Career-Ready Students: What Employers Really Want

Most educators are committed to preparing students for career success. Schools devote considerable effort to ensure that academic standards meet this need.

But what do employers really look for when hiring?

A new Wall Street Journal study analyzed 2.3 million LinkedIn profiles in search of an answer. The results may offer a new perspective into how we define “career ready.”

These findings provide important considerations for developing programs to address this important mission.

According the Wall Street Journal, employers are increasingly looking for workers with strong soft skills. Communication skills topped the list, followed by organization, teamwork, punctuality, critical thinking, social skills, creativity, interpersonal communication, adaptability and having a friendly personality.

While we sometimes refer to these competencies as “soft skills,” employers consider them to be absolutely critical for hiring and career success.

Schools that recognize career-readiness as an important element of its educational mission may want to  commit to developing these skills in addition to necessary foundations in academic content.

Our SmartLab HQs provide project-based STEM programs that develop critical workplace skills like those highlighted in the Wall Street Journal article.