Entry-level teamwork behaviours through a groupwork lens: Findings from employer interviews and job advertisements

Salomien Hester Boshoff; Corlia Janse van Vuuren; Habofanwe Koloa

doi:10.1921/gpwk20252476

Authors

Salomien Hester Boshoff Akademia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2041-7041
Corlia Janse van Vuuren https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4146-6937
Habofanwe Koloa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0025-6300

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/gpwk20252476

Keywords:

groupwork, group work, graduate employability, skills, teamwork, facilitation

Abstract

Teamwork is a core employability attribute for business management graduates, yet what it entails at entry level is often left unspecified. Analysis of 75 graduate job advertisements, triangulated with 11 employer interviews, yields a behaviourally specific profile of effective entry-level teamwork. Using a groupwork lens, findings cluster into three domains: task approach and completion, social interaction and collaboration, and the individual in the organisational system. The result is a behaviourally specific checklist to guide curriculum design, assessment and onboarding, aligning preparation with employer expectations.

Author Biographies

Salomien Hester Boshoff, Akademia

Salomien Hester Boshoff is a marketing lecturer, programme coordinator, subject head and researcher specialising in employability skills and graduate development in marketing and management. Her research focuses on teamwork, behavioural attributes and preparing business management graduates for the world of work. Through qualitative inquiry and industry engagement, she bridges academic insight with employer expectations, equipping students and lecturers with practical frameworks to enhance graduate readiness.

Corlia Janse van Vuuren

Corlia Janse van Vuuren is the Vice-Dean: Teaching & Learning in the Faculty of Health Sciences, UFS. She has a passion for both student and staff success, which directs her research towards finding innovative, evidence-based solutions to continuously enhance structures and/or processes. She believes in the refinement of curricula, ensuring that 21st century graduates possess the necessary disciplinary knowledge and skills interwoven with well-developed graduate attributes to stand out in the competitive world of work.

Habofanwe Koloa

Habofanwe Koloa Obtained PhD in entrepreneurship from the North-West University in 2015. Former Senior Lecturer at the UFS and Unisa. Currently, an Associate Professor at the North-West University in the School of Management Sciences. Researcher interest are in Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

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