Personal Transferable Skills

The expression "first impressions are lasting ones” is closely associated with resumes and interview skills. Resumes determine if the “applicants possess requisite knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required for employment” (Cole, Rubin, Feild & Giles, 2007). It is imperative for graduate employees to make a first impression that counts, as research conducted by TheLadders found that employers spend about 6 seconds reviewing an individual resume (Keeping an eye on recruiter behaviour, 2012). The research also found that 80% of the employers resume review time focused on the applicant’s name, current and previous title/company, current and previous start and end dates and education. Employers look for resumes that are presented

Education is especially important for graduate employees and should include all educational qualifications including licenses or certifications that have been acquired. One of the most important components that employers look for in a resume is personal transferable skills. Personal transferable skills are skills developed through education, work and other life experiences and can be developed and transferred across a number of settings. Personal transferable skills include, the ability to work well with others, the ability to organise, creativity, the capacity to solve problems, initiative, leadership and communication skills (Stewart and Knowles, 2001). The possession of these skills is said to be important because they permit a graduate employee to make an immediate contribution to an organisation (Greenwood et al., 1987; Athiyaman, 2001). Graduate employees have complete control over what employers know about them through their resumes. Creating the perfect resume allows graduate employees to stand out as a prime applicant. The purpose of a resume is to get an

During the interview stage, graduate employees will get a more in-depth look at the position and organisation. During interviews employers expect graduate employees to be commercially aware that is, having an understanding of the organisation and the marketplace. Commercial awareness can be developed through hands on business experience; extracurricular activities work experience and internships. Employee graduates can also subscribe to journal and industry magazines to brush up their commercial awareness. Employers value graduate employees that can demonstrate their communication skills, team work skills and problem solving skills during the interview stage. Communication skills are essential during interviews as employers look for employees who are able to express themselves concisely. Communication skills include being able to phrase important questions, active listening and being confident whilst answering questions. Team work skills that employers search for include the ability to encourage other team members to achieve tasks and goals, working cohesively in a team, making decisions and solving problems. Problem solving skills is one of fundamental skills that employers look for and this skill includes being able to overcome challenges by thinking creatively and critically. The IDEAL model demonstrates stages to solve a problem and can