Publication of the Month, December
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Are we speaking the same language?
December 2025
Dr Jason Woolley, Reader in Employability, was lead author on a recent report titled Are we speaking the same language? The collaborative research was funded by Medr through Advance HE and it looked at the language commonly used in graduate job adverts and how effectively it is understood by students.
Researchers from Wrexham, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, and Swansea Universities, alongside the Open University and University of Wales Trinity Saint David compared adverts written in explicit, university-aligned language with those using implicit ‘typical’ employer phrasing. We take a look at the repost as December’s publication of the month.
Do words matter?
Students usually attend university to gain the skills and knowledge required to secure a good job, in a related field, at the end of their studies. A point of consideration is how well the language that students become accustomed to in university is matched to the language then used by potential employers in job adverts. Can the graduates identify the wants and needs of the employer in order to respond to the advert sufficiently and demonstrate that they have those skills? The research undertaken by Jason and colleagues explored this question and uncovered why words and terminology may matter more than we think.
The approach
Researchers took a two-stage approach:
- Stage 1: A diverse sample of graduate-level job descriptions across sciences, creative arts, business and engineering were analysed using generative artificial intelligence (AI), comparing explicit job descriptors (such as ‘communication skills’) and implicit (such as ‘working with others’), the word frequencies were then analysed and used in the design of stage two.
- Stage 2: A student survey that collected information on student background (the context for which they were preparing for employment), identification of their own skillsets, and the ability to identify what employers were seeking and how they would demonstrate that they are a good match for the role.
The report includes examples of the AI-generated job descriptions for both explicit and implicit descriptors.
The findings
The research produced both quantitative and qualitative results, as a result of the mixed-methods approach.
The report discusses the profile of respondents, as well as limitations to the datasets such as disparity in respondent numbers by background. Key trends were highlighted:
- Students generally know what employers expect and feel confident about core skills like teamwork, adaptability, and communication, showing a good match in vocabulary used by the employers and students
- Explicit phrasing in adverts resulted in clearer understanding, whilst implicit phrasing “resulted in disparities and differences in understanding that may discriminate against some groups” including some neurodiverse populations
- When job adverts use implicit language or sector-specific jargon, students struggle to interpret what’s required, meaning that if graduates don’t use the “right” language, they risk being overlooked for roles
What does this mean?
Graduates and employers ‘speaking the same language’ can create barriers. Employers risk excluding candidates because of unclear wording, for example neurodiverse students, which raises potential equality concerns. Universities also have a duty to prepare graduates for a world where language is an important skill, “it is apparent that employability practitioners in career services or academics play a very important role. They are at the pinch-point of a communication funnel between students and employers. They need to present and articulate to students the breadth of what employers may expect, while still keeping to generalised and manageable (teachable) categorisation principles”
Researchers make recommendations for further longitudinal research as well as some practical steps that could be taken as a result of the findings of this report, including:
- Placements, employer-led projects, and mentoring to bring employers ‘into the classroom’ and help provide real context for students
- Employers to check tone and clarity of adverts
- University frameworks having subject-level examples so students know how to demonstrate the requirements
What’s next?
The groundbreaking study has been featured in Medr News, Nation Cymru, Advance HE News & Wales Online. Jason was invited to disseminate the findings at Medr’s NUS Learner Voice Forum in December, and work is underway to build on the current momentum 👏 Watch this space and read the report here.