My Advice to Incoming College First-Year Students - Week #4 – Involvement (Part Two)

In last week's article , we started exploring the topic of being "involved" during your college career. The value of involvement goes beyond the relationships that can be gained and the fun that can be had when we join clubs and organizations, sports and activities, internships and work experiences - there is a real development of skills that occurs when one gets involved, and it can be a major differentiating factor when seeking employment after graduation.

In preparation for this week's "Part 2" of the involvement discussion, I posted a poll asking readers to choose between 4 distinct candidates for a role in a Software Engineering department. The voting results fell more or less where I expected them to, and some of the comments were very thought-provoking. Let's explore the results and discussion topics on the poll and how it applies to getting involved as a student in school.

Out of 177 votes, nearly three-quarters of respondents suggested that candidate 2 sounded like the strongest one. Candidate 2 was described as:

"...an academic performer with a GPA of 3.3. Similar class projects demonstrate knowledge of the skills required, but instead of blank space on the resume, this candidate lists an internship or volunteer work as well as involvement with two organizations – a coding club and a cultural organization. As a senior, they took a role as the Vice President of the coding club."

When I run this exercise in my talks at college campuses or to professional organizations such as #SHRM , Candidate 2 (73%) usually comes off as the pre-season top choice. There is academic performance and a well-rounded resume that suggests skills beyond the classroom. Candidate 1 (5%) appears on the surface to be one who earned high marks academically but focused almost entirely on classroom performance. Candidate 3 (20%) may appear to have become so consumed with taking on so many things that they sacrificed performance in other areas, begging the question as to their ability to manage their time and prioritize. Candidate 4 (3%) looks to be going through the motions and getting through school with minimal effort. The comments section of the poll digs even deeper.

"When did GPA become a predictor of success / future performance in a coding role?"

- Jethro DiMeo

This is a very powerful question. To be fair, the job description wasn't provided in full; we know it is a role with a Software Engineering department and that coding is one of the skills being sought. The answer to the question is complex - it's hard to say when GPA became such a big part of the equation, but it's been an item of emphasis for hiring managers for a long time, and not just in the STEM fields. The issue is whether or not it should be such a highly weighted criterion, and I will argue that no, it shouldn't be. GPA can be a valuable measurement of academic achievement, but so many factors, internal and external, can affect it.

• A student enters college and declares what they feel will be the best major for them (or maybe the one their parents want them to follow). During their first year, they take general education courses and earn an average GPA since the topics are not as intellectually stimulating. The student dives into their major courses the following year and struggles as they realize this wasn't what they wanted to study after all. These struggles result in a major hit to their GPA, and after changing majors as a junior, the remainder of their college career is spent pulling that GPA up. The student performed well academically once they found their niche, but the was a bumpy road at the outset. An open-minded recruiter or hiring manager can uncover this just by getting to know the candidate and actively listening to their experiences.
• I once interviewed a young lady who came in with a 2.5 GPA on her resume. Nobody in her family had ever graduated college before. I asked her about her academic journey and she explained that when she was accepted to school, her mother bragged to all her friends "my daughter is going to be the first in our family to go to college!" The adjustment that first year was tough, and the young lady was on academic probation after her first year and was ready to drop out. Fortunately, she had a mentor in her school's #EOF program and spoke with him. He asked her what her mom would tell her friends if she dropped out, and offered to help find her tutors the rest of the way if she made the commitment to stay. The young lady did and graduated with a sociology degree. This young lady was in tears telling me this story, as it was such a powerful and personal experience she had, but with just that story I realized this was someone who was resilient and who had stared failure in the face and come back from it. Those were skills I wanted on my team, so I moved her ahead.

I don't post jobs with minimum GPA requirements, because there are still too many people who equate GPA with intelligence. The idea that a 3.5 GPA should be an entry barrier so the pool is "only the really smart people" is insulting to people who have had challenges in their college careers. GPA requirements disproportionately disadvantage students from historically marginalized communities . This includes ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, the neurodiverse, military veterans, etc.

"...as a former recruiter I would have likely fought to at least bring in Candidates 2 & 3, although honestly all four would warrant a potential interview..."

- Catarina Caulfield

Exactly. Why wouldn't we at least screen all four of these candidates to dig deeper into their experiences and what makes them unique? Maybe Candidate 4 had to care for a sick family member and lacked the flexibility to join clubs or look for different jobs but managed to put themselves through school despite those demands on their time. Perhaps Candidate 1 was shaped by a family or a culture that prioritized academics. Maybe Candidate 3 was never really comfortable with classroom instruction but loved the experience of hands-on work and team projects that jobs and clubs offered.

Certainly the issue arises when instead of 4 candidates, there are 400. It is impractical to expect a small team of recruiters or a single hiring manager to interview every single one of them. A pool of 400 candidates screened for 15 minutes each would require 100 hours to complete; that is two-and-a-half full-time weeks of pure interviewing for this one job assuming no breaks, lunch, etc. The key for students is to get every possible differentiator on their resume to be part of the batch that makes it from the 400 applicants to the 10 or 20 interviewees.

"I'm guessing Candidate 3 is most likely to have WHIM."

- Garrett Miller

Garrett Miller is an outstanding speaker and the author of Hiring on a WHIM . If the topic we're discussing today if of further interest to you, I highly recommend Garrett's book as a deeper dive into four critical skills hiring managers should be on the lookout for!

"That’s a tough call. I’d be very interested in speaking with all four. I’d want to know about things not listed on their resume. Work ethic, knowledge of the company, passion for the company’s vision are things that come out through conversation."

- Angela Parrinello, SHRM-CP

Angela Parrinello is an absolute legend in the Campus Recruiting space, and she just nails it here. "I'd want to know about the things not listed on their resume." Angela's approach here is not transactional, which is how many interviews and application processes may feel. She is taking the relationship-based approach, wanting to get to know the person rather than just the resume. I've discussed this recently with Gregory Mass , Executive Director of Career Development Services at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Students have been under the thumb of COVID for 2 years and are starved for meaningful interactions. They're ZOOM fatigued and tired of e-mail blasts from employers. The recruiters and managers who take the time to engage with them are the ones who will really get to know them, and that's more likely where they'll want to work.

So what are the skills that students develop by getting involved while in school? The list is probably endless, but here is a short list of the skills I talk about most when I speak to students about "human skills." (I call them "human skills" because these skills cannot easily be automated and can be done by humans. The term "soft skills" suggests they are weaker or less important than "hard skills," which is not true.)

• Communication Skills. The greatest "skills gap" (the gap between skills employers demand and the skills candidates possess) is in communication. Our experiences in organizations, internships, and other experiences develop our communication skills for use in a professional environment. See more on Communication Skills for College Students.
• Time Management & Flexibility. Part of the reason employers like to see extra-curricular activities and work experience during a college career is that it shows a candidate is capable of managing multiple responsibilities. This speaks to their ability to manage their time, prioritize, and adjust.
• Conflict Management. Conflict is inevitable. How we deal with conflict determines how well we perform when working with others. I love asking about conflict management in an interview, because students who have gotten involved in projects, clubs, and work experiences are more likely to have learned how to manage conflict.
• Emotional Intelligence. The skill that empowers us to recognize and understand our own emotions, to manage how we react to emotional triggers, to recognize the emotions of others, and manage how we interact with others based on that empathy is called Emotional Intelligence, or "EQ." Numerous studies suggest that EQ is a more accurate predictor of professional success than IQ. EQ development occurs with experiences and ensuing self-awareness practices. Hear more about Emotional Intelligence for College Students .
• Teamwork. Most modern work doesn't take place in a vacuum and isn't done entirely alone; we are a society driven by teams. The ability to work with different people - and different kinds of people - is a critical skill in professional success. Involvement at the campus level provides teamwork development and often develops an appreciation for diversity.
• Networking. One of the greatest benefits of student involvement is the ability to meet different people and develop networking skills. Networking skills are critical to early and ongoing professional success.
• Leadership. Taking on responsibilities with an organization and achieving leadership roles is a great chance to develop skills like delegation and accountability.

The list goes on and on. For current and future students, I encourage you to take the time to explore the options that exist for you at your school. Professional clubs can develop these human skills while providing additional preparation for your chosen career. Social clubs can introduce you to new people and provide networking and leadership opportunities. Cultural clubs can connect you with different types of people and learn more about others. The possibilities are endless.

Just remember that your tuition and student fees make college clubs and organizations possible. If you attend a school and elect not to take advantage of what that school has to offer, you are making a donation. If you attend a school and get involved in the different things that school has to offer, you are making an investment.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SKILLS YOU DEVELOPED THROUGH INVOLVEMENT IN CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS, INTERNSHIPS AND CO-OPS, OR OTHER EXTRA-CURRICULAR EXPERIENCES? PLEASE SHARE IN THE COMMENTS.

Chris W. Fitzpatrick , PHR, SHRM-CP, is the Manager, University Relations and DEI at?Crestron Electronics ?and has spent 15+ years in the Talent Acquisition and DEI spaces. Chris is a Professional Speaker, aspiring game show host, and below-average charity golfer. Some of Chris’s presentations can be found on his?YouTube Channel ?and can also be found on Instagram as?ChrisFitzpatrickSpeaks .