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What do employers want?Employers ask for evidence that you have: - motivation for the role;
- the ability to adapt to and share the organisation’s vision and ethos;
- relevant skills and competencies.
Many roles are open to graduates of any discipline as employers are often interested in your potential rather than your existing knowledge. Even for those jobs that require specific technical or scientific expertise, the successful candidate will be the one who demonstrates motivation and the personal and transferable skills needed to succeed. The application procedures of many major graduate employers have become explicitly focused on motivation, organisational fit, and competency. It is not uncommon to find that a personality profile is a part of the initial application process and to be asked to provide very detailed examples of competencies such as ‘teamwork’ or ‘problem solving’ on the application forms. back to top When do employers recruit?For information about the graduate recruitment cycle in the UK see - when do employers recruit? back to top Transferable skills The competencies or transferable skills that are particularly popular with graduate recruiters include: - gracommunication - ability to communicate orally, in writing, or via electronic means, in a manner appropriate to the audience;
- teamwork - being constructive and willing to take on less attractive tasks, contributing practically to the team’s success;
- leadership - being able to motivate and encourage others, whilst taking the lead;
- initiative - ability to see opportunities, to set and achieve goals and act independently;
- problem solving - thinking things through in a logical way in order to determine key issues, often also including creative thinking;
- flexibility/adaptability - ability to handle change and adapt to new situations;
- self-awareness - knowing your strengths and skills and having the confidence to put these across;
- commitment/motivation - having energy and enthusiasm in pursuing projects;
- interpersonal skills - ability to relate well to others and to establish good working relationships;
- numeracy - competence and understanding of numerical data, statistics and graphs;
- IT knowledge - a basic understanding of common office equipment and programs and the ability not to be daunted by a change in the technology.
In addition, private sector employers like applicants to have some commercial awareness and knowledge of the business world and its relevancy to their organisation. You should therefore research the companies you apply to. Knowledge of their competitors can also provide you with a deeper level of understanding. It is not enough to mention that you are a good communicator, or a team player, on your CV - you need to qualify it with a description of relevant experience. For further information on competencies, refer to What Do Graduates Do?. Employers often have set criteria when selecting applicants. These may be laid out clearly in the person specification or be identifiable from the job description, advertisement or the organisation’s web pages. Alternatively, if there is little information about the role, you could draw up your own list of the competencies likely to be required. The job profiles in explore types of jobs, have useful sections on the skills and qualities usually needed for entry into particular careers. back to top Relating skills to opportunitiesHow do you know what skills to highlight when compiling a CV, covering letter or application? You should focus on presenting evidence of the skills and qualities that the employer is seeking, including your academic projects and achievements and also responsibilities you have held during work experience or voluntary activities, involvement in societies, or management of sporting activities. Recruiters want to see skills and qualities that match their selection criteria. When examining your past involvements more closely, consider: - What exactly have you done?
- What were you responsible for?
- What were the outcomes?
- How did you achieve success?
- Is there evidence of ‘how’ you have demonstrated relevant skills?
Although it is important to be concise, it is not enough just to list your skills. Where is the evidence? Employers cannot simply take your word for it. Thinking about how to express the evidence for your experience can also be a challenge. Focus on active verbs. Go to power words for descriptors of responsibilities and language suggestions that may help. - Consider how your motivation, personal qualities and aspirations reflect the ethos of the recruiting organisation and the post you are applying for.
- Understand the skills and competencies required for the role. This will be transparent where a job specification is made available. It may be more difficult when there is only an advertisement to go on, as is more commonly the case with small to medium sized employers.
- Decide on the best way to sell your skills. Which CV format will you use? What should you to put in your covering letter?
back to top Analysing job advertsThe following two advertisements are typical of the opportunities you’ll see advertised in graduate directories. Imagine this is the only information you have on which to base your CV application. See beneath each vacancy how they can be analysed in terms of skills, attributes and qualities. back to top Game for a Laugh is a top ranking sports gaming company and we are looking for a recent graduate to join us as our MARKETING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR. You will work alongside both the Marketing and Promotions team helping to organise various kinds of hospitality and events in the sporting world, including football, rugby, golf, cricket, ice hockey and racing. You will also be the first point of contact for clients, event management/ticket companies and venues. Other duties include new business activity, helping to research, prepare and write presentations, maintaining databases, generating target email lists and involvement with a variety of campaigns. We are looking for a graduate who ideally has some marketing, organisational or business development experience. An interest in sports is a must! You must be articulate and have excellent writing skills and an eye for detail, along with good MS Office skills to produce high quality work. You will enjoy responsibility and work well as part of a team. You will be a hard worker with a professional approach but will also have a sense of humour and know how to have fun. Send your CV and covering letter quoting ref VB7A 09 to Claire Jones. Analysing the advertisement: - Organisational ethos: they stress being professional but fun loving.
- Skills/qualities required: being articulate, with excellent writing skills and an eye for detail, MS Office skills and enthusiasm for sport.
- Skills desired: some marketing, organisational or business development experience.
- How might those be expressed? Your CV will need to be immaculate to give evidence of ‘high quality work’.
A traditional CV will be useful if your experience is an obvious match. If this is not the case, you can try a skills-based CV - look at sample CVs for examples. The ad refers to having an interest in sports generally. You can list the sports that you participate in on your CV, but you could also use your covering letter to give more detail about sports you follow. It would also be useful to discuss any roles or responsibilities you have held that demonstrate promotional or organisational skills, especially if you have had to ensure customer satisfaction. back to top Whittear Travel ConsultancyOne of the UK’s leading specialists in tailor-made tours and cultural holidays to North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, is looking for a recent graduate to train as a Travel Consultant. We are committed to providing the best service to our clients while supplying a unique holiday adventure to suit their individual needs. We believe you will thrive with our 10-month training plan which will give you the opportunity to experience all aspects of our business. Responsibilities will include dealing with client enquiries; selling worldwide tailor-made holidays and creating itineraries; booking tours and reserving flights through suppliers; preparing client travel documentation; managing bookings and general customer service. Candidates must have a relevant degree (2:2 or higher); good administrative skills; experience of travellers’ needs; excellent customer service skills; sales knowledge and preferably language skills. To apply, send us your CV, or upload it directly to our website. Analysing the advertisement: - Organisational ethos: interested in delivering a great experience to customers. They see the client as an individual and offer them a unique experience.
- Skills required: a 2:2 or better in a relevant subject as well as administrative skills and customer service experience.
- Skills desired: languages.
- How might these be expressed? This vacancy focuses very much on the candidate’s qualifications and experience. Therefore you may find a chronological CV to be the most effective. You may wish to highlight all relevant experience in your covering letter. (Check if there is a facility to include your covering letter if uploading your CV.)
back to top PhD vacancy exampleThe vacancy below is one for which a PhD student might apply. Lecturer/Post Doctoral Research Associate - University Research Dept of Psychology Applications are invited for the post of Post Doctoral Research Associate in the Research Department of Psychology. The position is full-time for 3 years, working on a Research Grant: 'Affective Processing in Childhood’ held by Dr David Leaman. The post holder will be responsible for conducting research in the cognitive neuroscience of affective processing in children. This role will entail development of experimental paradigms, subject recruitment, testing child participants and data analysis. The ideal candidate will have a PhD in Psychology, including excellent experimental and data analysis skills. The role will also include preparing and delivering lectures and hosting open days, so proven teaching experience is required. Interested candidates should send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and the names of at least three academic referees to the department before the end of the month. We anticipate many responses and intend only to contact applicants we wish to call for interview. If you do not hear from us, please assume that your application has not been successful in this instance. Analysing the advertisement The skill set required is academic and specific. It is not a role open to postgraduates in general. Transferable and soft skills will be helpful but not as important as specific qualifications. The department expects applicants to be familiar with the research and the grant holder, so if you are not, you would need to do some research yourself. Go to sample academic CV to see how this vacancy might be addressed.
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