What employers look for

You're about to complete your degree and you're starting to look for work. What do employers expect from employees in today's workplace? What skills, attributes, qualifications and experiences do employers look for in graduates? What will employers want from you?

To differentiate between applicants, employers identify the core skills or competencies a person must have to fulfil the role. These usually include:

qualifications and experience
technical skills
generic skills
personal attributes

Qualifications and experience

Academic results

Employers want candidates who have achieved good results throughout their university course. Some will want you to have a Credit average or above and others will look for consistency of results.

Work experience

Employers want candidates who already have some work experience. They usually prefer it if you have discipline-specific experience (i.e. work experience that's relevant to your degree). However, they also value other forms of work experience as it shows that you have developed some generic skills.

Extra-curricular activities

Employers favour candidates who are involved in extra-curricular activities such as sporting clubs, student groups, community, music, drama or church groups. These activities show that you lead a balanced life and also demonstrate that you have developed some generic skills such as teamwork or leadership.

Technical skills

As a graduate, you have a unique set of skills and attributes. You will have learned a number of technical skills that are specific to the degree you've studied. For example:

• administering medication (Nursing)
• using specialist software (Design)
• using processes or strategies (Marketing)

Technical competence is obviously important to employers and is often their bottom line when selecting new graduates as employees.

Generic skills

The generic skills that employers most often look for are described below. In your application and interview, you'll need to demonstrate these skills by identifying situations when you've used them.

Communication skills

You need to show that you can listen, as well as communicate verbally and in writing. You also need to show that you can articulate your thoughts and arrange them logically for your audience to understand. Your communication skills also include the non-verbal messages you send when you are speaking or writing to other people.

Team work

In many jobs you will need to collaborate with a team of people. The team may consist of people who work in different disciplines. For instance, a product launch team might include representatives from marketing, finance, engineering and public relations divisions. If you work well as a team member, you will have a beneficial effect on the progress and success of the project.

Analytical skills

The ability to think critically and form conclusions based on information given to you, is often crucial in a job. Whether you are aware of it or not, many jobs require analytical skills, whether it's accounting, computer programming, engineering, legal work or medicine.

Problem solving skills

Problem solving skills are very important. Do you remember the famous detective Sherlock Holmes? He was a good example of a problem solver. You don't have to be a Sherlock Holmes to be considered for a job, however you do need to show that you can resolve problems that are presented to you.

Creativity

Creativity is the ability to think or express yourself in an original or unique way. Creativity allows you to think laterally and see different or better ways of doing something. This skill is extremely useful at work and while you're looking for a job.

Flexibility

Flexibility is the ability to adapt quickly to new ideas, new technologies, new methodologies and cultural change. If you're flexible, you'll easily adapt to changes in the workplace and evolve with your job and easily maintain your employability. Flexiblity, the willingness to adapt and compromise, is also an important part of successful teamwork.

Leadership

Leadership can take many different forms. Generally, leaders are people who have vision and are goal-oriented. They tend to be high achievers, take risks and motivate other people.

Cultural fit

Cultural fit is not the same as your ethnic background. It refers to the way you fit in with the work environment of a company - the way staff relate to one another and the way business is conducted.

Time management skills

Employers want employees to have good time management skills, because they work more effectively, are less stressed and distracted and they achieve more.

Personal attributes

Personal attributes are the qualities or characteristics you have as a person. These attributes can affect the way you work independently or with colleagues. Employers are interested in graduates who have helpful personal attributes like:

• motivation and initiative
• attention to detail
• honesty and integrity
• strong work ethic
• self-confidence
• friendly, outgoing personality
• tactfulness
• good manners and courtesy
• good sense of humour