Workforce Readiness

What Skills Do Online-Only Students Need Before Entering the Workplace?

Online students are likely to have certain gaps in their education. Here are five skills they’ll need to fill them.

• By Dr. Marian Stoltz-Loike
• 07/17/24

The shift away from in-person representation in the workforce was underway long before COVID emerged to irrevocably change our relationship with a remote presence. The shift is just as dramatic in the world of higher education.

Since the pandemic, the number of students enrolling in fully remote programs is noteworthy, with 15% of all postsecondary learners (about 2.79 million students) attending an online college or university, according to Forbes. A separate Forbes study found that whereas traditional university enrollment has dropped by an average of 3%, enrollment in online universities is up by an average of 11%.

None of this is to suggest that there's anything wrong with online learning. In fact, it can improve retention by 60% and reduce the time to learn by 40-60%, according to a study conducted by educational content platform Guru99. Besides practical issues such as cutting commuting and boarding costs, online education is beneficial to many students because it provides flexibility that enables them to manage other parts of their professional and personal lives.

But although well-managed online education can provide tremendous value to students, it can also generate its own educational gaps. As online students are mostly learning on their own rather than in the robust, dynamic environment of the academy, they may miss out on developing soft skills that are critical in the workplace.

To that end, below are five key skills that colleges must prioritize for online learners if their alumni are to sidestep these blind spots and find professional success on day one:

1) Properly Engaging with Colleagues

In a traditional college environment, students discuss topics related to their classes and regularly make plans to study together outside of class, to say nothing of the friendships and social interactions that arise from living in dorms and eating in communal dining halls. In asynchronous courses, on the other hand, online students do not speak to each other directly in Zoom classes, and their limited conversations usually end when they sign off.

To overcome this lack of in-person interactions, faculty must create collaborative projects to enable remote students to get to know each other — if not on a personal basis, then at least from an academic standpoint. Similarly, they should encourage students to create class WhatsApp groups or other social media channels, so they have the ability to ask each other questions and get to know each other in a less formal setting. Professors themselves should be proactive about building relationships with students outside the classroom, either by scheduling multiple one-on-one Zoom calls online, or by meeting in person for coffee when students live nearby.

Additionally, both administrators and online students should prioritize finding internships in order to build a better understanding of the business world and "practice" having collegial relationships with coworkers.

2) Networking with Clients

As communication and interpersonal skills underlay the success of working with internal and external clients, the limited interactions online students have with classmates outside their academic disciplines limit their ability to network with the broad range of people who may become future clients or business partners.

To overcome these constraints, they should take advantage of college resources, such as career and advisement services. These valuable services are easily available on campus but difficult to access from afar, and online students need to be proactive in asking for help in taking advantage of these offerings, which are one of the core advantages of attending an institution of higher learning. Moreover, the professionals who offer these services should promote Zoom sessions for online students rather than exchanging endless e-mails, so as to enhance person-to-person communication.

3) Developing Emotional Intelligence

The ability to read and understand others' feelings, i.e., emotional intelligence, is key to success, both in school and in the workplace. This is one area where Zoom, so useful in developing communication and other skills, as well as asynchronous learning, falls short. For this we urge local online learners to find time to visit campus whenever possible so they can get a better feel for the school, its resources, student services, and fellow students. Just sitting in the cafeteria during meals or hanging out in student lounges will further their capacity for emotional intelligence, and obviously attending classes from time to time will enhance their understanding of the material, if nothing else.

As long as students are coming to campus, they would do well to visit during faculty office hours and have in-person meetings for a change. Besides helping students get to know their professors and gain a deeper grasp of the class material, such relationships will foster networking and future job opportunities. And if coming to campus is simply not doable, online students should make it a point to attend cyber office hours: Even if they don't have any questions, they may see what professional tidbits they can pick up just by listening in.

4) Collaboration

Today operations in virtually all businesses require the ability to work well within a team setting, which, of course, is a challenge to learn when students aren't in the same room as their classmates, or when they lack opportunities to partner with other students outside of class. To combat these disadvantages, online students would do well to enroll in courses that routinely use collaborative projects as part of the course assessment; again, remote projects aren't as beneficial as in-person projects, but every little bit helps.

Beyond that, they should get experience by seeking out team-based volunteer opportunities within their local communities.

5) Leadership

As most online students don't participate in student activities on campus, their ability to demonstrate that they can handle responsibility and earn leadership opportunities is severely hampered.

Like with learning how to collaborate, volunteering in your community can be worth its weight in gold with regard to leadership, because unlike in businesses, many volunteer organizations are on the lookout for individuals who want to take charge.

It's a unique opportunity for on-the-job leadership training while working for a cause they believe in. Along those lines, they should meet with their faculty advisors and request that they steer them toward internships that will have leadership opportunities.

And besides the earned skills and experience, they'll also have something to plug on their resumes that will help them land a job when they finally graduate.