creekland Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Just saw this today: http://chronicle.com...25/#id=overview And for those contemplating college or no - and which college or type of college - there's a whole lot of info gathered from employers as to their preferences. (Flagship public gets highest marks followed closely by private non-profit and regional public, online gets lowest - by far.) And this quote caught my eye: These days a bachelor's degree is practically a prerequisite for getting your résumé read—two-thirds of employers said they never waive degree requirements, or do so only for particularly outstanding candidates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Wouldn't it be easier/better/more accurate for the company hiring to just include a critical thinking type of test as part of the job application process? Honestly, I think learning how to think is a skill learned (or not) long before college, so to try and "rank" colleges seems like you are not creating the best "sieve" for finding good thinkers. Yes, certain colleges may attract "better thinker" students -- but that would certainly leave out a lot of individual graduates who are great thinkers who didn't happen to attend one of the "ranked" colleges -- and let in a lot of graduates who may not be great thinkers only due to graduating from certain colleges.... I dunno. Maybe I'm missing something here...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I heard a report on American Public Media's Marketplace (co-sponsor of the survey) this morning, talking about the importance of internships. I expect Marketplace will continue to do pieces about the survey results this week. www.marketplace.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I heard a report on American Public Media's Marketplace (co-sponsor of the survey) this morning, talking about the importance of internships. I expect Marketplace will continue to do pieces about the survey results this week. www.marketplace.org I did not hear the Marketplace report but it seems to me that the unpaid intern has taken a number of the former trainee positions out of the workforce. As a member of an advisory board to a county agency, I was recently asked to sit in on interviews with potential employees. Boy, was that interesting! Everyone was qualified on paper. Communication skills and even common sense were all over the map. It was amazing to see how people tried to sell themselves as qualified--only to come off as arrogant! They knew it all (without really knowing what they were talking about). Herein lies the problem with certification or test results leading to a job: These things alone do not determine whether someone is a good communicator and/or team player. I left those interviews wondering if too many self esteem pills are being swallowed by some young people. I like Marketplace. I'll listen to the morning report online and catch the evening one when my public radio station airs it. Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 The piece of Internships was interesting! And much more what I am thinking of even for a "thinking" type of test -- I wasn't so much thinking of a multiple-choice type of test, but put the person in a situation and see what their response is, how they problem-solve, communicate, etc.... Of course, I'm idealistic and realize, just like with our current testing procedures for high school students, the best kind of test is an interview, and watching the student work over time. Which is expensive and not realistic. sigh... It's topics like this that make me see just how much of a "rebel" (lol) homeschooling has made me. I just have no tolerance for paperwork, busywork, and tests that are meaningless. I always want to "cut to the chase", figure out what REALLY works, and just DO what will really make learning (or working) happen... Me, fighting the societal norms once again... :boxing_smiley: (lol) Thanks for posting the original article, Creekland! I really do like hearing about trends and what's going on out there in the world of work. :) Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Of course, I'm idealistic and realize, just like with our current testing procedures for high school students, the best kind of test is an interview, and watching the student work over time. Which is expensive and not realistic. sigh... It's topics like this that make me see just how much of a "rebel" (lol) homeschooling has made me. I just have no tolerance for paperwork, busywork, and tests that are meaningless. I always want to "cut to the chase", figure out what REALLY works, and just DO what will really make learning (or working) happen... Me, fighting the societal norms once again... :boxing_smiley: (lol) I'll fight them with you, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 A reason employers may shy away from job related tests and assessments is the likelihood that the test results will be challenged in court. I have a family member who has done some very cool assessments for executive govt positions. He's done things like inbox sorting assessments. But these are expensive assessments. They are worth doing for a major head of department but not for every new hire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 A reason employers may shy away from job related tests and assessments is the likelihood that the test results will be challenged in court. I agree that employers are worried about liability. That was when peer review job interviews became more popular for the employer to use in the hiring process. I did not hear the Marketplace report but it seems to me that the unpaid intern has taken a number of the former trainee positions out of the workforce. I guess it varies by industry. Hubby is in semicon and the interns are paid almost the same as an employed staff. I have linked this article on best internship pay before in another thread but linking here again in case anyone is interested (http://www.businessw...ing-internships) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I guess it varies by industry. Hubby is in semicon and the interns are paid almost the same as an employed staff. I have linked this article on best internship pay before in another thread but linking here again in case anyone is interested (http://www.businessw...ing-internships) My husband's employer pays interns well too but not all companies are so generous. There was a ruckus raised a few years ago that NBC did not pay its interns anything but GE (which at that point was a primary owner) paid interns in its engineering subdivision well. I "adopted" a German student who was attending the nearby university. She was an international business/marketing major. None of the marketing internships (required for her degree) paid. The best ones for the resume were in major cities like New York where she went. She ended up doing grunt work for a major project, putting in a number twelve hour days--for no compensation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Wouldn't it be easier/better/more accurate for the company hiring to just include a critical thinking type of test as part of the job application process? Honestly, I think learning how to think is a skill learned (or not) long before college, so to try and "rank" colleges seems like you are not creating the best "sieve" for finding good thinkers. Yes, certain colleges may attract "better thinker" students -- but that would certainly leave out a lot of individual graduates who are great thinkers who didn't happen to attend one of the "ranked" colleges -- and let in a lot of graduates who may not be great thinkers only due to graduating from certain colleges.... I dunno. Maybe I'm missing something here...? My dad tried that. The test was VERY reasonable. He required it of anyone applying for any position regardless of the responsibilities in order to try to weed out applicants that really would not be very trainable. The result - 75% of applicants were ANGERED that he would dare to test them as a condition of employment. Lots of people sort of seem to think that a job should be provided on a silver platter. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 My dad tried that. The test was VERY reasonable. He required it of anyone applying for any position regardless of the responsibilities in order to try to weed out applicants that really would not be very trainable. The result - 75% of applicants were ANGERED that he would dare to test them as a condition of employment. Lots of people sort of seem to think that a job should be provided on a silver platter. Faith wow. just. wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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