Graduates need that x-factor

By MARK STORY

Having invested the past three or four years studying and paying possibly more than $14,000 chasing a bit of paper, you're feeling pretty bullish about the future.

So you should, because with unemployment at the lowest rate in 16 years (4.3 per cent) it's a good time to be looking for work. But unless you're one of a minority who graduated with vocational qualifications - such as dentistry, engineering or optometry - your career path is far less clear.

Fleur Board, CEO with recruiter Adecco NZ, says graduates with more generic degrees must realise they're selling their potential to an employer, not their academic achievements. She's convinced less formal skills outweigh degree qualifications - now regarded as a given - when finding your first job.

Employers recognise they'll need to invest time and money training an entry-level graduate from the ground up. But from Board's experience, it's the x-factor graduates can bring to the table - such as previously demonstrated work ethic and reliability, team participation, problem-solving and cross-cultural interaction - that makes them attractive to employers.

She says those who graduate at age 23 or 24 with neither work experience nor evidence of busy lives filled with extramural activities stand very little chance of getting a financial return on their university investment.

The real problem for many employers, adds careers expert Anna de Valk, is that so many graduates entering the workforce lack people skills, the maturity to hold down a job, and sometimes have little idea of what's acceptable behaviour.

"The difference between graduates who succeed and those who don't comes down to attitude," says de Valk, a consultant with Job Connections.

That's why Board suspects those who've done little apart from study during their degree might end up as bridesmaids in the employment stakes.

"That's because past experience is a good indicator of future performance," says Board. "The difference between the superstars and the 'also rans' are the softer skills. As well as attitude, employers want to see flexibility, adoptability and willingness to exceed expectations."

When graduates can't prove their leadership ability either extramurally or during former work experience, says Paul Walsh, Sky City's group general manager (HR), it's doubly hard to second-guess how they'll fit into an organisation.

"Beyond their IQ, we're trying to match cultural fit. After a two-day assessment we've got a good window into their natural service orientation - a vital skill for most jobs," says Walsh.

It's cultural fit, not her social science degree in economics and history that landed customer services rep Sarah Greening, 30, her job with the Government agency ACC.

In fact, Greening claims the (Industry Training Organisation-accredited) national certificate she completed in call centre operations is valued more highly by employers today than her university education.

But as Greening always regarded university as more a personal achievement than a meal-ticket, she has no problem with that admission.

"For me university was about self-esteem, whereas the working skills acquired studying for the National Certificate in Call Centre Operations moulded my people skills around a customer focus," said Greening.

With much of the New Zealand economy relying on customer services in some way, David Glover, managing director with training provider David Forman, says it's understandable why many employers put graduate recruits on customer service, call centre and leadership training programmes.

What it does for entry-level employees, many of whom don't fully appreciate what a customer is, adds Glover, is fine-tune their assertiveness, and people-management and conflict-resolution skills.

"Emotional intelligence (EQ) and life skills are much more important to employers these days. Graduates who've done a gap year show a lot more leadership and on-the-job maturity," says Glover.

The difference, claims Walsh, is pragmatic experience of leadership in the workplace. He says it's difficult to be an effective leader further up the ladder without it. That's why those on the company's new in-house graduate training programme do everything from mopping floors to clearing tables.

Those who go on to complete external qualifications relevant to their work are only (fully) reimbursed once they've passed. Even then, advises Walsh, there could be a sliding scale of refund should they resign too soon after qualifying.

Today's "just-in-time" (JIT) approach to staff training - investing only in the training staff need tomorrow - says Broad, means the onus is increasingly on graduates to iron out their hard edges while they're students.

This is why Glover urges students to identify the industries they're interested in working in and if possible get part-time work before they graduate, or even work for free if it means a foot in the door.

He reminds graduates that employers hire on the basis of good chemistry, and proof of latent leadership ability, not on the hard skills that can be learnt.

"Your first job may not be your dream position, but (any) experience, high-level literacy, IT skills, EQ sensitivities and the ability to self-manage are becoming 'must-have' skills for entry-level job seekers."