From there, rankings were compiled by giving a 50 percent weight to the 2014 employer assessments and a 25 percent weights each to employer assessments from 20. In addition, Bloomberg Businessweek docked points from schools if they received fewer than 15.8 mentions by employers.
The more undergraduate business majors an employer hired, the more its ranking points counted for schools.”
Those points were then weighted by the proportion of employers who recruited at a school that ranked a school in the top 20 and by the number of actual hires of undergraduate business students an employer made in 20. Schools received points for being ranked by employers-more points for being ranked more highly. From that list of schools, each employer then ranked up to 20 schools according to their opinion of the quality of their graduates. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, “…each employer listed all schools at which they have recruited or attempted to recruit business undergraduates in the last five years. Restricted to one high level contact per company, 922 employers were contacted, with 301 replying for a 32.6 percent response rate.Īs part of the survey, decision-makers evaluated the quality of candidates and track record of hires from particular schools. As part of its 2014 business school rankings, Bloomberg Businessweek emailed surveys to companies involved in recruiting undergraduate business students. When it comes to undergraduate business programs, Bloomberg Businessweek offers a guide to the schools that employers trust. But some schools grow talent better than others. Fact is, graduates are transitioning into the workforce, still living in the moment and figuring things out. Ah, how quickly they forget! What generation of graduates didn’t charge into the workforce thinking they knew everything? Who hasn’t wanted to skip to the front of the line? And who hasn’t carried a vision for themselves greater than their entry level job? “Pay your dues?” “Know your place?” “You’re not all that special?” Maybe that’s all true. And that criticism can be summed in one word: Entitled. Of course, employer criticism has only accelerated with Gen-Y. And those skills can only be developed over time (and with great patience at the frontline). In the workplace, they struggle to find that balance, to persuade without selling and influence without dictating. Not to mention, many fail grasp that their job is (in essence) to serve others and generate revenue. As a result, companies are always wondering if their mercenaries (I mean graduates) will jump ship when the first shiny new thing bops along.Įver manage recent graduates? Then, you’ve probably grumbled about how they expect someone else to come up with solutions and act. Worse of all, they quickly lose their curiosity. So let’s get it all out in the open, shall we? We hear the same refrains with every generation: “Graduates lack job skills.” “They’re not prepared.” And let’s not forget: “They weren’t taught what they really needed to know.” You read it in survey-after-survey and year-after-year: Graduates are mediocre communicators who struggle with working in teams, balancing priorities, going above-and-beyond, and even following directions. And that sentiment was around long before Gen-Yers picked up their first gadgets. Make no mistake: Employers harbor reservations about hiring graduates. Sure, graduates are cheap labor who can be molded before they grow too set in their ways.
Still, it isn’t easy being young, even if you’re in demand. According to a spring 2014 survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), nearly 70 percent of 161 participating companies were targeting business majors in 2014. In a recent from CareerBuilder, 39 percent of employers wanted to hire business majors, the highest among all disciplines. That’s what the employer surveys indicate. It’s a great time to be a business major!