Improved Soft Skill and University Club Involvement. Are They Connected?

Authors

  • Angie Kovarik Bemidji State University
  • Gabriel Warren Bemidji State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18533/job.v5i1.131

Keywords:

Soft skills, education, university club, business administration, training.

Abstract

There is a need for business students to develop soft skills in addition to technical skills, in order to successfully transition into the workforce. Hiring managers stress the importance for business students to have strong soft and hard skills in order to be competitive during the job search process. Hiring managers are finding that recent graduates lack soft skills such as presentation, listening, and teamwork, which many jobs require. The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and determine what changes in soft skills/professional skills, specifically leadership, communication, and networking, business students may develop, after one year of involvement in a university marketing club; based on student perceptions. The results for this study show that business students who are members of an undergraduate university club for one year perceive improvement in the aforementioned soft skills. Based off the findings, business faculty should focus on incorporating soft skill development into their curriculum. Soft skill development could potentially better prepare graduates for entering the workforce.   

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Published

2020-04-03

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Articles

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