Characterizing employers' expectations of the communication abilities of new engineering graduates created by Susan Ruff, Michael Carter

To better understand the gap between recent graduates' communication abilities and employers' expectations, the authors surveyed software engineering professionals. They asked which of 67 communication abilities are unimportant for software engineers, which ones are learned on the job, which ones recent graduates are expected to have but lack, and which ones recent graduates possess. Results showed that employers expect graduates to communicate clearly and professionally, while specific audiences or forms of communication may be learned on the job. Recent graduates meet many of employers' expectations but lack others. For example, most are reported to use English fluently and terminology correctly but to lack concision and cohesion. Employers disagree about whether graduates' communication is sufficiently professional.