Experts Weigh In On Current Job Market Trends
November 13, 2020
Given the change of course that has happened in the world, we wanted to provide expert opinions on what aspiring graduates can do to start off their careers in an uncertain economic climate. We wanted to know what skills will be more important, where the economy is doing relatively well, and if there will be any lasting effects on the job market.
Companies are looking for candidates that can handle the new responsibilities of the job market. Recent graduates actually have an advantage because they are comfortable using newer technologies and have been communicating virtually their whole lives. They can take what they've learned and apply it immediately.
We spoke to professors and experts from several universities and companies to get their opinions on where the job market for recent graduates is heading, as well as how young graduates entering the industry can be adequately prepared. Here are their thoughts.
Our Panel of Experts
ASQ
Edwin Garro
ASQ Board of Directors, ASQ Fellow & CEO, PXS, Performance Excellence SolutionASQ
What type of skills will young graduates need when they enter the workforce in the coming years?
Edwin Garro: New graduates will need to bring a combination of soft skills and hard skills to the job market. These are times of uncertainty, and the job market needs new professionals who can embrace uncertainty daily. Attributes such as curiosity, creativity, and good communications are so important that the market begs for people who can enjoy a good challenge, come with a unique solution, and communicate a result in a clear way.
Additionally, respect for all people and humility. New graduates should enter the job market willing to know, understand and accept their peers, bosses, and employees (if they start their careers as new managers or supervisors), and that requires a lot of real listening, an open mind, and "not knowing."
For hard skills, technology is a big part of any profession these times. The required skills are way more than simply a passive use of technology, so being good in apps, specialized software, and hardware is just not enough. New professionals do need to know how to speak with algorithms and to write software code; sooner or later, the ability to write even a small piece of code will come in very handy.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for graduates to find work opportunities in this field after they graduate?
Edwin Garro: One good thing about the quality profession is that quality professionals are needed in all fields, which also affords geographic flexibility. We are much more than quality control: we are continuous improvement, root cause analysis, problem-solving, customer service, product and service design, operational and organizational excellence, quality management, quality assurance, project management, service quality, software quality, government quality, and many other things. Quality is an integral part of every job. The term "quality at the source" refers to a job well done, the first time, all the time.
How do you envision technology impacting this field in the next 5 years?
Edwin Garro: We have embraced the practices of Quality, 4.0. Quality 4.0 is a term that references the future of Quality, digital transformation, and organizational excellence within the context of Industry 4.0. Quality professionals can play a vital role in leading their organizations to apply proven quality disciplines to new, digital, and disruptive technologies.
We have identified eleven axes, or actionable items, in adopting Quality 4.0. Each one of them opens into a great deal of current and new careers. They are:
1. Data
2. Analytics
3. Connectivity
4. Collaboration
5. App development
6. Scalability
7. Management systems
8. Compliance
9. Culture
10. Leadership
11. Competency
These validate and confirm that the new job market is a combination of soft and hard skills. A few years back, Quality 4.0 was about the future, and that future is now.
