10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College, Revised: The Know-How You Need to Succeed [Paperback]

Bill Coplin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2003 | Series: 10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College

You'll learn a lot of things in college, but there's one thing the textbooks won't teach you: how to acquire marketable job skills before you graduate.Award-winning college professor and student adviser Bill Coplin has been developing skill-based liberal arts curricula for more than 30 years, and has helped thousands of students get great jobs. Here, he lays down the essential skills you need to survive and succeed in today's job market, based on his extensive interviews with employers, recruiters, human resource specialists, and employed college grads. Going beyond test scores and GPAs, Coplin teaches you how to develop real-world know-how in ten crucial skill groups:

Work Ethic

Physical Performance

Speaking

Writing

Teamwork

Influencing People

Research

Number Crunching

Critical Thinking

Problem Solving Mastering these 10 THINGS, you'll earn not only your degree but also the skills you need to impress employers and land your dream job right after college. Reviews“Coplin's theories are brilliant and dead on. I can't remember the last time someone asked me my GPA or major, but I use parts of these ten skill groups every day in my job at Disney.” —Jim Gallagher, Senior Vice-President of Creative Advertising, The Walt Disney Company“Clear, concise, and complete. The ultimate playbook for college students.” —Pierre Mornell, author, HIRING SMARTClick for an excerpt featured on Newsweek's website.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

BILL COPLIN is the director and a professor of the public affairs program at Syracuse University. He is the author of numerous books on politics and public policy, and is also the author of How You Can Help.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (August 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580085245
• ISBN-13: 978-1580085243
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Business & Investing > Job Hunting & Careers > Vocational Guidance

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good and bad, June 6, 2004

By 

James T "James T" (Washington, D,C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College, Revised: The Know-How You Need to Succeed (Paperback)

The description of this title does not exactly make clear what the book is about.

Part I - Know How Groups
Details specific skills in 10 groups by saying 1) why they're important 2) how college-level coursework can help you develop them, and 3) how activities, jobs, and internships can help you develop them.

Part II - What you should be doing in college to help yourself get a job/internship
Explains the idea of an apprenticeship, how to make college choices, volunteering, thinking BEYOND college, and more

Part III - Planning your success
More on careers, improving your "know how" skills, and how to use show off your know how skills in your resume and cover letter

Part I I found useful for some skills and a lot of fluff for others.
The explanation of the skill itself is mostly useless and consists principally of 1) a discussion of a rather irrelevant quote put at the top of each section, 2) how you might use it in a business/management type position. Of course that helps you out if you enjoy irrelevant quotations and are heading for a career in management, but be warned - this book was written for liberal arts majors. That is the type of student this author has had the most experience with and portrays most skills that are necessary for a position in sales, management, or some other business-oriented capacity. It's not for engineering majors.

Parts II and III I found very useful and eye-opening was the discussion of internships, jobs, and other activities outside of campus that comes after Coplin's foray into "know how groups." It details how you can use your connections and campus/online resources to find a career-starting experience at a relevant company. It also sheds some light on the internship experience and why it's important to "pay your dues."

If 1) you're majoring in some liberal arts field, or 2) want to learn more about what you SHOULD be doing with your time in college, this book is for you. But don't pick it up if you want to go to med, law, or some other graduate school. There are simply better titles for guiding you to those areas.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Developing the Complete Package, January 17, 2007

By 

Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: 10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College, Revised: The Know-How You Need to Succeed (Paperback)

The book points out that college students need to develop real-world know-how in ten crucial skill groups:
Work Ethic
Physical Performance
Speaking
Writing
Teamwork
Influencing People
Research
Number Crunching
Critical Thinking
Problem Solving
A degree might get your foot in the door, but having these skills will make you a valuable employee. I agree with the author that if a work ethic is missing, then all the other knowledge and skills are wasted.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HEADS- UP; GETTING THE JOB!!!!!!, January 18, 2007

By 

Dorothy Weiss (ORLANDO, FLORIDA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College, Revised: The Know-How You Need to Succeed (Paperback)

Want your children to succeed in the job market? Want to upgrade your own skills? This book offers much needed data about the value of work ethics, communication both verbal and written, working with others, influencing others, internships, building relationships. It is a job research primer. It also tackles the negatives of "helicopter parents" whose well-meaning attempts are often counterproductive to the individual learning process of the young adult trying to grow up and develop skills needed in the work force. Author Bill Coplin also explores time and money management, the interview process, identifying problems and developing solutions.

A timely and well-written perspective.