What makes an early career candidate attractive to prospective employers?
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), there are five personal qualities that employers look for in recent college graduates. The NACE Job Outlook survey found that the number one feature is the candidate's ability to work in a team environment, followed closely by their verbal communication skills.
Another important attribute for early career candidates to possess, according to the NACE survey, is the ability to make strong decisions and creatively solve problems. Employers are looking for potential employees who are confident in their knowledge and ability to handle situations in the workplace, from every day decisions to coming up with out of the box ways to problem solve.
The ability to obtain and process information quickly and efficiently is another significant quality for any new job seeker to have. The NACE survey found that having this ability was the fourth most important trait that a prospective candidate could have. The fifth most vital quality is having the ability to plan, organize, and prioritize their work.
These personal characteristics were also found to be desired by the companies that responded to the Universum survey referenced in the article above, along with a few others. Of the businesses that responded to this survey, 13 percent named international orientation as an important quality for early career candidates to possess while 7 percent mentioned they would like a candidate who is emotionally stable.
While all of these characteristics are great to have in an ideal candidate, how do you really know what you are getting with a potential hire? Is there a way to reduce the risk of hiring an early career candidate while you and they get a feel for your open position? Of course! Mary Kraft's Temp2Hire service is the answer - let us assume the risk of your new hire while giving you a chance to ensure you have hired the right person for the job.
As an employer, are there any specific qualities you would look for in an early career candidate versus any other candidate? Do the personal attributes found in these two surveys seem accurate? Let us know!
