A recent company survey revealed that out of 1,000 graduate recruiters, 97% said they valued a positive attitude over the right skills and experience. Rejoice because having the right skills and experience is no longer necessary! Obviously not. But the results of the survey underline the importance of a friendly disposition and an enthusiastic outlook in any working environment. The plane journey is often a good example to illustrate this point; imagine you were an employer and you had to choose a graduate for a project that involved you and whoever you selected sitting side by side for an eight hour plane journey. Would you opt for the more skilled but arrogant graduate, or someone who may be less skilled but who you could actually bare sitting next to for that very long journey?
For those of you reading this that think this is good news but it doesn't really apply to you because you don't have a job yet, it's equally important to transfer the notion of these qualities into your CV. A CV should not just be a list of accomplishments or achievements, but it should give the employer a flavour of who you are and you're particular affinity to that company. So make sure you tweak your CV to match the values and spirit of each company you are applying to. Students and graduates often bracket CVs into specific sectors like Finance, Consultancy or Marketing and then just send the same ones off for all firms in the same professional field. Don't be one of those people. Also make sure everything you say on your CV is actually worth saying. Employers want to know what makes you tick, but only if it's relevant to them. This is why your presentation of a role is very important. Don't just list positions or extracurricular activities, demonstrate your enthusiasm by including precisely what you learned, what you did or how you developed. Otherwise it just seems like you did something or you chose to include something just to take up space on the page. Nobody wants to be an applicant who can be accused of saying everything and anything and therefore nothing.
Charles, GRB Journalist
