Perceptions of Agricultural Industry Recruiters on Writing in the Workplace Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • [Abstract This descriptive study focused on recruiters' perceptions of the importance of writing in the workplace and the writing abilities of the graduates of Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. These recruiters primarily represent for-profit organizations and recruit for business- and management-type positions in the United States. The majority of the Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Natural Sciences Career Fair recruiters who responded reported that they took writing skills into consideration frequently or almost always. They assessed the writing abilities of graduates most frequently through written letter of application. In addition, recruiters indicated almost all of their employees have some responsibility for writing, and the most frequent type of writing is e-mail correspondence. Overall, recruiters reported that they were satisfied with the writing abilities of the graduates of the Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Furthermore, the results of this study were comparable to the national study conducted by the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges in 2004. Based on the results of this study, the authors recommend faculty, staff, and administrators stay abreast of changing communication needs in the agricultural industry, incorporate writing skills into agricultural curriculum, and prepare students for workforce communication with real-world scenario writing assignments.]

published proceedings

  • NACTA Journal

author list (cited authors)

  • Leggette, H. R., Sitton, S., & Blackwell, C.

complete list of authors

  • Leggette, HR||Sitton, S||Blackwell, C

publication date

  • January 2011