The good news for college seniors: Employers expect to hire 5 percent more new college graduates from the class of 2017 than they hired from the class of 2016, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The not-so-good news: About a third of entry-level applicants on average are not qualified, so says 401 U.S. HR recruiting professionals surveyed by iCIMS recruitment software provider.

“These days many employers are expecting entry-level candidates to have professional experience, such as internships, part-time jobs or volunteer projects as well as strong written and communication skills,” Susan Vitale, iCIMS chief marketing officer, said in a press release announcing the Class of 2017 Job Outlook Report.

“According to our research, 70 percent of recruiters agree that internship experience is more valuable than college GPA when applying for a job and 65 percent feel that communication skills are more important than a college major,” Vitale said.

The majority of the recruiters surveyed also said that college seniors could improve their job interviewing skills in the following ways: becoming familiar with the company and industry; asking questions relevant to the position, such as daily responsibilities; body language, such as facial expressions or posture; speaking clearly about their past experiences; dressing appropriately; and staying positive, including avoiding negative language about a previous position.

Vitale told the Wall Street Journal while many college graduates might have a “bloated” sense of their abilities, many employers have unrealistically high expectations for 21-year-olds.

“Hiring managers tend to be a little crazy in their experience requirements, speaking as one myself,” Vitale said.

However, companies like Enterprise Holdings Inc. are more realistic, Marie Artim, the car-rental firm’s head of talent acquisition, told the WSJ. The St. Louis-based Enterprise offers college grads a two-year entry-level management training program.

In its analysis about the iCIMS report, HR Dive wrote the disconnect between what colleges teach students and what kinds of skills employees need will persist if both “don’t rectify their purposes.”

“Both share the common goal of getting graduates better prepared for their entry into the workplace,” HR Dive wrote. “Experimentation on a wide spectrum -- from apprenticeships to job training extracurricular sessions -- should be a definitive way forward.”

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Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.

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