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We’ve reported in this space previously about the survey of nearly 1000 business leaders conducted by Intelligent.com about the troubling statistics regarding recent hires from Gen Z college graduates, published in August of 2024. Recently, in January of 2025, Fortune Magazine commented on this research in an article that highlights the troubling finding that about three-quarters of bosses had problems with recent college graduates they hired, and 1 in 6 would hesitate to hire any recent college graduates again. The key issues that employers cite as evidence of not being prepared for the workplace include:
- Lack of initiative and/or motivation
- Poor communication skills
- Lack of organization
- Inability to handle the workload
- Unprofessional behavior – lateness, inappropriate clothing, language
Outside of clothing choices perhaps, this list reflects many of the challenges that make it tough for students to succeed as college learners. Consider, too, that most students are manifesting these challenges in a setting that has variable schedules from day to day, a variety of “supervisors” (professors) and sets of rules, 11:59 PM deadlines, and often seemingly low stakes (“if I fail that exam it’s fine, one exam gets dropped in this class” or “I’m not going to do the homework assignments, they are only worth 15% and I’m fine with a B in this gen ed course”). Transplant students into a fixed-schedule work setting with workday deadlines and higher stakes, never mind a single supervisor and team members whose performance relies on them, and you can see how this could be a recipe for disaster.
Coaches with an eye toward the importance of college as a workplace readiness proving ground can use savvy questioning to illuminate the link between how a successful learner operates in school and how a successful employee operates at work. Some ideas include:
- Ask a student how bringing skills like organization, professionalism, communication, initiative, and persistence into their learning life could benefit them in their chosen profession
- When a student is exhibiting one or more of the types of challenges that may harm their hiring prospects, try a line of inquiry like this one: “Thinking about how you are operating right now, if you were the CEO of a company, would you hire you? Why or why not? What might you change now that will help you build important habits both as a learner and as a future employee?”
- If a student is successfully holding down a job – and so many are – ask questions such as: “How do your workplace habits differ from your student habits?” and, if there is a lack of alignment, “What can you do to help your student self operate more like your employee self?”
- Taking it big picture: “Who do you want to be both as a learner and as a worker?” and “In this moment, what is the first step you want to take toward the person you’ve described?”
You Are the Solution:
Coaching Students to Be Workforce-Ready
Investing in your skills as an academic coach is one of the most powerful ways to ensure students develop the professionalism, initiative, and communication skills necessary to secure and keep a job. Without this foundation, many graduates struggle in the workplace—leading to the employment challenges outlined in this article.
We invite you to partner with LifeBound and continue your training—the only academic coaching program that blends business expertise with student success strategies. With the right tools, you can help students not only get hired but stay hired and advance. Your impact extends beyond college—guiding students to become employment-worthy, promotion-ready, and prepared for long-term career success.
Join us for the next live three-day training on March 14, 21, and 28, or start the self-paced 15-hour training today to strengthen your ability to equip students with the skills and mindsets to secure meaningful employment, advance in their careers, and achieve long-term financial stability.
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