Top 10
things employers are looking for
The Guardian
What do UK employers actually
mean when they seek a passionate, motivated, innovative individual? We help you
decode the job application buzzwords
Job advertisements should be
taught in schools, probably as a foreign language. At some point most of us
realise that a "role" means a job, an "opening" means
another job, and a "package" means how much money they will give you
every year for doing it.
Yet there are other buzzwords
that need some decoding. A study of more than 500,000 recent ads by the search
company Adzuna has revealed that some employers are
asking for wizards, rockstars and Jedis in job adverts – and they aren't
recruiting entertainers.
Fortunately they are in the
minority, but other buzzwords and terms appear again and again. We asked Adzuna
to find the 10 words and phrases most commonly used by UK employers to describe
the type of person they are looking for. But what do they really mean? And how
do you show you have the skills in question? Here are the 10 most requested and
some tips on how to prove you have them.
Organised
Number of adverts it appears in
(according to Adzuna) 99,862
Average salary for jobs requiring
the skill £34,479
By far the most frequent term on
the list, and one of the most forbidding. "My interpretation is that you
are going to have a heavy in-tray," says Cary Cooper, professor of organisational
psychology and health at Lancaster University. "You're going to have a lot
thrown at you, and you'd better be able to prioritise."
A CV emphasizing that you're used
to working hard – and showing enthusiasm for it if you're called for interview
– is probably a good plan here.
Communication
skills
Number of job adverts it appears
in 68,064
Average salary £31,923
It is ironic that the ability to
be understood should be described with a phrase that is so opaque. In some jobs
it may refer specifically to giving confident presentations to lots of people,
in which case emphasise that; it may also be a way of saying "social
skills" – a vital element that employers are oddly reluctant to specify.
"I think there is a degree
of emotional intelligence in there," says Kirwan Hack from career
management consultants Fairplace Cedar.
Clearly it is hard to demonstrate this on a CV, other than by being articulate
and clear, but it is useful to show that you are used to handling people.
"The important thing is to demonstrate the different audiences you are
used to communicating with," Hack says. "The more breadth you have,
the more convincing it is."
Motivated
Number of job adverts it appears
in 65,011
Average salary £30,905
A strange one, yet the third most
popular. By definition, any candidate who applies for a job is motivated to get
it, so this means demonstrating something more pronounced. In part it may be a
strategy by an employer to put off all but the most eager applicants; it may
also be a way of warning that you are going to have to work independently, and
often find your own tasks.
"'Don't expect me to
molly-coddle you'," is Cooper's interpretation. "You'd better have
initiative and be a self-starter." Show off this aspect of yourself as
much as you can.
Qualified
Number of job adverts it appears
in 58,955
Average salary £34,837
There shouldn't be much ambiguity
over whether you are a qualified accountant or a qualified nurse, say, but
being qualified for some other jobs may be a matter of opinion ("Exactly
what is a qualification to be a manager?" Cooper asks, for instance.)
If there is no recognised
certificate in your field, assume the word is an invitation to showcase your
experience. If a certificate exists, however, don't stop there. "Often the
qualification is used as a baseline," Hack says. "But if I'm looking
at that I want to see how it's been applied … if there's something about how
they've actually used their learning in the role that is an added extra."
Flexible
Number of job adverts it appears
in 56,551
Average salary £29,007
"I think we're going to see
this word used more often," Cooper says. And certainly, in a stagnant
economy, it has become more common for workplaces to be understaffed, requiring
people not only to do their jobs but to be flexible enough to take on others
here and there. "It's mucking in," Cooper says. "Being willing
to do things outside your level of competence, either up or down."
Evidence of working that way in
past jobs would therefore be good on your CV, and show bags of enthusiasm in
the interview. Anyone can be flexible – the question is how grumpy they will be
about it.
Degree
Number of job adverts it appears
in 54,049
Average salary £38,780
Given that about a quarter of the
UK population has a university degree, it's no longer a strong selling point on
its own – and means very little once you've been working for a few years. As
such, employers asking for a degree are probably just trying to make their
workload manageable. "They're going to get so many applications, I think
it's a sifting thing," Cooper says, adding: "You could say you're
'educated to degree level' even if it wasn't to the point of obtaining your
degree.")
Commitment
Number of job adverts it appears
in 49,686 (+10% since 2012)
Average salary £30,709
"This is really about how
you demonstrate the energy and fire you have for the role," Hack says.
Again, this may well be because you'll be expected to work long hours and do
less enjoyable things when necessary. An employer asking for commitment may
also be hoping to find someone who will stay for a while rather than using the
job as a stepping stone elsewhere. Proving these things is going to be a matter
for the interview, because the terms are easily parroted on paper.
"I look at a lot of
CVs," Hack says, "and to be honest I tend to skip past a lot of these
words because you're not going to get it from a CV. But if you say it about
yourself you're going to have to demonstrate it at the next stage."
Passionate
Number of job adverts it appears
in 47,971
Average salary £28,762
This is in the same territory as
"commitment" and "motivated", but has a more extrovert
flavour, according to Cooper. With the lowest associated average salary it also
suggests that the applicant's passion may be relied on to motivate them as a
substitute for money. "If I put that on the list I'd want someone who
really cares about working in the public sector, the third sector, or whatever
it is," Cooper says. "In other words, 'We expect that you're here not
just because you've been unemployed for nine months.'" At interview,
that's what you'll have to show, or simulate.
Track record
Number of job adverts it appears
in 40,471
Average salary £39,156
This phrase is associated with
the highest average salary on the list, which makes sense because it's probably
being used by employers who are willing to pay for the finished article.
"You want to see that people have been though the mill," Hack says,
"either in your particular sector or something similar."
As a result you will have high
expectations to meet when the jobs starts. "It's a scary one because it
could say, 'If you don't, you're gone,'" Cooper says.
Innovative
Number of job adverts it appears
in 36,581
Average salary £37,680
Clearly some jobs require people
to be creative all the time, but in most cases "innovative" will mean
something rather different. "The last thing they want you to do is be a
free thinker," Cooper says. Hack suggests the term is really asking,
"Are you a problem solver? Can you think of good ways to get through the
issues and challenges you're going to face?"
To demonstrate that you are, he
recommends dropping some brief hints on your CV about times when you have dealt
with a difficult challenge. "You don't need to explain how you did
it," Hack says. "That'll come out at the interview."