What are employers really looking for?

Itís that time of year when fresh graduates are emerging onto the job market. A new survey by VMA Group, a leading specialist recruitment consultancy, finds when it comes to getting a job, the old adage of ëItís not what you know, but who you knowí still holds true.

VMAís survey of 487 owner managers of smaller-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) revealed that eight out of ten owner managers prefer word of mouth recommendations to find new employees. However, the cache of graduating from Oxford and Cambridge is less dominant, with 85% of bosses saying they are not influenced by where job candidates went to university.

After word of mouth, the next most popular method of finding new staff is via recruitment agencies, used by 48% of respondents. Forty percent prefer traditional newspaper advertisements, while 28% use a recruitment website.
Researchers for VMA spoke to SME owner managers across a broad range of professions, from marketing agencies to management consultancies, from computer software firms to advertising agencies, hotel and leisure firms and insurance companies.

They found that a worryingly large percentage of SME heads (25%) rely entirely on gut instinct when choosing new employees. And a massive 95% believe they ìknow when theyíve met the right candidateî, with only 14% bothering to formally test candidatesí numeracy, literacy and powers of reasoning. A staggering 59% of bosses admitted to breaking their own recruitment rules repeatedly regarding the minimum educational standards and experience candidates require.

Educational attainments are still important, but minimum standards will often be ignored if a candidate has relevant work experience or comes highly recommended. For example, while 55% of owner managers claim to impose minimum educational standards, 38% of SME bosses will interview candidates regardless of their qualifications if they know them personally or if the candidate has previously worked with other colleagues.

What bosses say impresses them most are candidates that display a ëgood attitudeí. This was by far the most important attribute employers are looking for (62%), well above experience (46%), ëintelligence and aptitudeí (43%) and qualifications (28%). Twenty eight percent of owner managers are most impressed by individuals who demonstrate enthusiasm for the work. This is closely followed by honesty (24%) and knowledge of the company (23%).
Of the companies that ask for specific educational qualifications, 77% expect candidates to have passed A-levels. Of these, 28% stipulate that candidates also hold a degree, while 6% have particularly high expectations of new recruits, asking for a first-class degree.

Work experience in the right industry is clearly important; 83% of those questioned would opt for someone with practical experience over an identical candidate with better educational qualifications.

Claire Tuffin, Executive Director of VMA Group, comments:
ìSpeak to almost anyone running a business, large or small, and they will tell you that the toughest part of the job is finding the right staff. Someone who is right for one company can be totally wrong for another. But there are some steps that can be taken to make recruiting more effective. First, bosses should rely rather less on gut instinct, and rather more on testing and systematic interviewing processes. It is often more effective to conduct a small number of targeted interviews, than meet a large pool of candidates, and certainly a better use of a busy bossís time.

ìFor new graduates, perhaps seeking their first career job, there are a few simple rules that will help them do well at interview. Bosses we spoke to say they are impressed by candidates whoíve researched their company, show real enthusiasm for the job on offer, are smartly turned out and donít talk too much or avoid answering the questions asked.î