The Top Ten Skills Graduate Recruiters Want

The top ten skills graduate recruiters want
1. Commercial awareness (or business acumen):
This is about knowing how a business or industry works and what makes a company tick.
Showing that you have an understanding of what the organisation wants to achieve
through its products and services, and how it competes in its marketplace.
Generally speaking, employers will expect at least the following:
• An understanding of their business. amiliarity with the end product, and a grasp
of the activities of the organisation and the role applied for.
!An understanding of the marketplace. "a#or competitors and how they di$er from
each other.
2. Communication:
This covers verbal and written communication, and listening. %t&s about being clear,
concise and focused' being able to tailor your message for the audience and listening
to the views of others.
Communication skills examples
(our ability to communicate well will be one of the most noticeable things about you
during the application process. This is why getting it right is so important. or example:
• (our application needs to be well written, easy to understand and tailored to the
recruiter in )uestion. "ake sure you proofread properly too' *"uphry+s law+ states
that spelling or grammar mistakes will happen #ust when you are explaining how
great you are at spelling and grammar.
!At interviews you should be con,dent, smile and make eye contact. Shake
hands and remember names -there are techni)ues for this.. /emember that a lot
of communication is non0verbal 1 this is one of the reasons why most application
process involves face0to0face interviews at some point or other.
!%f other tasks are involved, like presentations, or group activities, be aware that
your communication skills may still be under assessment. Think about who your
audience is and how you will be interacting with them. Ask relevant )uestions and
give honest responses.
3. Teamwork: (ou&ll need to prove that you&re a team player but also have the ability to
manage and delegate to others and take on responsibility. %t&s about building positive
working relationships that help everyone to achieve goals and business ob#ectives.
Teamwork skills examples
2hen you+re explaining your teamwork skills on a graduate #ob application form or
at interview, you will need to emphasise how your personal contribution allowed
the team to reach its full potential. The best way to show o$ any skill is to explain
how you used it to get results. 3owever, with teamwork you will have to show how
you achieved a group result.
%f your team managed to bring in a troublesome pro#ect ahead of schedule and under
budget because of something you did, this would be an excellent example. Similarly, if
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you were able to outperform rival teams, or win a competition because of your actions,
this would be a great example.
How do phrase it on a graduate C!"
#o sa$: *% helped my team to beat competing groups by encouraging a group
atmosphere and supporting colleagues.+ 2hat you need to do is explain why your team
was successful, and how your own personal contributions positively a$ected that
outcome
%. &egotiation and persuasion:
This is about being able to put forward your way, but also being able to understand
where the other person is coming from so that you can both get what you want or need
and feel positive about it.
'. (roblem sol)ing: (ou need to display an ability to take a logical and analytical
approach to solving problems and resolving issues. %t&s also good to show that you can
approach problems from di$erent angles.
(roblem sol)ing examples
2hether you are putting together an application, or preparing for an interview, having
examples of problem solving experience is a good idea. (ou will need to explain how you
identi,ed the problem, came up with a solution and implemented it. 7uanti,able results
are good, and obviously the more complex the situation, the more impressive a
successful result is.
%f you were forced to tackle the problem as part of a team, explain how your role was
important in ensuring the positive solution, but also explain how your group worked
together. This could be an opportunity to promote your teamwork skills as well.
%f you+re set a problem as part of the graduate recruitment process, you could try using
the %89A: model, described by ;ransford and Stein in their book %deal 6roblem Solver. %t
breaks down what you need to do to solve a problem into stages:
!%dentify the issue
!8e,ne the obstacles
!9xamine your options
!Act on an agreed course of action
!:ook at how it turns out, and whether any changes need to be made.
How do phrase it on a *ob application"
#o sa$: *% had to ,nd a solution to complex obstacle <. ;y carefully allocating resources
( and using innovative ideas = % was able to overcome it.+ 1 >se actual examples. 9xplain
the problem, say what your resources were and what ideas you came up. ?onsider using
the STA/ model. Think about the Situation you faced and the Task you had to complete,
the Actions you took, and the /esults you achieved.
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+. ,eadership: (ou may not be a manager straight away, but graduates need to show
potential to motivate teams and other colleagues that may work for them. %t&s about
assigning and delegating tasks well, setting deadlines and leading by good example.
The skills in)ol)ed here include:
!delegation
!talent management
!emotional intelligence
Team leadership skills examples
(ou need to prove that you have leadership skills, which can be complex. (ou will need
an example of a time when your personal involvement has directly a$ected the way a
group of people have worked, and positively inAuenced the outcome. Simply being the
person in charge of a group of people is not enough, you need evidence that your
presence had an impact.
3owever, you should make sure you answer the competency in )uestion. This is
important because leadership is so similar to teamwork. or a teamwork competency you
would use terms like *encouraged+ and *supported+. 3owever, for a leadership
competency you should use more authoritative terms like *delegated+ and *directed+.
3ow do % phrase it on a #ob applicationB
#o sa$: *% was responsible for a team that was set a speci,c target. ;y giving certain
team members particular roles and enabling them to reach their full potential we were
able to achieve that target successfully.+ 1 9mphasising your role within the team is
important.
-. .rganisation: This is about showing that you can prioritise, work eCciently and
productively, and manage your time well. %t&s also good to be able to show employers
how you decide what is important to focus on and get done, and how you go about
meeting deadlines.
(ou will need to work to several di$erent deadlines, as well as accommodating other
work that you may receive. To manage time e$ectively you need to be able to prioritise
and make #udgements about what is urgent and what is important.
Time management examples
Time management is tested throughout the recruitment process. or example, no0one is
expecting you to get an application in within the ,rst twelve hours that a position is
advertised. That would suggest that you haven+t taken the time to reAect on and tailor
your application. Dn the other hand, getting it in an hour before the deadline won+t do
you any favours either.
Similarly, if you+re invited to an interview or an assessment day, being there on time is
an absolute must. (our application may not be re#ected out of hand if you are late, but it
will be a de,nite mark against you unless you have mitigating circumstances.
6erhaps one of the most common ways for employers to test time management skills is
with in0tray exercises. These are a test of your reaction times, but also your ability to
hold your head under pressure and plan e$ectively. %t is important that you start these
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exercises by ,guring out what all the tasks are and when they are needed by. ;y putting
together a list of priorities you will be able to demonstrate to assessors that even if you
don+t ,nish all the tasks, you have an e$ective plan in place.
Dther tasks which may test your time management skills include giving presentations
and team exercises. %n team exercises there may be an appointed timekeeper, but if
there isn&t you might win bonus points for volunteering. 6sychometric tests may also
analyse this skill, forcing you to allocate time to answering )uestions or checking
answers.
How do phrase it on a *ob application"
#o sa$: *% was managing several di$erent pro#ects at the same time. % was working to
di$erent deadlines so % had to divide my time and resources appropriately. % was able to
get all of the pro#ects in on time and was immediately given more+ 1 An explanation of
the complexity of the situation, along with your response, is what recruiters are looking
for here.
/. (erse)erance and moti)ation: 9mployers want people to have a bit of get0up0and0
go. 2orking life presents many challenges and you need to show employers that you&re
the kind of person who will ,nd a way through, even when the going gets tough... and
stay cheerful0ish.
0. 1bilit$ to work under pressure: This is about keeping calm in a crisis and not
becoming too overwhelmed or stressed.
12. Con3dence: %n the workplace you need to strike the balance of being con,dent in
yourself but not arrogant, but also have con,dence in your colleagues and the company
you work for.
4mplo$er bu55words and words o6 action
There are certain words which are key to catching an employer&s interest. "ention them
in your ?F and at interviews and see how impressed they are with your business0speak
-but don&t go overboard or you&ll sound daft..
• initiative
• dynamic
• team player
• proactive
• self0motivated
(ou can also talk in terms of actions that you achieve through your skills by using good,
strong verbs in applications and interviews:
• led
• achieved
• completed
• co0ordinated
• delegated
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• delivered
• identi,ed
• presented
• promoted
• reported
• resolved
• organised
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