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HOWDOYOU
STACKUPTO
EMPLOYER
EXPECTATIONS?
by
Robert Oberlander, Ph.D.
R
ecen tly
1
was talking toa young
college graduate who was seek–
ing a job. He had just lost his third
job in the matter of only a few
months. He was intelligent and
qualified, and had even been told
that he was doing a good job. Ncv–
ertheless. he had lost his job again.
This young man had a lot going
for him. but he wasn't getting it all
together. There was one thing he
didn't know, and it was hurting
him on every job: He didn't know
what employers were looking for.
Wha t is it that employers are
sceking? Dr. Frank Endicott. re–
tired director of placement, North–
western University. researched this
question among companies seek–
ing students and college graduates.
In 1975, he presented his research
to the 26th annual meeting of thc
Westcrn College Placement Asso–
ciation. The companies studied
rankcd in order of importance six
factors they consider when hiring
collcge graduales. The findings are
most interesting. The single most
important factor on aU counts and
for all groups
is
personal traits.
This is followed by grades. special–
ized courses, part-time employ–
ment, participation in activities.
and the number of broad liberal
arts cou rses taken. Let's look at
each of these arcas more carefully.
The first and most important
factor in the minds of employers
was personal traits. By this em–
ployers mean maturity, initiative,
enthusiasm, poise and the ability
to deal with people. An interesting
note concerning this finding was
that even in research conducted 30
The
PLAIN TRUTH July 1977
years earlier by Dr. Endicott. per–
sonal characteristics were found
the most important job determi–
nan!. There was no change in 30
years ! This is a remarkable finding
in light of the numerous visible
changes that havc taken place in
education and society.
Dr. Endicott, in his book
A Co/–
lege Student's Guide ro Career
Planning.
comments:
"lt
is difficult
to identify and define the personal
characteristics of a person who
works well with other people. We
generally consider such a person to
be kind, courteous, understanding.
helpful. p1easant, and fair. with a
good sense of humor. Negative
qualities are more easily recog–
nized. These include arrogance,
conceit, shortness of temper, domi–
neering behavior, and discourtesy.
plus a long list of irritating per–
sonal habits."
In addition to the above. evi–
dence of qualities related to lead–
ership is commonly sought.
Specifically these include the will–
ingness to take responsibili ty, the
a bility to carry a project through to
conclusion, initiative, ability to
make decisions, respect for others.
and again, the ability to work well
with various types of people.
An individual's effectiveness as
a person and as a successful em–
ployee is related to his self-con–
fidence, poise. enthusiasm and
emotional stability. Frequently,
shy and retiring individuals find
themselves at a distinct dis–
advantage.
Dr. Endicott stresses: " Personal
appearance is important lo em–
ployers. Physical characteristics,
except extreme obesity, are gener–
a lly much less important than
dress. Within the general limits of
neatness and appropriateness in
dress, there is room for a consid–
erable amount of individuality.
The notion that employers insist
upon the gray ft annel sui t and the
dark narrow tie is a myth."
He also states: "Effectiveness in
speech is a strong asset. The inabil–
ity to express one's ideas clearly is
a weakness which shows immedi–
ately and there is much to recom–
mend courses in speech as part of
1he program of study for college
studenls."
Second to personal traits in
terms of importance were grades.
Grades werc found to be especially
important for jobs requiring a
background in science, mathemat–
ics, enginecring and accounting.
Here employcrs preferred those
students scoring in the top quarter
of their class. College grades were
somewhat less important for jobs
in sales, merchandising and gen–
eral business administration.
Ranked third in Endicott's re–
search werc specialized · courses.
Specialized training for the par–
ticular job being sought or held is
obviously a neccssity for most po–
sitions. This special ized training is
frequently strengthened by stu–
dents' summer and part-time work
experience. While pregradua1e
employment is not always direc1ly
related to one's specialized train–
ing. it is important to the employer
in that it has exposed lhe studenl
to true employment experience.
Also of importance 10 th e
employer was participation in ac–
tivities.
lt
is frequently in extracur–
ricular activities that a studenl is
able 10 devclop those qualities of
leadership 1hat are an important
prerequisite for many jobs. In ad–
dition to providing leadership op–
portunity and experience, social
activities direc1ly reftect one's abil–
ity to work with others. the capac–
ity to get along with people.
Ranked sixth in importance by
employers was the number of
broad liberal arts couises taken.
Here the employer is seeking a
breadth of educat ion - broad
knowledgeability outside the indi–
vidual's area of expertise. Fre–
quently 1he combination of
specialized training and broad lib–
eral arts background can open the
way for administrative or manage–
rial opportunity. Howard Figler of
Carlisle College and author of ca–
reer-planning books states that
those who have a broad education
have a special commodity-flexi–
bility. Flexibili ty. he adds, is essen–
tial in rapidly changing job
markets, and in a society where
(Continued on page 45)
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