On Making College Relevant

“Making College ‘Relevant’”, a piece in the December 29, 2009, edition of The New York Times, was a classic example about how new college graduates are ‘missing the boat’ about being hired. As the CEO of a company that hires both college interns and new college graduates, I want to give some free advice:

1. Learn to write (it doesn't matter what your major is—this is the universally necessary skill for most businesses)
2. Computer skills are a must—and I'm not talking about using Twitter; the basic skills you need are word processing, spreadsheets, and web searches (others are a bonus)
3. Be able to do basic math and understand the meaning of charts and graphs
4. Remember that in the information-based economy workplace, attention to detail matters—your mother isn't there to clean up your work for you
5. Keep in mind that most of your personal preferences are not relevant on the job—if you're not happy with what you're doing, save your comments for after work or find a new job.

For college graduates (of whom there are many) who cannot master the first three items, it is really a systemic fault at the college level. No one should graduate from an academic institution without those basic skills.