Doubting the connection: millennials’ perceptions of the link between higher education and workplace readiness

Purpose While Millennials are the most educated generation to date, the unique contributions of higher education as a source of vocational anticipatory socialization (VAS) for organizational success remains unknown. Thus, this paper aims to establish a formative understanding from the student perspective of how faculty help ready the youngest of the Millennial generation for industry. This also allows for a comparison to their older counterparts. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via an online mixed-methods survey with nearly 400 Millennials (n = 353). Findings Two prominent themes emerged including the professor as a socialization agent, where Millennials report learning from faculty as they are “managers of the classroom.” Additionally, the data indicate that many Millennials doubt the strength of the connection between higher education and career socialization, though a smaller cohort reported using the university environment, and more specifically, their interactions with faculty to practice and refine future workplace behaviors. In contrast to parents and peers, faculty nearly always ranked as the lowest source of VAS information. Research limitations/implications Some Millennials demonstrate a keen awareness of the importance of relational communication, boding especially well for their relationships with future managers and for their leadership skills as they transition into positions of management. Practical implications Faculty should consider how to address three concerns: a potential lack of perceived relevance, workplace inferences based on college experiences and leveraging interactions to strengthen student practice of professional communication. Managers would be well served to anticipate how to address newcomers’ expectations that stem from interpreting communicative experiences in the college classroom as analogous to workplace interactions. Originality/value The data indicate that traditional ideas about the impact of vocational anticipatory socialization sources and messaging need to be rethought, and instead, it appears some of the most fruitful socialization experiences faculty can provide is in giving students space and opportunity to practice and refine future workplace behaviors.

Introducing the Sixth Source of Vocational Anticipatory Socialization: Using the Internet to Search for Career Information

Research examining vocational anticipatory socialization (VAS) has identified five sources of information. This article presents a potential new source of career socialization information. Emerging adults were surveyed to determine whether they used sources other than the previously identified five sources for career and work-life information. Results indicate that the internet and the media are different and that the internet is actively sought out to provide different types of VAS information. Gender differences were also found for the use of the internet as a VAS source. Future inquiry into VAS should include this additional source of career information.

Personal Factors, Wants, and Needs: Exploring Vocational Anticipatory Socialization Through Young Adults’ Preferences for Managerial Communication Behaviors

As research continues to indicate a chasm between new hires’ expectations and what managers are equipped to provide, the current research uses a mixed-methods design to explore vocational anticipatory socialization from the perspective of young adults. Through a mix of reliable and valid survey instruments and open-ended items, traditionally aged college students provide insight on how personal factors (i.e., self-efficacy, self-worth, leader identification, etc.) and expressed needs and wants for managerial communication behaviors may influence young adults’ preferences for various approaches to management. Study results indicate that young adults who are particularly self-efficacious want a manager-mentor, whereas those with lower levels of self-efficacy indicate a desire for less task and relational direction from future leaders. This could result in isolation if these employees are not integrated into routine support and growth opportunities. Theoretical and pragmatic implications are discussed with specific recommendations for teacher-scholars, recruiters, and managers.