It’s Hard Work Learning Soft Skills: Can Client Based Projects Teach the Soft Skills Students Need and Employers Want?

English Version

Abstract

The importance of business relevance in academia coupled with an increasingly challenging job market magnifies the importance for students to be better prepared for the marketplace. Client-based projects have been lauded for helping students gain the soft skills employers look for in entry-level employees, but little research supports this premise. This study discusses how students improved their soft skill sets, ultimately preparing them for career entry by working with business clients. This study demonstrates students benefit by not only applying the theories of marketing to a practical activity, but also by providing an opportunity to develop the skill sets needed to transition their careers.

Employers have often stated that graduating marketing majors do not have the requisite skills to be successful, entry-level professionals. This is not a new complaint. In the mid70s, Mintzberg (1976) described how education had to change to meet the needs of business more effectively. “Greater use should be made of the powerful new skill development techniques which are experiential and creative in nature … Educators need to put students into situations… where they can practice managerial skills, not only interpersonal but also informational and decisional.” (p. 53) The importance of business relevance in academia (Porter & McKibbon, 1988), coupled with an increasingly challenging job market (McCorkle, Alexander, Reardon, & Kling, 2003) magnifies the importance for students of all majors business students, liberal arts majors, etc. to be better prepared for the marketplace. Today, college graduates, regardless of their major, must not only possess the requisite marketing-related skills but also certain supporting skills such as communications abilities and problem-solving aptitude in order to be successful as an entry level employee (McCorkle, Alexander, Reardon, & Kling, 2003).


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