A recent event with Kansas State showed that what students value in a workplace is changing.
By Jonathan Haile
On a number of occasions, I’ve enjoyed opportunities to speak with college students at local universities as part of KC IABC’s Career Roadshows. This time, I joined two other pros to speak to students at Kansas State. You can expect to answer some standard questions about essential skillsets, networking, and building resumes, but this time, I noticed a small shift in what students wanted to talk about. There were more questions about company culture, long-term career planning, and dealing with burnout.
I think it underscores what we’ve seen over the past few years; that employees expect more than just 40+ hour a week jobs with paychecks. In fact, in a recent article from Forbes about how managers can better equip their teams, author Dana Brownlee summed it up well.
“Employees today, particularly those in historically marginalized communities, fully expect workplaces to support their overall professional development, work life balance goals, wellness and even personal values.”
In the age of quiet quitting, and worsening burnout (a reportedly 43% of US workers), kudos to organizations that understand and prioritize their employees’ wellbeing. But a special kudos goes to those students who have this in mind as they head into their job searches. That’s not to say a young professional should turn down a good offer with growth potential if it doesn’t meet every single piece of their criteria, but rather, these are the important questions to ask recruiters and HR representatives.
Grad School vs. The Workforce
One of the questions I love answering for students (especially if fellow panelists disagree) is whether they should go directly to graduate school after finishing undergrad, or if they should get a job first.
Understanding that everyone’s situation is different, my answer has stayed the same. If the situation is right and a student can find a good graduate assistantship that will help fund the degree (like I did), consider grad school. There came a point during my senior year that the benefits were clear. I’d get more time to study public relations and communications, I’d have time to get a third internship, and I’d be able develop management skills. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything. However, no one is going to argue with experience, a paycheck, or the ability to pay back loans if necessary.
Sometimes, a graduate degree may be required for a position, but some pros will tell you that in their careers and experience, a graduate degree is not needed. Recent or soon-to-be graduates should always ask an employer if they’ll pay for (in part or in full) their employees’ graduate degrees if that’s something they would like to consider down the road.
Roadshows are always appreciated.
It’s always a pleasure to take some time to speak at KC IABC’s roadshows. It wasn’t so long ago that I was the student trying to soak up all I could and connect with mentors. For any pros who hasn’t had to opportunity to go speak to students at roadshows or panels, I highly recommend taking the time to do so. Over the past few years, it has been fun to see how the questions evolve to reflect what’s happening in the industry and how students respond to the changes.
Thank you to our Student & Education Relations chair, Joyce Allard, for inviting me to speak with the students, and thank you to Danielle LaGree at K-State for hosting us.
Jonathan Haile is Content Administrator at VMLY&R and a board member of KC IABC.