thinking skills—jobs in the modern workplace “require innovation, creativity, and the ability to look at a task and not only see the outcome, but also imagine different ways to achieve it;” and (4) round out the curriculum—provide a well-rounded education including arts (science, technology, math, history, and communication) (Caron, 2011).

A Personal and Professional Development Plan

One attempt to model professional development and progressive knowledge for B-schools focused on professional skills development (not professional career development). That study identified four levels of professional skills development and progressive knowledge with four outcomes or attributes for B-schools (Lewis, 2016). Those levels and attributes may enhance or fortify the legacy of B-school culture. See Exhibit 1.

Since the progression of knowledge is a synthesizing process, how can the B-school’s environment and internal resources be synthesized? Similarly, since progressive knowledge is a self-transcending process, how can a B-school possibly keep pace? Is there a growing complacency among faculty to remain with the status quo rather than engage the continual growing of new knowledge and increase the levels of professional student skills development? One of the difficulties of trying to model professional skills development and progressive knowledge for B-schools is that most faculty fail to recognize themselves as knowledge engineers.

The current research and results described in this paper take a more active approach to finding a solution as to how B-schools meet the ever-changing needs of the marketplace and provide the greatest educational value. Although our knowledge of professional development is still evolving, based on the information filtered through primary and secondary research a number of professional skills and attributes exist. An attempt was made to link the proposed conceptual model to those skills and attributes within the research literature. See Exhibit 2 for a list of 50 skills and attributes inferred from professionalism research. The list is extensive enough that it might be difficult for one B-school to do everything, but it is broad enough for selections to be made by any B-school.

Based on the previous research and the identified skills and attributes, a conceptual model for personal and professional development was developed. See Exhibit 3. The conceptual model was a framework for understanding the skills students needed to become more professional in their thoughts and action. The model was presented first to incoming freshman business majors who attended the (fall semester 2016) Oklahoma Christian University College of Business Administration Boot Camp three days before student and academic meetings began. A goal was to overcome a possible abstractness of the term “professional development” in the minds of freshman and sophomore students. Students were presented with four-year plans to meet their 126- or 150-hour requirements.

In addition, the conceptual model was shared with some 60 colleagues at other colleges and universities to seek advice and critique. The primary response from that request was positive encouragement; individuals expressed a desire to refine the model to fit their particular B-school. No critical responses for either minor or major overhaul of the concept were shared. Instead, there was a consistent response that more B-schools needed processes in place for better professional development preparation.

Conclusion

Attempts to discover links between B-schools and careers has huge instructive potential. For example, if a B-school’s aim is “to educate students to become critical, considerate, global citizens and lifelong learners,” professional identity formation should be embedded throughout the business curriculum (Trede, 2012, p. 166). Perhaps it should be an essential element of assessment. Thus, more research is needed in personal and professional development in all B-school disciplines. The conceptual model offered here is to encourage other B-schools to develop their own plans for preparing students for career success and then to share those models.

It would be beneficial to know how all B-schools are providing solutions for the personal and professional development needs of their students. Such professional development plans should be introduced in all business courses and tweaked yearly to personally engage students in more professional activities. (Portfolio development is one such future possibility.) To measure whether our conceptual model improves what recruiters and employers say about the professional preparation of B-school graduates. Appropriate assessment data would need to be collected. (No assessment instrument is included in this study.) A five-year study of employers needs to be conducted, using the graduating class of students before the model was introduced as the baseline. Then the next four years graduates’ employers would be sent the same questionnaire, with the results compared to measure whether success is being obtained. A web-based assessment instrument could allow flexibility and aggregation of data.

Professional activities add value to business education, and a four-year track to prepare students for what happens after graduation should increase value. The impact of personal and professional development also has a large potential for positioning a B-school in society. In the next five to ten years, the competitive world of business might witness a transformation in how B-schools educate students who are professionally prepared to meet job requirements beyond the expectations of employers.

Exhibit 1

A Model for Progressive Knowledge and Skills Development

EXHIBIT 2

Professional Skills and Attributes Mentioned in Professionalism Research

Ability to contribute immediately Ability to work on team Academic club membership Appreciation for maintenance of standards Career counseling and coaching Career fairs Collegiality Commitment to profession/career Communication skills Complex reasoning skills Connected with alumni Courteous Creative and innovative Cultural fit Educated about job market Extracurricular activity participation Flexibility Global orientation Future focus Hard skills and attributes Initiative Integrity Internships or work experience Interest in career advancement Interpersonal skills

Job search training Lifelong learning interest Knowledge Mentoring and/or protégé relationship Mock and case interviews Motivations Networking skills People skills Positive attitude Professional behaviors Professional ethics Responsibility orientation Résumé building skills Shadowed an executive Soft skills and attributes Service orientation Strategic orientation Task orientation Technical experience Transferable skills Video interviewing practice Well prepared Work ethic Workshops, seminars, and training participation Willingness to change

Exhibit 3

Personal and Professional Development Plan for OC Business Students

This plan will help as you transition from an incoming freshman business student to becoming a business professional. Always remember it is never too early to start on your personal and professional development.

Freshmen Year

Create good habits by attending all of your classes, reading your textbook and taking notes. Find a good place on campus to study and work on independent learning skills. Find out where the library is and make it your second home.
Introduce yourself to your faculty advisor and meet other faculty in the College of Business Administration (CBA).
Introduce yourself to the Career Services Director and take a career inventory test. Register for Eagles at Work.
Find an upper classman mentor and begin networking with other students.
Prepare a resume and cover letter.
Attend, at a minimum, three careers events, such as job fairs, networking, etc., hosted in the CBA and/or Career Services.
Explore your major and make a lifelong commitment to your chosen profession.
Take the Career and Professional Readiness course in the Spring Semester.

Sophomore Year

Check on your academic progress with your advisor.
Start seeking leadership opportunities in the CBA, clubs, groups, etc.
Update your resume and cover letter, and create a LinkedIn page.
Participate in a mock interview through Career Services.
Identify three organizations with whom you would like to complete an internship during the spring or summer and get the contact information of a person you need to talk to at each company.
Attend, at a minimum, three careers events, such as job fairs, networking, etc., hosted in the CBA and/or Career Services.
Take the Business and Professional Communication course.
Prepare for an on-campus interview for selected internship or part-time jiob
Work on professional wardrobe.

Junior Year

Check on your academic progress and projected graduation date with your advisor.
Update resume and cover letter, and your work profile.
Participate in a mock interview through Career Services.
Continue with plans above, or start working to obtain an internship or part-time job.
Participate in several on-campus interviews.
Meet employers at various career fairs.
Expand your professional network through clubs, professional organizations, family, friends, etc.
Attend various workshops on resume writing, networking, etc., to become as professional as possible.
Refine interview skills through individual coaching and practice with the CBA faculty.

Senior Year

Determine projected graduation date and go to the registrar office for a degree check.
Continue to refine resume and cover letter, and continue to update your work profile.
Attend various workshops on resume writing, networking, etc., to become as professional as possible.
Identify a list of job opportunities you are interested in and complete research on the organization.
Familiarize yourself with the career services calendar and register for on-campus interviews. Also schedule off-campus interviews.
Gather information on realistic salary expectations.
Apply for jobs of interest through Career Services.
Prepare for the initial interview and potential follow up interviews. Update professional wardrobe.
After each interview, prepare an acknowledgement letter, note, or email to interviewing organization.
Learn how to manage decisions and negotiate job offers by discussion with Career Services and CBA Faculty.
Only accept a job if you making a serious commitment. Once you have accepted a job, do not continue the interview process with others.

Note: There may be other considerations specific to your business major. Please see your advisor to discuss further professional requirements.

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