As a recent graduate, you are probably more aware than anybody else that grades don’t always reflect how much you learned in school or what you can accomplish in the workplace. So what qualities do companies seek in recent graduates? The company sees the knowledge, skills, and aptitudes you’ll apply at work.
Top 6 Skills Employers are Looking for in New Grads
The following qualities were rated as very or extremely significant by the majority of companies for the 2022–2023 recruiting year:
- Problem-solving skills (61.4%):
Employers seek employees who can recognize problems and propose solutions. Regardless of your major, you probably had to examine various parts of a problem or topic, choose potential solutions or conclusions, put one of these solutions into practice, and support your choices with evidence. These are all crucial steps in the problem-solving process.
- Ability to work in a team (61%):
Those collective endeavors served a purpose. Team sports and other cooperative extracurricular activities are additional ways to show off your interpersonal skills.
- Strong work ethic (52.4%):
You recently graduated from college, and on top of that, you may have managed side jobs and/or extracurricular activities. So you know how to put effort and complete tasks.
- Analytical/quantitative skills (50.4%):
These are the abilities that support your ability to gather, assess, and synthesize data to reach conclusions or address issues. For instance, you could have had to identify the appropriate sources and include them in a research project or article in college if you had to evaluate data for business or science classes.
- Communication skills (50%):
Any manner you might give or receive information from others is included in communication abilities. For example, you contributed to class discussions, created presentations, wrote emails, and turned in written tasks like papers and lab reports while in college.
- Technical skills (50%):
The ability to use particular technological tools, procedures, or strategies is called technical skills. Technical skills include coding in Javascript, creating calculations in Excel, or optimizing conversion rates for marketing campaigns. As a recent college graduate, you already possess some of these skills and can pick them up more easily.
