Top 5 Crucial Skills Employers Look For in Graduates

Source: Corporate Staffing Survey

With thousands of graduates in the job market, employers will only look for graduates who have specific skills for the job. A research recently done by Corporate Staffing Services revealed the top skills most employers search for when hiring fresh graduates.

Top Skills Kenyan Employers Look For In Graduates

1. Leadership Experience
64.3% of the employers consider leadership experience in determining the best candidates. This is because such graduates are found to be outspoken, team players,flexible as well as those who take initiative.

Job seekers need to acquire these skills as the majority of employers are keen on leadership experience.

If you have leadership qualities, you might be just what Kenyan employers are looking for.

2. Volunteering Experience
60% of employers feel that a graduate needs to have enough volunteering experience. According to employers, those who volunteered already understand the basic employer expectation, office etiquette and behavior.

A volunteering experience can be acquired when in school or out of college. At the end of it all, you are looking to gain valuable work experience in the job market.

3. Educational Attainment
Many employers will prefer a candidate who meets the education threshold. Out of the possible 64% of employers, 53% will consider hiring a candidate who has attained the educational requirements.

This means that as a graduate, you need to posses exemplary educational certification that will make you stand out from the rest of the candidates.

4. Extracurricular Activities Experience
According to the survey, 49.4% of employers look at the involvement of the fresh graduates in extracurricular activities.

Getting involved in activities outside of your studies is great for both personal, professional as well as practical reasons.

Be it being a member of a theatre group while in school or involving yourself in community activities, an extracurricular activity is equally important.

Your ability to successfully cope with multiple obligations, is one of the key skills employers are looking for.

5. Knowledge in a foreign language
The survey further revealed that only 6% of the Kenyan employers would consider employing a fresh graduate on the basis of foreign language knowledge or fluency.

We live in an increasingly globalized world where companies are constantly expanding overseas and dealing with clients from all over the world. This is one of the reasons why an employer will most likely consider a candidate who is bilingual.

Are you a fresh graduate seeking to be employed? These skills mentioned above will make you stand out in the job market.