The ‘Big Six’: an equation for workplace success

Nov. 16, 2015

Anne Benfatti
Special to the Scribe

A recent Gallup poll revealed that college graduates are more likely to be successful when they enter the workplace if they complete the “Big Six.”

Graduates with this set of experiences have more professional accomplishments than those who don’t undertake those six involvements, according to the poll.

While the poll discloses that three percent of college students have completed the “Big Six” during their time in school, each experience on its own can provide more opportunities in the workplace.

Nearly 25 percent of college graduates have none of these suggestions.

“I know that I will be successful when I graduate because I have taken the extra steps in order to do so,” said Curtis Pacheco, junior biomedical science major.

“I have interned with a new doctor every summer to ensure I get the experience I am going to need to get into medical school and become a doctor myself. I keep my grades my top priority.”

Graduates who lacked the experiences were engaged 25 percent of the time on the job. Those who completed the “Big Six” had a workplace engagement rate of 65 percent.

“Apart from learning in class, I hold my own study groups on a weekly basis to refresh what my fellow classmates and I have learned in other courses we’ve taken together,” said junior Daniel Otter, who wants to become a mechanical engineer when he graduates.

“My goal is not just to pass the class, but to retain all the information,” he said.

The poll also found that better grades may not indicate workplace success because employers don’t know how people work with others just by analyzing a resume or grade point average.

Graduates who had a teacher concerned for their success can nearly double their workplace achievements.

Otter and junior mechanical engineering major Aaron Cassio agree that professors play a key role.

“I feel like it is so important to get to know your professor, and for them to get to know you,” Otter said. “They know most of what you are trying to learn, and when you actually make an effort to talk to a professor, they are usually helpful and reassuring.”

“I have had professors who could care less and have no compassion for their students,” said Cassio. “I have also had professors who really care. The ones who have shown that they want me to do well are the reason I believe I will do well when I graduate.”

The ‘Big Six’ college experiences that lead to workplace
success, according to a Gallup poll:

• A professor who makes the student excited to learn
• A professor who genuinely cares about the student
• An encouraging mentor
• Working on an extensive project
• An internship or job that allows the student to apply classroom lessons
• Extracurricular activities and organizations

Editor’s note: As part of COMM 2900, Writing for the Media, students submitted articles that tied a Gallup poll to the local area. The best was selected for use in The Scribe and is printed here.