What Do Employers Look For In Their Candidates?
When applying for IT graduate schemes and other IT related jobs, employers need to know you have the specific skills and expertise they are looking for. Some IT graduate jobs will require you to have a specific degree, some roles will require a degree in STEM subjects whilst, for others, you could land the role with any degree as long as you have the right attributes.
Let’s take a look at some of the key attributes employers might be looking for during your application process.
Have you got work experience?
When applying for IT graduate schemes and other types of IT related jobs, employers will be looking for practical work experience that you might have done whilst studying or after graduation. This might have been an internship within an IT company or an IT department in other organisations. Depending on your degree, you might also have completed an industrial placement as part of your course. This type of experience is valued highly by employers because it means you have worked on real projects in the workplace rather than purely classroom study.
Are your skills specific and up to date?
If you have done an IT degree and are about to graduate or you have only recently graduated then your skills are likely to be up to date and relevant to the IT graduate jobs you are applying for.
Some types of IT jobs will require you to have knowledge of certain programming languages and other packages. If your degree is not in IT and you want to boost your employability, you could opt to do a masters in IT or postgraduate short courses that can give you experience and knowledge about these specific skills. These types of courses can also give you a boost if you are heading for - or have already graduated with - a 2:2.
Is your CV relevant?
Got skills and experience in various programming languages, applications, hardware and SEO? If you are looking to impress potential employers, it could be tempting to list every single skill you have that relates to IT. As impressive as this might look to you, your potential employers don’t want to be scanning through everything to find that one skill they are looking for for their IT graduate jobs.
Make sure you know exactly what the employer is looking for and tailor your CV or technical CV for that particular role.
