Get the lowdown: what are employers looking for?
Each year, graduate recruiters employ hundreds of fresh, eager and skilled graduates. Finding the right graduate for the right placement often requires a fairly rigorous process of testing and interviews to assess the suitability of the graduate and his or her skills set to the requirements of the position.
Obviously, employers target candidates with particular skills and attributes for particular roles. Certain jobs will require a set of very specific skills and attributes, while others may require more general skills that are likely to be desired by the majority of employers.
Graduate skills, skills assessment, and employer satisfaction with graduates have been the subject of
considerable attention in recent years.
Why employ graduates?
Skills employers seek in graduates
Where do graduates fall short?
A key difference between successful and unsuccessful candidates
Skills for the future
Why employ graduates?
There are many reasons a company would benefit from recruiting from Australia’s pool of innovative and highly skilled graduates. Some of the reasons of greatest importance to employers themselves are, to:
- provide an adequate pool of potential future middle and senior managers
- satisfy the need for trained and highly educated people in areas of the business/company that require professional and highly skilled staff
- introduce new and fresh ideas, knowledge and techniques to the workplace.
Skills employers seek in graduates
Research shows that employers of graduates look for a number of general skills and attributes that are important in almost all workplaces. In particular, employers may be looking for graduates who display:
- academic achievement in a relevant discipline
- literacy, numeracy and basic computer skills
- time management and problem-solving skills
- oral and written communication skills
- interpersonal skills and teamwork skills
- understanding of business processes.
The Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) Employer survey 2008 found that employers were most satisfied with their applicants' analytical skills (35%), IT skills (35%), work experience (18%) and written communication (14%).
The AAGE Candidate survey 2008 found that:
- nearly half of all successful candidates had undertaken voluntary or charity work while at university.
- just over two-fifths had completed a vacation program, clerkship or internship with an organisation.
- one-third had gained some form of work experience which was directly relevant to their new employer while continuing with their studies.
Where do graduates fall short?
Many employers identify the following areas of skill deficiency among new graduates:
- creativity and flair
- oral business communications
- problem-solving ability.
Interestingly, these are the three attributes that employers tend to value most highly in their new graduates.
A key difference between successful and unsuccessful candidates
Unsuccessful graduate applicants are much more likely than successful graduate applicants to lack the capacity for, or at least not adequately demonstrate, independent and critical thinking. This attribute is of great importance to many employers and appears to be the skill that most sets apart successful from unsuccessful job applicants.
Skills for the future
The outlook for Australian business is that it will be increasingly international in operations and focus. The workforces across many industries are also expected to change rapidly in response to changes in social and environmental conditions, and technological change, as well as in response to factors such as skills shortages.
Increasingly, then, employers are likely to seek and be impressed with graduates, and employees generally, who demonstrate flexibility and adaptability, showing that they will be able to cope with these future changes.
New graduates will also benefit from continuous learning, and the development and updating of skills and knowledge throughout their careers.
Sources:
AAGE Employer survey 2008
AAGE Candidate survey 2008
Department of Education, Science and Training, Graduate skills assessment, 2002.
Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Employer satisfaction with graduate skills, 2000.