ABSTRACT
Our recent and ongoing transition from a postindustrial society to an information-based society has made skillful communication the fundamental resource of the age. Nowhere is this more noticeable than in the areas of employment and career success. John and Merna Galassi (1978), summarizing 60 years of research on the job interview, concluded: “researchers consider communication and interpersonal skills as the single most important set of factors in the interview” (p. 191). Not only are communication skills an important determinant in obtaining jobs, they are equally relevant to success and promotion in those positions. A recent study of the graduates of the 13 degree-granting institutions that compose the University of Wisconsin system concluded that the three factors given the greatest importance in the assessment of job candidates (interpersonal skills, attitude, and oral communication skills) correspond closely to the three highest ranked factors for successful employment (interpersonal skills, motivation, and written and oral communication skills). The importance that the responding organizations place on communication skills is further revealed by the fact that more than 90% of them provide additional training for their employees in both oral and written communication (Page & Perelman, 1980).
