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. The application procedures of many major graduate employers have become explicitly focused on motivation, organisational fit, and competency.

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.

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.

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