Employers value workplace skills, real-world experience, and strong communication abilities over academic results alone. Though your degree shows you can learn theory, hiring managers want proof of your practical skills and adaptability to unexpected challenges. And the truth is, graduate employability hinges on demonstrating these practical abilities throughout the recruitment process.
That gap between what students expect and what gets them hired is surprisingly wide. Many graduates assume a good degree classification guarantees job offers. However, what employers search for is whether you possess transferable skills.
This article breaks down the specific abilities employers prioritise, when to start developing them, and the character traits that separate hired candidates from rejected ones.
Let’s start with why your degree alone won’t cut it.
Why Graduate Employability Depends on More Than Your Degree
Employers hire graduates based on workplace readiness, communication skills, and proven experience, not just academic performance. And according to NACE, there is a significant gap between what students think employers want and what they prioritise.
Here’s what separates hired candidates from rejected ones.
Practical Abilities Trump Classification Grades
Employers scan CVs for practical abilities, not just your degree classification. Your 2:1 proves you understand concepts, which is a good start. But hiring managers need evidence that you can manage workplace relationships or handle conflicts during your first week.
Work Experience Proves Reliability and Competence
Work experience demonstrates reliability and your ability to handle real workplace responsibilities. On the other side, part-time jobs, volunteering, or internships show you meet deadlines without supervision.
These experiences are exactly what employers need to see when making hiring decisions.
Interview Communication Reveals True Potential
How you communicate during interviews shows employers your true potential immediately. This includes explaining your thought process clearly and reading social cues throughout the conversation.
The way you carry yourself also counts. Your body language and enthusiasm signal confidence that transcripts cannot demonstrate.
But what specific skills do employers look for once you’re past the application stage?
The Skills Required in Today’s Workplace
Now that you know employers look beyond grades, understanding which skills they value helps you focus development efforts. Data from Cengage’s 2025 employability report shows teamwork, adaptability, and time management consistently rank among the top requirements. Here’s what each looks like in practice.
- Teamwork and Collaboration: Collaborating with different personalities while contributing ideas without dominating meetings makes you a valuable team member (because nobody wants to work with someone who bulldozes every conversation). This means listening, compromising, and building on others’ suggestions.
- Adaptability in Changing Environments: Adaptability shows up when managers introduce new software mid-project or when clients change requirements unexpectedly. Your response in these moments determines your worth hiring.
- Time Management Under Pressure: You’ll juggle multiple projects with overlapping deadlines during your first months. The solution is communicating early when timelines look tight, which prevents crises and proves you work independently.
These soft skills provide the foundation, but critical thinking takes your capabilities to another level.
How Critical Thinking Separates Good Candidates from Great Ones
Critical thinking separates candidates because employers value those who solve problems independently rather than wait for instructions. What does this mean exactly? Well, it’s about analysing situations and proposing solutions without needing constant guidance.
When you spot inefficiencies before they escalate, you’re saving companies time and resources. And this skill shows up during training, too. Critical thinkers ask better questions, which helps them understand systems faster and contribute fresh perspectives.
While it’s true that employers notice graduates who evaluate information carefully because these candidates reduce costly mistakes. But developing these abilities requires more than classroom learning alone.
Career Readiness Starts Before You Leave Higher Education
Your fellow graduates who secured job offers before you had started preparing during university, not afterwards. How do they do this, you ask? They spent their student years building professional habits, which is how they got a head start over those who delay until after courses end.
So here’s how to get a headstart.
University Societies Build Interpersonal Skills
Joining debate clubs, sports teams, or student councils develops leadership and collaboration skills in ways lectures cannot. These activities also teach you how to manage group dynamics, resolve conflicts, and motivate peers toward shared goals.
Career Fairs Connect You with Industry
Career fairs help you understand what employers expect and build connections before you graduate. Through working with hundreds of graduates over the years, we’ve noticed that those who attended these events regularly developed stronger industry relationships that led to job offers.
Feedback During Placements Shows Growth Mindset
Seeking regular feedback during internships shows self-awareness and a genuine interest in improving.
One graduate asked for weekly check-ins during her placement and documented every suggestion she received. This gave her concrete examples of professional growth to discuss in interviews, which impressed hiring managers beyond what her grades could demonstrate.
These career development activities prepare you for workplace expectations before graduation day arrives.
What Young People Need Beyond Further Education Qualifications
Believe it or not, 73% of employers report hiring graduates who struggle with workplace dynamics despite excellent qualifications. Let’s be honest, young people need emotional intelligence, professional maturity, and self-motivation to succeed beyond their academic credentials.
Emotional intelligence means you can read social cues and respond to feedback without becoming defensive. Professional maturity shows up in small details too (and yes, this includes the unglamorous bits like admin tasks).
Plus, when you meet commitments without reminders, employers see someone they can trust with responsibility. Self-motivation becomes vital once you leave structured courses because you’ll have to solve problems proactively instead of waiting for instructions.
These qualities separate graduates who thrive from those who struggle early on.
Building Career Development Through Real-World Experience
Real-world experience gives you stories to tell in interviews and proves you understand how workplaces function. “Our analysis shows candidates who volunteered while studying performed notably better in interviews than those without community involvement.
Here’s how different experiences build your professional profile.
- Internships: You’ll learn office culture, industry standards, and professional communication expectations during internships that courses cannot teach. The good news is that most universities offer career services to connect students with relevant placements.
- Volunteering: Organising charity events develops project management abilities, while mentoring students strengthens leadership and communication. For example, one graduate secured her role after discussing how volunteer coordination taught her to manage budgets and collaborate with stakeholders.
- Part-Time Work: Retail and hospitality roles hone problem-solving skills and enhance the ability to handle difficult conversations with poise. When describing these jobs in interviews, highlight specific achievements like conflict resolution or training new team members.
Beyond these practical experiences, employers also closely assess your personal qualities.
The Character Traits Employers Look For
Employers look for resilience, curiosity, and accountability because these traits determine long-term success more than technical knowledge. So let’s explore what each means in practice.
Resilience Helps You Bounce Back from Setbacks
You demonstrate resilience when you accept constructive criticism and stay focused after projects fail. But here’s the thing: discussing how you overcame challenges proves strength, not weakness.
In interviews, share specific examples of learning from mistakes, like how you improved after receiving critical feedback on a group project or adapted your approach after missing a deadline.
Curiosity Drives Continuous Learning
Thoughtful questions about processes and staying updated on industry trends show professional curiosity (not the kind that makes you ask 47 questions in your first hour, though). This trait keeps you engaged beyond assigned tasks.
Accountability Builds Trust with Employers
When you own mistakes and take responsibility for team contributions, you build trust faster than any qualification. Errors happen to everyone, so explain what you learned and how you’ll prevent them next time.
These character traits connect to achieving financial stability throughout your career.
Ready to Show Employers What You’re Made Of?
Landing your first graduate role requires more than academic excellence. Employers screen hundreds of applications from qualified candidates every day.
Standing out means combining your education with workplace skills, real experience, and the character traits hiring managers seek. That’s where preparation during university becomes invaluable.
We’ve covered the abilities employers prioritise beyond grades and explored how critical thinking separates strong candidates from average ones. Building these qualities during your studies creates a genuine competitive advantage when you start applying for roles.
Now it’s time to take action on what you’ve learned. At Juergens Meyer, our team will guide you through every step you need to develop the career readiness skills employers value, helping you move from graduate to employed professional.
