Dive Brief:
- Hiring managers want recent graduates to have a strong work ethic and good communication skills, according to new research from Adzuna.
- In addition, employers say they're looking for candidates with real-world experience, problem-solving skills, leadership abilities, creativity, strong public speaking skills, and ethical standards. Adzuna has recommended that job candidates tailor their resumes accordingly.
- The group's research also found that California employers posted the most vacancies for new grads, followed by Texas and then New York.
Dive Insight:
The findings agree with what employers have been saying in recent months: in a tight labor market, soft skills can be more important than technical skills. After all, employers say they can train workers on job duties easier than they can train them on ethical standards.
Soft skills have, however, also been identified as a top training priority. In fact, the trend to train for them is becoming so popular that Barack Obama’s foundation recently announced it will focus on soft skills training for high school students in the former president’s ward in Chicago to ready them for jobs of the future.
Some have noted that younger generations don't possess these skills in numbers as great as previous generations. And experts say that in the age of automation, where technical skills eventually expire, a workforce with strong soft skills will be in a good position to adapt.
