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Gallup Poll Shows College Students Feel Unprepared for Job Market

Cover of 2017 Gallup-Strada poll
GALLUP & STRADA EDUCATION NETWORK
/
GALLUP & STRADA EDUCATION NETWORK
Cover of 2017 Gallup-Strada poll
Cover of 2017 Gallup-Strada poll
Credit GALLUP & STRADA EDUCATION NETWORK / GALLUP & STRADA EDUCATION NETWORK
/
GALLUP & STRADA EDUCATION NETWORK
Cover of 2017 Gallup-Strada poll

A recent Gallup poll reveals that only a third of students feel confident their college education will adequately prepare them for the job market.

Laura Carey is the director of Career Services at the University of Akron. She says while mastering the fundamentals will help college grads land jobs, it’s not the only thing employers look for. Developing “soft skills” can help students stand out.

"By soft skills, I guess the most common ones would be communication skills, timekeeping skills, teamwork, problem solving - those types of skills rather than the more technical skills that they might be learning more in the classroom."

Despite the unease about joining the workforce, the Gallup poll shows that 40 percent of students have never visited their college or university’s career services department. 

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Lucas is a senior majoring in both economics and finance from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prior to this internship at WKSU, he interned at the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority as a research intern. He currently serves as the opinion editor for The Kent Stater. Along the way, he’s also held several jobs within Kent State, from working as a tour guide to conducting research with professors in the economics department at the university.