New Survey Results Detail What Top Employers Want Most

MILWAUKEE, WI--Apr. 21, 2004--CollegeGrad.com, the #1 Entry Level Job Site, today released the results of its survey on what employers want most in hiring new college grads. Which is more important to entry level employers ñ the college you graduated from? Your GPA? Or what you majored in? According to the survey results, the answer may surprise you.

The criteria that the employers ranked as most important are as
follows:

#1 ñ The studentís major
#2 ñ The studentís interviewing skills
#3 ñ The studentís internship/experience
#4 ñ Other miscellaneous qualifications
#5 ñ The studentís GPA
#6 ñ The college the student graduated from
#7 ñ The studentís personal appearance
#8 ñ The studentís computer skills

Employers ranked a studentís major as the top priority. So having the right major for your career field is much more important than attending Harvard or Stanford. Employers look first for alignment of the studentís major and classes with the intended career field.

Ranked second, the studentís interviewing skills are also seen as critical for success. ìNo matter how strong the resume, no matter what your major, no matter where you went to school, no matter what your GPA, if you are not successful in effectively communicating your background and experience, you will fail in the interviewing process while others will find success,î stated Brian Krueger, President of CollegeGrad.com. Krueger added, ìItís vitally important to do your homework in advance and be prepared for the interview, knowing both yourself and the employer before you walk into the interview.î

Tom Tarantelli, Director of the Center Development Center of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute said, ìGreat news not withstanding, students in the current market need to be flexible and seek out what makes them ëunique.í In other words it is more important than ever that students link their skills to employment opportunities and be able to answer the question: ëWhy am I the best person for the job?íî

Internships and other experience are ranked third and are an important differentiator both at the entry level and in the job market in general. This is even more important now that college graduates are now competing with additional experienced individuals due to recent layoffs.

Lower on the list were miscellaneous other skills, GPA, what college the candidate graduated from, personal appearance and computer skills.

ìFor students who are worrying that they didnít attend the right college or worrying that their GPA is not high enough, this survey shows that these are not what most employers are looking at first,î stated Krueger. ìItís more important to have taken the right major and classes for your career at a local state school than to have majored in Philosophy at an Ivy League school.î

More information on the survey results along with a list of over 500 of the Top Entry Level Employers are posted at