A Research Proposal Investigating Career Readiness: Comparison of College Students' Self-Perceptions in Four Soft Skills Desired by Employers

Research shows currently there is a disparity of skills that employers look for in new college graduates and the skills that college students possess. Employers indicate there are specific soft skills that make new hires more valuable. For the purpose of this study, a skills gap is identified in four attributes sought by organizations. These specific skills are creativity, communication, teamwork and problem solving.

The study investigates students’ self perception of preparedness for the workplace specific to these soft skills. The developed data collection instrument will be distributed to all student athletes at Lynn University and a sample of non-student athletes at the same university, Students will self report their perceived level of readiness in each of the identified four soft skills. The findings and the results will be compared to a nationwide report on the career readiness disconnect between college graduates and employers. The hypothesis will be analyzed to determine a conclusion.