5 Skills Where Graduates Outperform Their Colleagues

Skills where Graduates Excel

Recently, SHL researched over 200,000 graduates that had completed our assessments to understand what skills they possess, and how they compare to the general working population. The results showed 5 key skills where they scored higher than expected, highlighting that a lack of work experience does not hinder their ability to drive future growth and performance.

1. Copes with setbacks and criticism

Far from the stereotypical ‘snowflake’ generation, Gen Z talent are comfortable both voicing their opinion and receiving criticism, moving on quickly, learning, and using it as motivation to overcome any obstacles. As trends such as employee disengagement and ‘revenge quitting’ are on the rise, building trust and having open two-way dialogue is something organizations are striving to improve, and an area that graduates will embrace.

2. Takes responsibility

Being accountable is something that graduates and Gen Z talent crave in their roles. Too often organizations make the mistake of easing graduates in with little responsibility for tasks or micro-managing every aspect of their job. Empowering graduates to use their initiative, manage certain tasks and be accountable is not only a motivator, but will accelerate their contribution and impact in their team.

3. Adapts to change

45% of CEOs don’t believe their company will survive the next decade without significant change. Business transformation is here to stay, and HR teams are pivotal to its success. Remaining productive in these changing environments is a challenge for employees, and graduates are well placed to adjust effectively and quickly to this change. With less experience and less rooted ways of working, together with growing up in fast-past digital environment, adapting to latest trends is expected, and something that graduates thrive upon.

4. Learns quickly 

We recently revealed that the ability to learn quickly was our skill of the year, highlighting the importance of being agile and adapting quickly to cope with ongoing business transformation. Given graduates are scoring higher than expected in this skill, that should give more confidence to organizations that graduate talent can be relied upon to pivot quickly and learn the necessary skills to maintain business growth as business priorities and roles evolve.

5. Analyzes information

In a time where data overload is common, being able to understand problems and evaluate what is important and relevant to the task in hand is crucial. Gen Z talent are often first to embrace new tools and technologies, and are well versed in dealing with large amounts of data and information across sources so their mindset would prove advantageous in these situations. 

Beyond the Now: Hiring for Growth and Agility

The rise of AI and other tech advancements are changing organizations so fast that the roles and technical skills that businesses are hiring for now may be vastly different in less than 12 months’ time. That makes it critical to look beyond just whether a person can do the job today, but how they can adapt, learn, and grow within your organization. For those seeking a competitive edge, tapping into this emerging talent pool can be a powerful strategy for long-term growth and success. The key to this is an understanding of their underlying behavioral skills and potential to learn. 

See how SHL can help build a strong talent pipeline for your business by identifying early career talent with future-ready skills.