1. Say
“The theoretical stuff they learn at school and the real life of work don’t line up.”
“The applicability of the course materials isn’t there…”
“It costs a lot to get them trained to where we want them.”
“Alumni in the business program seem tied tighter to the school than the alumni
in liberal arts and writing…”
“I think the ability to specialize in editing vs. writing vs. tech writing would have
been really useful to me and it would be useful to [our company].”
“They [new grads] are dismally prepared for the job search process…”
“They have no practical skills for the job hunt.”
“They should have some interpersonal skills workshops or classes because that’s
the stuff that matters…”
“They need more exposure to real life work situations”.
Do
Eye-rolling when asked about most students
preparedness for job searching
Think
My interviewee thinks that most new grads are
ill-equipped both to look for jobs and to do
them once hired.
She thinks they need more opportunities for
practice/exposure to real OTJ skills, particularly
soft skills
Feel
She feels that the educational system
does not align with real OTJ challenges

2. Problem Statement
A conscientious, logical & practical, confident and capable manager who is always looking for process improvements and is
forever working on developing better team players needs a way to hire better communicating, more skilled writers because she
spends a lot of time managing and training them to overcome their shortcomings.