A student who recently graduated with a degree in English literature visited me a few weeks back for a discussion on the career paths and choices that were open to her. She enjoyed her undergraduate experience a lot as she loved reading and studying literature, but was now unsure whether she possessed the skills to be ‘market ready’. She did not want to go on to graduate studies in literature. She wanted to write but to keep it on the side. She wanted to discuss the possibility of taking up a job in the development and corporate sector with her knowledge base. The student was articulate and clearly had very sound analytical and reflective thinking skills. Her communication skills were excellent, and her writing ability, evident from what she mentioned in her resumé, were quite good as well. She had taken the time to reflect deeply on what she had read and learned during her four-year undergraduate experience, and this was reflected in her personality.

I told her that although she didn’t possess some of the ‘job-ready’ skills that employers might desire, any discerning company would be able to see her potential and strengths, and this would make her a good candidate. In fact, within a few weeks, she received a decent job offer and joined the ‘young professional’ cadre of a company.

Come graduation time and a lot of young people start applying to the job market. As an academic, I get a lot of students visiting me during the April-August window to discuss their future plans and current options. A sluggish economy and changing job scenario around the world have set the context for discussions and many students want to know whether they can land decent opportunities, or what they should do, beyond graduation, to be able to get good jobs or admission to a Master’s programme.

The subject studied at the undergraduate level does matter. It is not possible to enter the engineering field if one has studied humanities or social sciences. But subject-specific jobs make up only a small part of the employment market. It is mostly possible for people to study a subject not directly related to the industry where they are able to secure a job. Most jobs in the corporate sector are accessible even if one has studied social sciences. Of course, a degree in management can give the new graduate a head start and enable him or her to signal an interest in specific areas, but it does not exclude others from consideration.

More than specialisation at the undergraduate level, it is the quality of learning that determines how ready a candidate is for the job market. What does quality of learning mean? Here are some factors that matter. Language skills are needed in almost any job in any sector. It is an advantage to have invested in the ability to speak, read and write well in two or three languages. The ability to communicate well—orally and in written form—is very important for most jobs. A candidate’s strength is judged through samples of their written work and performance in interviews.

Analytical and critical thinking is essential for competitive candidates. Most jobs require the use of judgement, which is based on critical and analytical thinking. Good articulation and the ability to think deeply about ideas and—crucially—navigate novel situations, make the individual a strong candidate for most jobs now and in the future. Sadly, thinking skills are not as common as one might imagine. Far too many undergraduate programmes rely on rote learning. They do not teach students to reflect critically. Students end up not developing the ability needed to be able to think deeply and carefully. However, those who have the ability, possess an advantage.

AI has made deep inroads into job markets. In this situation, well-developed skills and abilities become even more important. Tasks requiring human judgement, as opposed to routine tasks, will give an edge to those whose powers of discernment have been honed by critical and analytical thinking. Some level of comfort with data and numbers is needed in most jobs. Rigorous undergraduate programmes tend to have strong core requirements that allow students sufficient exposure to areas other than their subject of study. If used well, irrespective of one’s major in the social sciences or humanities, a decent understanding of the basics of mathematics and statistics can be developed.

Undergraduates should definitely be very comfortable with the use of computers and have the confidence that they can learn new software and skills on their own too. Well-structured undergraduate programmes can contribute significantly in this respect. One need not be an expert in programming or a particular software or even in the use of AI, as of now, but familiarity with computers and their usage for writing and data analysis is becoming increasingly necessary.

Too many students worry about whether they are choosing the right subject to study at the undergraduate level or whether their choice, four years ago, was a good one. Yes, for some jobs and sectors, the choice of subject is necessary, but for many jobs even more than the subject studied it is other abilities and skills that matter. Language and communication skills will always be important, as will be skills related to data analysis and the use of computers. At the end, it is strong critical thinking and analytical skills, well-developed argumentative skills and being a reflective self-learner that are most crucial. If students can develop these skills during their undergraduate years, they will find promising prospects in any job market. But, given the emphasis on imparting specific skills through rote learning and unthinking repetition in most undergraduate programmes across the country, developing sound analytical skills and the ability to think deeply about specific problems is not an easy task.