Findings from Project Information Literacy's (PIL's) latest research study about lifelong learning and workplace information literacy found there is a distinct difference between the information competencies and strategies today’s graduates bring with them to the workplace and the broader skill set that more seasoned employers need and expect.

The exploratory study's findings are based on interviews with 23 different employers in the U.S. and 33 "recent graduates" from four different college and universities conducted earlier this year as part of a federally funded study through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Researchers found the rapid-answer approach many college hires in our sample took for solving information problems hampered their ability to demonstrate the very research competencies employers we interviewed claimed to need most in the workplace. The findings suggest many, though not all, of the employers interviewed may have mistaken technological savvy for research readiness at the hiring stage.

Read the report (38 pages, 5.8 MB). Watch the preview video of major findings  (3:31 minutes).

Project Information Literacy (PIL) is a public benefit nonprofit dedicated to conducting ongoing research about early adults and their research practices in the digital age. The ongoing research study is founded and directed by Alison Head, who co-directed PIL with Michael Eisenberg from 2008 - August 2012. Head is a Fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Eisenberg is a professor and dean emeritus of the iSchool.