What Employers Look for When Hiring

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work and the skill sets that employers seek from their workforce.

Employers around the world have had to rethink the nature of work this year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a new graduate, you must understand what these changes mean as you look to launch your career and adopt the relevant skill sets in order to improve your level of employability.

Most notably, remote working has now become the new norm. Meetings and presentations have now been almost entirely moved online, and the flow of work has changed such that new tasks can come in at any time instead of just within the traditional nine-to-five office hour periods. In addition, many companies still do not yet have a clear forecast about how things will develop from here, and are really only just experimenting as they go along.

As a graduate employee, this means that you will need to actively cultivate a more agile and nimble mindset in order to get through the uncertainty ahead. You will also have to focus on applying communication, teamwork, and presentation skills specifically across online mediums. Not to mention building digital fluency given how many aspects of business have now been shifted online and are likely to remain so in the future ahead.

With that said, there are still a few more things you should take note of as well. They are:

Skills

1. Be an agile and nimble thinker

Ability to deal with complex issues Possess critical thinking skills Have an open mind when it comes to how different cultures, personalities and experiences result in different thought processes and opinions in others Have emotional intelligence for people management

2. Possess global skills

Have cultural awareness Understand international business Armed with linguistic knowledge, complete with a wide-ranging lexicon and knowledge of language structure Adaptable and able to work overseas Ability to connect with and manage work relationships with diverse colleagues of different backgrounds

3. Have powerful digital skills and knowledge

Be social media-savvy Understand the fundamentals of data analytics Know the different software and systems Have the basic knowledge of coding programming and development Understand digital design, management and analysis

Work Values

1. Strong work ethics

Willing to work hard and work smart Strive to find solutions and ways to work effectively Have a positive work attitude Show initiative by helping out colleagues or by doing more than expected

3. Self-motivated

Understand and deliver the tasks in a professional manner Do not require prodding by supervisors Ability to keep deadlines

4. Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Have relationship-building and teamworking skills Communicate ideas well during brainstorming sessions Ability to collaborate with others Have networking skills Ability to communicate effectively with people of different cultures and backgrounds

2. Adaptability

Able to adapt to the personality and work habits of colleagues and managers Accepting of new challenges, ideas and improvements to make the workplace a better place to work at Avoid complaining at the first sight of changes or challenges

4. Professionalism

Produce professional work that is done to the best of his or her ability Adopt a professional look and image by dressing well and taking pride in his or her appearance Treat others with respect and kindness, regardless of any personal issues