The Top 5 Skills Graduate Employers Look For

Being in your final year of uni can be a lot. You don’t always know what’s going to happen next. However, something that can be in your control is knowing how to position yourself to employers. That means having skills. And lots of them. 

If you have started thinking about doing a graduate scheme or graduate job, these are the skills you NEEEED to have.

Read on to find out more and how you can show those skills off in an application: 

• The top 5 skills you need
• How to show off your skills in an application 

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The top 5 skills you need

1. Adaptability 

With the way the world is evolving, adapting quickly is essential. This will also help with many other skills, like problem-solving and communication. 

If you have creative hobbies like crochet, acting or sports hobbies, you’ll have plenty of adaptability. Think of all the times your projects didn’t go to plan and what you did to reach your goal. 

2. Attention to detail. 

Not only will this help reduce errors in your work, but it will also improve the quality of the work.

Let’s look at the thousands of essays you’ve written. Did you proofread it? Edit them? Fact-checked? That’s attention to detail in plain sight.

3. Critical thinking. 

This will make your decision-making ability perfect, you’ll be able to foster creativity and communicate effectively.

If you’ve ever done anything that has an impact, think submitting a big assignment or deciding how a team should proceed in a project, etc – you’ve already used critical thinking in bucketloads. 

These moments challenge you to look at situations with an eagle eye and make smart choices.

4. Perseverance. 

Being able to overcome every obstacle in your way is amazing. This highlights a growth mindset which is essential for achieving success. 

If you’ve ever done a group project where one person did nothing or suddenly had a tight deadline dropped on you. These situations are 1000% times where you need to persevere, so show it off. 

5. Time management. 

PRODUCTIVITY! Not just at work, but that all-important work-life balance. This is needed in every aspect of life. So. You for sure have loads of time management experience.

Ever worked towards a deadline? Ever had to complete something promptly? Boom, that’s time management. 

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These skills are a GAME CHANGER and will make you stand out from the crowd. If you’re looking for more soft skills to add to your application, read this:

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How to show off your skills during the application process

CVs

Don’t just say ‘developed time management’; you need to say HOW you developed it. Let’s look at a couple of examples you can try using:

• Handled three major projects at the same time while balancing other responsibilities.
• Overcame budget challenges by prioritising immediate needs and finding new sources of income.

Interviews

This is where you can actually speak about all the great things you’ve done and expand on those skills.

• In response to questions like, ‘Tell us about a time when you have X’ use this to your advantage, you can draw upon more than just one skill, make sure you’re telling the how not just describing what happened.
• Questions like ‘why do you want to work for us?’ are great because you get to show how your skills align with the job description. If there’s a task in the job description that you’re really excited about and have already done, give an example. You can also use their values to align with your own experiences. 

Assessment Centres

There are so many different parts of an assessment centre, which means so many different ways you can show off your skills 😉. 

• Group exercises. Be the first to start the convo, share your ideas and open up the space for others. Be enthusiastic and ensure everyone is aware of how much time you have. 
• Role plays. Put any shame or embarrassment you may have, and show off your acting skills with confidence. If you’re speaking to someone, make sure you acknowledge what they say and use it in your answer.
• Presentations – Try to make your presentation in the company’s branding and acknowledge problems that could arise in your topic and have solutions for them. 

Want to know what employers are looking for? Hear from the experts themselves:

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The grad job market is hard, but now that you know how to highlight those all-important skills, you’ll be in a much better position to snap up the grad role you want. 

Skills are everything, and even if you feel like you don’t have the experience, you probably already have so many of the skills mentioned above and more. 

You’ve got this. Good luck!