Employers Describe Perfect Job Candidate
News for Media Professionals
CONTACT: Camille Luckenbaugh, ext. 111, Kevin Gray, ext. 139, 800/544-5272 or 610/868-1421
EMAIL: luckenbaugh@naceweb.org or kgray@naceweb.org
DATE: January 10, 2003
SUBJECT: Employers Describe Perfect Job Candidate
BETHLEHEM, PA—What qualities do employers want most from the college students they consider candidates for employment? Communication skills, honesty and integrity, and teamwork skills are at the top of the list, according to respondents to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Employers responding to NACE’s Job Outlook 2003 survey were asked to rate the importance of candidate qualities and skills on a five-point scale, with five being “extremely important” and one being “not important.”
Communication skills (4.7 average),
honesty/integrity (4.7),
teamwork skills (4.6),
interpersonal skills (4.5),
motivation/initiative (4.5), and
strong work ethic (4.5)
were the most desired characteristics.
“While employers rate communication skills as one of their most desired characteristics, they also report that they are the skills that are most lacking in today’s job candidates,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. “There is such a heavy emphasis on effective communication in the workplace that college students who master these skills can set themselves apart from the pack when searching for employment.”
Several employers offered practical advice to college students about how to become a “perfect job candidate,” as follows:
Research the company before the interview—“Each year, employers cite researching the organization as the single most important piece of advice they can offer candidates. There is no substitute for research, so do your homework: Research the company (and the position, if possible) before you interview. This will enable you to ask intelligent questions during the interview.”
Be open-minded—“It’s extremely important to look at all the factors connected to a job opportunity. Don’t let salary alone determine whether you take or nix a job offer; you need to consider the work involved, stability of the company, corporate culture, and work environment. These are more likely to have an impact on your long-term satisfaction and deserve to be given weight.”
Gain relevant work experience—“Employers place a lot of emphasis on candidates having relevant work experience even when they are scrambling to find qualified candidates, to say nothing about when there are more top-notch candidates to choose from. Although it’s not necessarily a requirement for many opportunities, having relevant work experience gives you a distinct advantage over inexperienced candidates. In addition, you’ll be better prepared to make a decision about the type of job and work environment that best suits you. And, there’s one other key advantage: Many employers turn first to their own interns and co-op students when they have jobs available.”
About the survey: The Job Outlook survey is a forecast of the hiring intentions of employers as they relate to new college graduates. Each year, the National Association of Colleges and Employers surveys its employer members about their hiring plans and other employment-related issues.
This year, the survey is being conducted in four parts. To date, three parts of the survey have been conducted. The first part, the Job Outlook Fall Preview, was conducted in August, and its results were released in September. This press release focuses on the results of the second part of the survey, which was conducted from mid-August through September 30, 2002. Surveys were sent to 1,339 NACE employer members; 327, or 24.4 percent, responded. By type of employer, 52 percent were service-sector employers, 36.4 percent were manufacturers, and 8.2 percent were government/nonprofit employers. (An additional 3.4 percent could not be classified by sector.)
The third part of the survey—the Job Outlook Winter Update—was conducted in November and December to update the college job market information. Its results were released in December. NACE will conduct part four of the survey to further update the college job market information in April (Job Outlook Spring Update).
About NACE: Since 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media at www.naceweb.org/press/.
CONTACT: Camille Luckenbaugh, ext. 111, Kevin Gray, ext. 139, 800/544-5272 or 610/868-1421
EMAIL: luckenbaugh@naceweb.org or kgray@naceweb.org
DATE: January 10, 2003
SUBJECT: Employers Describe Perfect Job Candidate
BETHLEHEM, PA—What qualities do employers want most from the college students they consider candidates for employment? Communication skills, honesty and integrity, and teamwork skills are at the top of the list, according to respondents to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Employers responding to NACE’s Job Outlook 2003 survey were asked to rate the importance of candidate qualities and skills on a five-point scale, with five being “extremely important” and one being “not important.”
Communication skills (4.7 average),
honesty/integrity (4.7),
teamwork skills (4.6),
interpersonal skills (4.5),
motivation/initiative (4.5), and
strong work ethic (4.5)
were the most desired characteristics.
“While employers rate communication skills as one of their most desired characteristics, they also report that they are the skills that are most lacking in today’s job candidates,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. “There is such a heavy emphasis on effective communication in the workplace that college students who master these skills can set themselves apart from the pack when searching for employment.”
Several employers offered practical advice to college students about how to become a “perfect job candidate,” as follows:
Research the company before the interview—“Each year, employers cite researching the organization as the single most important piece of advice they can offer candidates. There is no substitute for research, so do your homework: Research the company (and the position, if possible) before you interview. This will enable you to ask intelligent questions during the interview.”
Be open-minded—“It’s extremely important to look at all the factors connected to a job opportunity. Don’t let salary alone determine whether you take or nix a job offer; you need to consider the work involved, stability of the company, corporate culture, and work environment. These are more likely to have an impact on your long-term satisfaction and deserve to be given weight.”
Gain relevant work experience—“Employers place a lot of emphasis on candidates having relevant work experience even when they are scrambling to find qualified candidates, to say nothing about when there are more top-notch candidates to choose from. Although it’s not necessarily a requirement for many opportunities, having relevant work experience gives you a distinct advantage over inexperienced candidates. In addition, you’ll be better prepared to make a decision about the type of job and work environment that best suits you. And, there’s one other key advantage: Many employers turn first to their own interns and co-op students when they have jobs available.”
About the survey: The Job Outlook survey is a forecast of the hiring intentions of employers as they relate to new college graduates. Each year, the National Association of Colleges and Employers surveys its employer members about their hiring plans and other employment-related issues.
This year, the survey is being conducted in four parts. To date, three parts of the survey have been conducted. The first part, the Job Outlook Fall Preview, was conducted in August, and its results were released in September. This press release focuses on the results of the second part of the survey, which was conducted from mid-August through September 30, 2002. Surveys were sent to 1,339 NACE employer members; 327, or 24.4 percent, responded. By type of employer, 52 percent were service-sector employers, 36.4 percent were manufacturers, and 8.2 percent were government/nonprofit employers. (An additional 3.4 percent could not be classified by sector.)
The third part of the survey—the Job Outlook Winter Update—was conducted in November and December to update the college job market information. Its results were released in December. NACE will conduct part four of the survey to further update the college job market information in April (Job Outlook Spring Update).
About NACE: Since 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media at www.naceweb.org/press/.
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