Monday, 24 Jun 2019
KUCHING: The top quality Sarawak employers look for when it comes to hiring fresh graduates is personality, according to a survey.
The Sarawak Employment Report 2019 by local job search site SarawakJobs.com found that 75% of employers identified a good personality as the most desirable intrinsic quality in a graduate.
The second most important quality is communication skills, with 44% of employers saying they would hire graduates based on their oral and written communication abilities.
The report said employers also looked for level of education (41%) and English proficiency (39%), while other criteria such
as field of study, academic results and internship experience were also considered.
It found that school reputation was the least important factor, with only 1% of employers considering it.
The report was based on data collected from 140 Sarawak companies, 704 employees and 935 graduates who took part in SarawakJobs’ online survey.
Comparing public and private sector employers, it said personality came out top across both sectors in hiring fresh graduates.
However, it found that government agencies preferred qualities like level of education and volunteering experience while private sector employers placed more emphasis on communication skills and English proficiency.
“In general, our findings show that local employers are looking beyond academic qualifications as they increasingly look for fresh graduates with a good personality, coupled with a broader range of skills related to the job,” SarawakJobs said.
In terms of personality traits, the report said a sense of responsibility was the most preferred, with 41% of employers voting for it.Honesty (31%), being ambitious (21%), self-motivation (20%) and loyalty (19%) made up the rest of the top five traits wanted by employers.
“Job seekers who exhibit these traits will be highly sought after. However, be prepared that employers will expect you to walk the talk,” the report said.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2019/06/24/good-personality-tops-job-survey
