WHAT THE COLLEGE MAN EXPECTS IN BUSINESS

Chairman Bureau of Personnel Research (An address delivered at the Yale Club, New York City)

Nearly everyone engaged in personnel work agrees with this more or less humorous statement: The freshman knows that he is going into business with his father, the sophomore knows he isn't going into business with his father because his father no longer understands him; the junior doesn't care' where he goes, and the senior hopes that he may be successful in getting a job. While this general classification is not altogether false, there is a new factor of increasing importance that must be considered in any discussion of this type. The present senior knows more about what he is going to do than did his brothers of the very recent past. In a cultural college for example, an early Fall survey showed the following distribution: Men who were going to do graduate work in medicine, 21 ; law, 21 ; engineering, 5 ; miscellaneous, 37 ; men who were going into teach- ing, 33; men who were already placed in business, 40; miscellaneous, 2; Seniors requiring services of Personnel Bureau, 133; men who did not report, 110; total, 412.

In other words, with the almost universal increase in knowledge, or at least in information, made possible by the movies, the illustrated magazines, radio, the rotogravure sections, and the tabloids, it has become nearly impossible for a collegian, even, to escape the infection of information. How or where he has absorbed the information is unimportant at the moment, but the fact that, in increasing numbers, he has absorbed it, is very significant.

It is indeed dangerous to speak of the average man, whether in college or out of college. Since we are now able to make pur groupings more specific than in the past, we should discuss not the average college man, but the average college man that goes through the Personnel Office and is largely guided and advised by the Personnel Office, in his choice of vocation. Such a man expects little or nothing of business, and yet strangely enough is the most hopeful citizen on our various campuses.

Considering this man as a candidate for business, it is interesting to trace his sources of information and to determine why he has arrived at certain conclusions regarding business. First of all, without attempting to be offensive, the average teaching in the average college rather belittles business either as an institution or as a specific vocation. This is but natural since each instructor believes that his course is terrifically important as a part of the youngster s preparation for life. Moreover, the more spectacular campus professors have the largest following and these men are usually among the more pronounced extremists of our various campuses. It is but natural that they should make the greatest appeal to youth and that youthful ideas should be definitely influenced by leadership of this type. Therefore, it seems fair to say that the average undergraduate of the type we are discussing doesn't receive a very high impression of business generally, nor any specific vocational guidance even in terms of the professions.

His second source of information is largely second hand information received from men who have graduated the year previous. From these men, he receives definite and final advice regarding the bond business, the banking business, the manufacturing business, and the insurance business. While it is not fair to say that the advice is always the same, a summary of it would undoubtedly be, "Don't go into any of these businesses under any circumstances." This advice comes largely from men who are not yet oriented in business or who assume that they are passing through a period of disillusionment—a period they wouldn't give up for anything. However, this more or less psychological reaction of the recent graduate does have a very definite effect upon the man in college. He rationalizes that the man is "out there," is at work, and that "he knows."

Another source of information is the platitudinous pap he reads in various uplift magazines and newspaper articles, as well as the camouflaged bedtime. or other story that drifts in to him over the radio, but never forgets to extol the excellencies of certain noble citizens who are interested in the manufacture of pills, powders, and what not. This source of information is not particularly important because even a sophomore understands it, and the average senior is now fed up on shoe string, to-amillion dollar articles written for his inspiration.

The direct access to information regarding business comes from the various business representatives who visit the colleges and compete with each other for seniors. This competition has increased yearly since the War. The competition is manifesting itself both in the wage schedule and in the promises of advancement made to the man. It is particularly noticeable that people who have been employing college men for a long time do not offend in this respect, but every year sees new businesses interested in obtaining college men and sees these businesses applying competitive methods to secure these men.

In order to thoroughly understand the state of mind of the present competition, we must review the causes that have changed college life fro a life of more or or less serious purpose to a social event. During the War, there appeared to be a terrific increase in the number of people attending secondary schools. This increase was more apparent than real because building programs had materially lessened during this period. The increase in colleges, however, was very real, and while previous to 1918 the increase in colleges had been about in proportion to our increased population, the subsequent increase has been in greatly increased and still increasing percentages. Disregarding this effect upon the colleges for the moment and thinking of it only in terms of the point of view of business employment, business has had to turn to the colleges because the bright high school student is no longer available. Since it has become the thing to do to go to college, any high school student, who has brains and reasonable abilities otherwise, can secure a college education. This means that business now comes .to the college for men that in previous years it would have taken from the high schools, put through a long course of training, and hoped for the development of needed junior executives. With the rapid increase in competition, there has also come the competition of training schools. In talking with various employers, they generally admit that the training school is largely for the purpose of elimination and that if they keep three out of ten candidates, they feel that the traininghas been worth while.

The idea of training schools needs further consideration at this point because of its very real competitive influence on the average American campus. It is fair to say that the business with a good training school will attract men to it who are not so much interested in the business as they are in the fact that they are receiving specific training and being paid for it—an idea which has a very great appeal to the senior. Unless care is taken, men will apply and be hired for these positions who do not intend to continue in the business, and who have no particular interest in the business or in the concern paying them. This has come about largely because of the attitude of the employer that three out of ten would be all that he could reasonably expect to save. This attitude is reflected in his representative when he reaches the campus, and makes him less careful in his selection than he would otherwise be. Obviously, a definite training course with definite terminals makes a terrific appeal to a man whose mind is unorganized and who hopes he will get a job.

It is, of course, impossible to shut off misinformation from recent graduates. This misinformation, however, becomes fairly weak after a couple of years out, and then after a five year period, the graduate becomes a really effective force in hiring men. Discounting or passing over most of the present sources of misinformation leaves us with only one serious problem in terms of information. It will never be possible intelligently to hire college graduates until business itself knows what it wants these graduates to do. Generalizations are extremely harmful to the student. Generalizations usually result in losing seven out of ten men hired—which is much too expensive from the point of view of industry. Spasmodic attempts have been made to collect reasonable job information. Whenever business has been particularly good, we have seen the establishment of Research Bureaus and the installation of Personnel Offices and Officers, and the beginnings of an intensive and extensive plan of analysis, both in terms of the business itself and of the job* opportunities it can provide. Since 1911, however, with every decrease in business has come a corresponding decrease in the number of people employed in personnel and an actual decrease in personnel research conducted by business. Doubtless, this has been a short sighted policy for business, but equally doubtless, with decreased profits and decreased business, it often becomes necessary for business to throw overboard some of its newer playthings. But doubtful as this policy may have been, the fact remains that there has been no steady development in the research field in business, under the-head of job analysis, to determine job specifications.

There are outstanding exceptions to this general business procedure. Certain businesses have conducted very careful research and are prepared with job specifications. Certain businesses have made specific job analyses similar to the Potomac Telephone Company, and others have installed intelligent training courses with clearly marked terminals and with understandable specifications. Unfortunately, these are too few to be of material. service to the present college personnel officers. Moreover, most of the advance has come definitely from the engineering side of business, leaving the normal business of production and distribution practically without job specifications of any kind.

With such job specifications available, it would be possible for the colleges to conduct, through their personnel research bureaus, intensive subjective analysis extending over four years, which might logically determine the qualities, abilities, or traits to fit these job specifications. The colleges themselves have made very little advance in this field. A number of the colleges are literally so obsessed with the value of the psychological test, that they have devoted their entire time to the development of measurement tests, and unfortunately, changed these tests year by year. It seems only fair to say that intelligent study is being made in this field, but at the moment there are no outstanding successes that would lead one to suppose that these tests were yet beyond the experimental stage. However, if business takes up its burden of job specifications, the colleges certainly will more seriously accept their job of subjective analysis in terms of traits and qualities to meet these specifications. If such a Golden Age had been reached, it would be possible for the Personnel Office of any business to furnish the Personnel Officer of any college with specifications and to feel reasonably sure that the college Personnel Officer could be depended upon in his analysis and recommendations. This is not true today. The college Personnel Officer is quite as lacking in the possession of any more important factual evidence as is his brother engaged in personnel work in business.

When all of these various factors are given consideration, the present state of mind of the college senior seems to be fairly reasonable. He doesn't know what he expects from business. What he hopes from business, however, is an entirely different matter. In interviewing some hundreds of college seniors and recent college graduates, I have been struck by one fact which I think is exceedingly significant; namely, more men are interested in the opportunity itself than are interested in the cash return. This is sufficient evidence to warrant our saying that the one thing the college man expects from business is an opportunity to assume executive responsibility. His entire training has been toward the development of the individual; his fear complex—if he has one—is that he will become a cog in some great industrial machine. His greatest urge is for selfexpression, and frankly he doesn't care whether that self-expression is in the toothpaste field or in any other definite business. What he expects and what he would .like is the assurance that he, personally, can mean something to the busiliess. In a word, the college man going into business in the year 1926, goes in with about the same fear and trembling with which he approached college his freshman year. He is hopeful—that's all; hopeful of a square deal; hopeful of intelligent training; hopeful of encouragement along the way; and finally, hopeful that when he has earned a position of responsibility, he will be given a position of responsibility.

Too many business men think of these "responsible positions" too much in terms of their own youth. They are fond of saying that when they started in business they worked ten or twelve hours a day and received four dollars a week. They often forget that the dollar of that day was worth at least three or four of our present dollars; they forget, too, that their sources of entertainment and amusement were fifty to a hundred times less than the outside attractions for the present day youngsters. But worst of all, they forget the personal contacts that they had with the real boss, their opportunity to know what it was all about and to take a real part in a business conducted by a real human being that they knew personally. So, when they offer one of our graduates what they now consider responsible positions but which, owing to the development of systems of management and operation really would not tax the brain of a twelve year old child, they are grieved and astonished that the present youth sees nothing attractive or interesting in the proposed job. Business must accept the challenge of supplying real interest, real contacts, real responsibilities, or all three, if it is to secure 100% return on the college investment. Business should remember that the present generation did not create the present conditions under which, and among which youth must live.

More and more college men do know what they are going to do. The professional preparation for engineering, the preparation for law, medicine, teaching, and the ministry is prima-facie evidence that these men intend to enter the various professions outlined. A senior, entering business, now takes an added two-year preparation for business, if he can afford it; others supplement their early business training with night school courses in business subjects. Many seniors who are planning to enter business secure positions for their junior vacations for the definite purpose of finding out whether or not they wish to go into this or that type of business. The number needing help grows materially less each year. These men, however, need more help in terms of actual information than we are now prepared to give them. When we are prepared to give them this information, it is my hope that with it, we will also recognize the necessity for creating a certain amount of individual responsibility. A college man can do without high salary, he can do nicely without a white collar job, he can even engage in the hardest form of manual labor and smile, but he can do all of these things only if he feels that he is being given an opportunity to express himself in terms of some job requiring a slight amount of executive ability and implying that his boss is willing to invest in him a certain definite responsibility.