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.
There are many reasons a company would benefit from recruiting from Australias 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
- basic computer skills
- time management skills
- oral and written communication skills
- interpersonal skills
- teamwork skills
- problem-solving skills
- understanding of business processes.
Graduate Careers Australias Graduate outlook 2006 survey revealed that graduate employers top three selection criteria used for recruiting graduates were interpersonal and communication skills (57.5 per cent), academic qualifications (35.4 per cent) and work experience (27.6 per cent)
Personal attributes
Along with the relevant qualification and professional skills and knowledge, most employers also prize a number of personal attributes in their potential graduate employees. Among those attributes commonly cited by employers are:
- enthusiasm
- motivation
- ambition
- maturity
- personal presentation, grooming and dress.
Employers also like to see potential employees express genuine interest in their specific job.
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 workforces across many industries are also expected to change rapidly in response to changes in social and environmental conditions, and technological change.
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.
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