Soft Skills Needed by Marketing Majors upon Graduation

Abstract

Are marketing students graduating with the skills business professionals demand? This paper will examine the soft skills needed by marketing majors upon graduation. A literature review was performed of 51 studies from recent years analyzing key skills mentioned in literature by marketing professionals. This study found that the most frequently mentioned softs skills included adaptability, analytical reasoning, collaborating with diverse individuals, communication (written and verbal), critical thinking, creativity, detail orientation, interpersonal skills, leadership, problem solving, professionalism, public speaking/presentation skills, resilience, teamwork and time management. This paper will discuss the major skills needed by marketing students and will make recommendations for future research on hard skills and digital marketing.