Getting Started

Getting Started

Graduate Skills: What Employers Want

Many graduates make the mistake of equating their 'skills' with their degree or qualifications. While what you have studied and what you can do are connected, they are not the same thing. A skill is a developed capacity, flair or aptitude; it is a combination of ‘know-how’, practice, knowledge and natural capacity.

Rather than a narrow interpretation of your skills that is based on your discipline, think in terms of 'transferable skills'. How can the knowledge and competencies you acquired at university be applied to a workplace environment? For guidance on how to identify your skills see our self-assessment section.

Skills for success

So what skills do employers seek in their graduate recruits? Although it varies considerably from industry to industry, and from job to job, there are some capabilities commonly valued by most graduate employers. Academic achievement is obviously important, but it is not everything. Core skills which employers seek include:

• Literacy and numeracy
• Time management and organisation
• Oral and written communication
• Team work
• Creative problem-solving
• Initiative and enterprise
• Critical and analytical thinking
• Ability to apply discipline knowledge and concepts
• Information gathering, evaluation and synthesis
• Emotional intelligence; interpersonal skills
• Adaptability.

Other qualities that employers watch out for when they assess candidates are:

• Balanced lifestyle and capacity to manage stress levels
• Community involvement
• Personal attributes such as ambition, self-awareness and an inquiring mind.

What they don't want...

Graduate Careers Australia's 2007 Graduate Outlook Survey asked employers to rank what they felt were the least desirable characteristics in graduate applicants. The top characteristics (from least desirable in first place) are:

1. Poor attitude/lack of work ethic/poor approach to work
2. Lack of interpersonal and communication skills (written, oral, listening); lack of leadership skills
3. Lack of drive, motivation, enthusiasm and initiative
4. Arrogance/selfishness/aggression/dominating
5. Lack of commitment/high absenteeism/lack of loyalty
6. Inflexibility/inablility to accept direction, challenges or change
7. Poor or inappropriate academic qualifications or results
8. Poor teamwork skills
9. Lack of emotional intelligence, self-awareness or self-confidence

This article is taken from the 2008 edition of Graduate Careers Australia's employer directory Graduate Opportunities .

© 2008 Graduate Careers Australia