Alumni Back on Campus
The gap between college and work is smaller than students fear, and different from what they expect
Students are told that college does not prepare them for work. Some of it does, and some of it does not, and the part that does not is often not the part they assume. An alumnus says plainly which was which, and how they closed the gap, so that students know what to start on while they still have time.
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Students hear that college is 'not practical' and learn nothing useful from the complaint.
Almost every student has heard that the syllabus is outdated and that companies train freshers from scratch. Both are partly true and neither helps a student decide what to do on Monday. What helps is a specific account: this subject mattered, this skill did not exist in college, and this is how I learned it.
An alumnus can be specific because they know both sides: they can name the faculty, the lab or the project they are talking about. They can also be fair, which matters, because a talk that simply criticises the college puts faculty on the defensive and students in no better position.
The session is not an audit of the college. It is one person's account of the gap, offered so that students can use the time they have.
What the speaker is briefed to cover
31 topics across 7 areas. Seven areas, in each of which the speaker names what carried over and what did not.
What Carried OverStart with what college got right.4
- Subjects or fundamentals they still use, and how
- Projects, labs or assignments that turned out to be useful practice
- Habits from college that helped: meeting deadlines, working with groups
- A teacher or a course they now value more than they did then
Speakers are asked to begin here, so the session is not read as a complaint.
Writing and Speaking at WorkCommunication in the forms work actually uses.5
- Writing a clear email or message for someone who is busy
- Explaining a problem briefly, aloud, to a manager
- Taking part in a meeting, including a remote one
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Asking for help without sounding helpless
Working Without a SyllabusProblems with no answer at the back of the book.5
- Being given a goal, not a question
- Deciding what to do when instructions are unclear
- Working with information that is incomplete or wrong
- Learning from the people and documents already in the workplace
- Knowing when you are stuck and need to ask
Tools, Processes and PracticeThe working methods that differ between employers.5
The speaker names tools and practices from their own field only as examples. Students are told clearly that other fields and employers differ.
- Tools they had not used at college and how they picked them up
- How work is tracked, reviewed and handed over
- Working to quality standards and deadlines set by others
- Documentation, which students seldom write and workplaces always need
- Spreadsheets, presentations and routine software that nobody taught
Working With People You Did Not ChooseA team is not a friend group.4
- Working with people of different ages and backgrounds
- Dealing with a manager whose style is not yours
- Sharing credit and taking responsibility
- What to do with a disagreement that is not going to be resolved
Money and Life AdminThe things nobody covers.4
- Reading a payslip and understanding the deductions
- Provident fund and tax, in the simplest terms the speaker knows
- Moving to a new city for work and managing rent and travel
- Basic saving, and keeping family expectations in view
This is a conversation about the habits a first earner needs, not financial advice, and speakers are asked not to recommend products.
How They Learned ItThe most useful part for students.4
- What they did in the first six months to close the gap
- Who taught them, and how they got that person's time
- Which course, book or practice actually helped, and which did not
- What they would start doing now if they were back in college
What the alumnus prepares
- A list of three things college prepared them for
- A list of three things it did not, and how they learned each
- One skill a student could practise this month
- A fair word about the faculty and the institution
What students can ask
- What do you use every day that you did not learn in a classroom?
- Which subject do you wish you had taken more seriously?
- How long did it take to feel useful?
- What would you practise first if you were a student now?
- What did you waste time on in college?
How the session runs
A short account of about fifteen minutes, followed by questions. The speaker is briefed to organise the account as 'what carried over, what did not, how I learned it', so students leave with a list rather than a mood. If faculty are present, they are invited to ask their own questions at the end; a GullyFuture facilitator manages the discussion and keeps it constructive. The speaker does not promote an employer, a course or a business, and one of the college's staff is in the room throughout.
What your students leave with
- A clear list of what carried over from college, from the alumnus's own experience
- A clear list of what had to be learned on the job
- Ideas for practising one workplace skill before graduating
- A fairer view of what college is for, without dismissing it
- Questions to ask a senior about the gap in their own field
- A sense of how people actually learn something new at work
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Learn what the gap contains while there is still time to start closing it.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.