What Employers Are Looking for in Entry-Level Professionals
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ResearchPaper_Draft.docxRunning head: Entry-Level Professionals 2
Entry-Level Professionals 2
What Employers Are Looking for in Entry-Level Professionals
Abstract
What Employers Are Looking for in Entry-Level Professionals
It is very crucial to understand what the employees are looking for when they are being evaluated, as well as hiring the entry level for human resource professionals. In this regards, it is essential to discuss the criteria which the employers use when looking and searching for the right candidates to hire for a specific position in their organization. Additionally, it is necessary to understand how the recruiters are frequently writing the job descriptions which specifies the degree of requirement for a particular job vacancy with the increase in the university placement and the rise of qualifications, and degree qualification should be used to be a significant factor in deciding whether one is fit for a particular position (Mercer.com, 2017). This study, therefore, seeks to discuss in detail the things which the employers are looking for when hiring new entry professionals.
When a candidate applies for a job, it is very overwhelming when they try to figure out the exact needs of the employers. This is because there are a variety of companies and industries which have different needs and thus their expectations from the individuals they want to hire will differ from each organization (Mercer.com, 2017). However, despite the kind of position an employer wishes to fill in an organization, there are essential skills which each candidate to prove to possess which enables them to handle their roles effectively in the organization.
The most talked about skills by the human resources personnel as well as career experts are communication skills. Communication skills entail both the verbal and non-verbal since these kinds of communication affects the recruits in every aspect of their professional lives. The human resources personnel thus asses the way the candidates communicate and the way they relate to each other. In this regards, the best way which the candidates can attain these skills is by gaining awareness of their strengths with their weaknesses. Consequently, the prospective recruits should ask for feedback and listen to individuals who possess excellent rapport.
The candidates as well can ask for training in the topics which pertains to the workplace etiquette, this way they will be able to get familiar with the organization and most importantly get to know what is required of them. Achieving this involves taking public speaking courses or rather joining the Toastmasters who have been found to be helpful in the development of oral communication skills (Burkard, Cole, Ott, & Stoflet, 2015). The candidates as well can take creative writing courses which will help them to know how to utilize written communication such as emails.
Microsoft office together with the equivalent programs which includes the G Suite and the iWork, for which has been found to be very important for workplace activities. The human resource, therefore, expects the entry-level employees to be well equipped with the knowledge on how to operate this software. The most used basic programs which the entry-level employees are expected to be able to use without any training is the Word and the PowerPoint programs and depending on some professions, the excel program.
It is worth noting that the excel program serves as more of a differentiator and thus the ability of employees to use and show the sophisticated examples of the spreadsheets created will indubitably impress the employers and will get an opportunity to work for an organization. In this regards, for those candidates who want to brush up on their Excel skills, they can take various courses online which offers tutorials and refresh their skills (Burkard, Cole, Ott, & Stoflet, 2015).
Moreover, it has been found out these days, most of the employers prefer the individuals who will be hired into their organization including the entry-level employees to possess some professional experience. These experiences can be attained from internships, volunteering and even from part-time jobs (Brown, & Lassoie, 2018). For the candidate to set oneself apart from the others, one can focus on the projects which entail getting involved in leadership programs which will enable them to gain additional skills.
The employees as well look for individuals who possess analytical skills. Even though this skill is needed for technical roles, the changing technology in which information is regarded to be of essence has led the analytical skills to be one of the most sought out skills in any organization. This is because the employees in all the departments of an organization such as the marketing and data science as well as human resource department ought to understand the data and interpret how some scenarios impact the overall functionality of the organization (Brown, & Lassoie, 2018).
Research carried out showed that the recruits who claim to be experienced in their fields of professions do not understand anything about the data analysis with terms such as conversion rates and the click-through rates which make the human resource personnel be turned off since these individuals blatantly show lack of in-depth knowledge on data analysis. In this regards, the candidates ought to do a quick Google search on analytical skills so they will have an idea on the metrics and platforms of analytics which will be very beneficial to their field of professions.
Despite possessing technical knowledge being perceived as a great achievement, the human resources as well want entry levels employees to have the ability to learn quickly. This is because, with the changing technology changes, the organization ought to remain assured that the employees can cope with such modifications and move with the speed of the technology and to always remain competent in their field (Siegel, & Sorensen, 2014).
Through a new entry employee being able to demonstrate that they can quickly adapt to the technological changes, they will stand a chance of being valued in the organization. It has been noted that with an individual’s ability to learn and adapt to the changing technology, an individual should most importantly be willing to learn and ask questions regarding the anticipated changes and the correct actions which should be taken (Siegel, & Sorensen, 2014).
Coding skills despite not being seen to be necessary for some jobs has in recent past become imperative, as it is required in many positions in an organization. The HTML and CSS coding skills are expected for the graphic designers as well as in digital marketing position. Therefore, any individual working in this department ought to have some programming skills to be able to excel in their professions. HTML coding is for most of the times will not be listed as one of the job requirements, but its possession will give one a hedge. One can attain these skills online through various companies offering the training and basics.
Another most sought skill by the employers is the ability of employees to work as a team. It can be noted that the candidates may have gotten used to being MVP while in school but at the workplace, it can be denoted to be all about being team players (Kelley, & Gaedeke, 2010). In essence, the teams and groups of workers have become common nowadays, and thus the workers need to have the ability to get along with other employees of diverse backgrounds and improve their productivity as well as support each other.
Another important skill which is desired by employers is organizational skills. In essence, most of the bright individuals in school have the abilities to utilize their organizational skills in all of what they do. In the workplace as well, as the organization skills are a must since the employees are expected to possess the organizational abilities since they are required to keep track of the organization's crucial documents and records as well as a to-do list and organize their inbox appropriately. Consequently, organizational skills involve project management which is very important for success in an organization.
In essence, one of the essential skills which an entry employee ought to have to make a good impression on employers is a positive attitude. It is worth noting that individuals who have negative attitudes are very complex to work with as well as their presence being a nuisance to the others at the workplace. On the other hand, an individual’s positive attitude veers to invite positive energies in the workplace which in turn will make the processes and the organization tasks to be completed efficiently. Coherently, it is very easy to interact as well as exchange ideas with individuals who have positive attitudes (Floyd, & Gordon, 2008).
All organizations want individuals who show the ability to complete the assigned tasks with perfection and thus target those individuals who are goal-oriented. Therefore, the graduates who understand where they are going and what they want to achieve in their lives are perceived to be attractive to the employers. It is worth noting that individuals who are goal oriented are viewed as more diverted toward their tasks and therefore have a tendency of working smarter and harder to attain the goals set. Employers, therefore, look for these individuals to improve the name as well as the performance of the company on a large scale (Ostroth, 2011).
Individuals who perform the tasks with honesty and take their work seriously as well as seek to be part of the progress and development of the organization are also considered to be pursued by the employers as they are valuable to the organization. Apparently, strong work ethics entails an individual's views about their jobs and the attitudes towards such roles. Therefore, people having strong work ethics are deemed as gems by the employers as they have a sense of understanding to their responsibilities and thus put their jobs first.
Initiative towards assigned tasks is one of the most sought out qualities for a job by the employers and thus expect the new entry-level employees to possess such qualities. Initiative entails the willingness of an individual to ensure that their work is at a point of perfection through research and development of the existing methods of carrying out such tasks. In this regards, an individual who takes such initiative is deemed to be more open to accepting the challenges and not letting any difficulties to affect their performance negatively. The employees in this regards who show effort are well suited and searched for by the employers (Ostroth, 2011).
The entry-level employees are also expected to have basic knowledge about the job in which they have applied. Having such basic knowledge will enable the employers to know that the candidate is smart and most importantly, that they know how much training to offer so that one can perfectly fit their tasks. Therefore, the knowledge about the working of the job is necessary for any organization since individuals who do not have posses such knowledge are perceived not to be serious about their jobs (Moore, 2017).
In conclusion, it is coherent that the most talked about skills by the human resources personnel as well as career experts are communication skills. Communication skills entail both the verbal and non-verbal since this type of communication affects the recruits in every aspect of their professional lives. As well, the Microsoft office together with the equivalent programs which include G Suite and the iWork have been found to be very important for workplace activities. The human resource, therefore, expects the entry-level employees to be well equipped with the knowledge on how to operate this software. Furthermore, it has been found that these days, most of the employers prefer the individuals who will be hired to their organization, including the entry-level employees to have some past professional experience. These experience can be attained from internships, volunteering and even from part-time jobs.
Additionally, the employees as well look for individuals who have analytical skills. Even though this skill is needed for the technical roles, the changing technology which information is deemed to be of essence has led the analytical skills to be one of the most sought out skills in any organization. Despite possessing technical knowledge which is perceived as a great achievement, the human resource as well want entry-level employees to have the ability to learn quickly. Furthermore, another most sought out skill by the employers is the ability of employees to work as a team. It can be noted that the candidates may have gotten used to being MVP while in school but at the workplace, it can be denoted to be all about being team players.
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Floyd, C. J., & Gordon, M. E. (2008). What skills are most important? A comparison of employer, student, and staff perceptions. Journal of Marketing Education, 20(2), 103-109.
Kelley, C. A., & Gaedeke, R. M. (2010). Student and employer evaluation of hiring criteria for entry-level marketing positions. Journal of Marketing Education, 12(3), 64-71.
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Moore, E., (April 2017). 14 Must-Have Skills for Entry Level Workers. Retrieved from https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/must-have-entry-level-worker-skills/
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