Graduate skills and employee expectations

We're looking for your views and experiences of graduate recruitment

With your help, we want to understand more about the graduate skills landscape today. We're asking a diverse range of employers across the country if graduates leaving university are equipped with the skills they need in their organisations.

About this survey

This short survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. We're asking a variety of questions about the skills you need for your business and whether the graduates you hire possess them when they first join you.

Who are we?

This research project is driven by Hireserve and the University of Reading Knowledge Transfer Centre (KTC). We are both committed to raising the profile of graduate recruitment, nurturing young talent and supporting businesses large and small to hire the skills and knowledge they need.

What do we do with your responses?

Once we have reviewed all the data, we are planning to publish the report in May. You have the option to remain anonymous, or please do fill in your contact details if you would like to A) be considered for a case study within the report or B) be kept informed about the progress of the research.

Thank you for your contribution.

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* 1. Organisation information (optional)

Name

Company

Size of organisation (no. employees)

Sector/industry

Email Address

Question Title

* 2. How many graduate hires do you make each year?

1-5

6-10

11-20

20+

Other (please specify)

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* 3. Which channels do you find most successful for attracting and recruiting graduate hires?

University careers fairs

Your own careers site

Job boards

Employee referral schemes

Social media promotion/advertising

Recruitment agencies

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 4. Please rate the following: When graduates apply for a role at my organisation, typically I find that...

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	N/A	Agree	Strongly agree
...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are professional	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are professional Strongly disagree	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are professional Disagree	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are professional N/A	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are professional Agree	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are professional Strongly agree
...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are tailored to the role they are applying for	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are tailored to the role they are applying for Strongly disagree	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are tailored to the role they are applying for Disagree	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are tailored to the role they are applying for N/A	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are tailored to the role they are applying for Agree	...graduates' application form, CV or cover letter(s) are tailored to the role they are applying for Strongly agree
...graduates are well-prepared for an interview (e.g. knowledge of industry and business)	...graduates are well-prepared for an interview (e.g. knowledge of industry and business) Strongly disagree	...graduates are well-prepared for an interview (e.g. knowledge of industry and business) Disagree	...graduates are well-prepared for an interview (e.g. knowledge of industry and business) N/A	...graduates are well-prepared for an interview (e.g. knowledge of industry and business) Agree	...graduates are well-prepared for an interview (e.g. knowledge of industry and business) Strongly agree
...graduates can demonstrate strong examples of past experience or application of relevant skills	...graduates can demonstrate strong examples of past experience or application of relevant skills Strongly disagree	...graduates can demonstrate strong examples of past experience or application of relevant skills Disagree	...graduates can demonstrate strong examples of past experience or application of relevant skills N/A	...graduates can demonstrate strong examples of past experience or application of relevant skills Agree	...graduates can demonstrate strong examples of past experience or application of relevant skills Strongly agree
...graduates know what to expect from an interview process	...graduates know what to expect from an interview process Strongly disagree	...graduates know what to expect from an interview process Disagree	...graduates know what to expect from an interview process N/A	...graduates know what to expect from an interview process Agree	...graduates know what to expect from an interview process Strongly agree

Additional comments

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* 5. How would you rate the below graduate hire skills/characteristics?

	Not important	No opinion	Important	Extremely important
Relevant work experience	Relevant work experience Not important	Relevant work experience No opinion	Relevant work experience Important	Relevant work experience Extremely important
Enthusiasm/attitude	Enthusiasm/attitude Not important	Enthusiasm/attitude No opinion	Enthusiasm/attitude Important	Enthusiasm/attitude Extremely important
Academic record	Academic record Not important	Academic record No opinion	Academic record Important	Academic record Extremely important
Soft skills, e.g. time keeping, professional conduct and communication skills	Soft skills, e.g. time keeping, professional conduct and communication skills Not important	Soft skills, e.g. time keeping, professional conduct and communication skills No opinion	Soft skills, e.g. time keeping, professional conduct and communication skills Important	Soft skills, e.g. time keeping, professional conduct and communication skills Extremely important

Additional comments

Question Title

* 6. Which soft skills do you think are most valuable for candidates to bring to your organisation? (Choose up to three)

Professional behaviour, i.e. a good understanding of office etiquette and appropriate workplace conduct

Communication and interpersonal skills

Strong attention to detail

Telephone manner

Email etiquette

Digital skills, e.g. computer/internet literacy

Time management

Ability to work independently

Team work

Other (please specify)

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* 7. Based on your experience, how would you rate the following skill levels of a typical graduate hire/group of hires?

	Very poor	Poor	No opinion	Good	Excellent
Professional behaviour, i.e. a good understanding of office etiquette and appropriate workplace conduct	Professional behaviour, i.e. a good understanding of office etiquette and appropriate workplace conduct Very poor	Professional behaviour, i.e. a good understanding of office etiquette and appropriate workplace conduct Poor	Professional behaviour, i.e. a good understanding of office etiquette and appropriate workplace conduct No opinion	Professional behaviour, i.e. a good understanding of office etiquette and appropriate workplace conduct Good	Professional behaviour, i.e. a good understanding of office etiquette and appropriate workplace conduct Excellent
Communication and interpersonal skills	Communication and interpersonal skills Very poor	Communication and interpersonal skills Poor	Communication and interpersonal skills No opinion	Communication and interpersonal skills Good	Communication and interpersonal skills Excellent
Strong attention to detail	Strong attention to detail Very poor	Strong attention to detail Poor	Strong attention to detail No opinion	Strong attention to detail Good	Strong attention to detail Excellent
Telephone manner	Telephone manner Very poor	Telephone manner Poor	Telephone manner No opinion	Telephone manner Good	Telephone manner Excellent
Email etiquette	Email etiquette Very poor	Email etiquette Poor	Email etiquette No opinion	Email etiquette Good	Email etiquette Excellent
Digital skills, e.g. computer/internet literacy	Digital skills, e.g. computer/internet literacy Very poor	Digital skills, e.g. computer/internet literacy Poor	Digital skills, e.g. computer/internet literacy No opinion	Digital skills, e.g. computer/internet literacy Good	Digital skills, e.g. computer/internet literacy Excellent
Time management	Time management Very poor	Time management Poor	Time management No opinion	Time management Good	Time management Excellent
Ability to work independently	Ability to work independently Very poor	Ability to work independently Poor	Ability to work independently No opinion	Ability to work independently Good	Ability to work independently Excellent
Team work	Team work Very poor	Team work Poor	Team work No opinion	Team work Good	Team work Excellent

Other (please specify)

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* 8. During your time hiring and supporting graduates in the workplace, have you seen any change in soft skills, attitude or workplace-readiness over time? If so, please describe your observations below.

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* 9. How do you support graduate hires when they join your organisation?

Assign a mentor

Buddy scheme

Formal training courses

e-Learning

Support of membership of professional bodies

Internal knowledge and best-practice sharing

Work/role shadowing

Other (please specify)

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* 10. Do you have any other thoughts you would like to share based on your experience of graduate recruitment and on-boarding grads into the workplace?

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* 11. How do you assess graduates' soft skills during your hiring process? (Tick as many as apply)

Application form (specific questions)

Telephone interview

Video interview

Formal individual interview

Group interview

Assessment day

Other (please specify)

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* 12. Are you planning to make any changes to your graduate recruitment this year? E.g. implementing new technology or trying new sourcing channels, etc.?