The 2025/26 Bright Networks survey highlighted a discrepancy between the skills and attributes students believed were important to their future job applications, and what employers wanted to see in their new recruits.

Students believed that existing industry experience, a 2:1 grade or above and communication skills were what employers value most.

However, when employers were asked the same question, they highlighted a passion for the business, resilience, and commercial awareness as the most important attributes, while communication skills and problem-solving also ranked highly.

This highlights a real mismatch between student and employer expectations. In this blog, I explore why this is the case and what students can do to improve the areas that employers value most.

What types of work experience do employers value?

Students often believe they need direct industry experience to get a graduate job. But employers value any type of work experience or positions of responsibility where you can develop relevant transferable skills.

You will be able to develop skills including resilience, communication and problem-solving in industries not directly related to your chosen sector. You should develop an awareness of how your skills are transferable to your desired area of work. Explore our Self-Awareness resource to help with this.

Of course, you will work hard and aim for the highest grade you can! But this is not the most important factor when an employer decides who to hire. They are looking at you as a whole package, so aim to develop a broad range of skills through experiences alongside your academic work. These could include: student-led projects, student union societies, part-time work and volunteering.

What skills and attributes do employers value?

1. Passion for the business

Employers are hiring you as an individual and want someone who will be an enthusiastic contributor. In your applications and interviews always be prepared to answer ‘why you want to work for them.’ Check their website for their mission statement, values and recent projects. Use this information to think about why you genuinely would like to be part of their mission.

2. Resilience

In the working world, things won’t always go your way. There will be problems in projects, disagreements about priorities and difficult situations. Employers want people who can cope and bounce back from setbacks. So next time you encounter a problem, see this as an opportunity to develop your resilience and impress your future employer with the example!

3. Commercial awareness

You should consider your preferred role in the context of the wider industry and within both national and global political, social and economic climates. Understanding how the role fits within the company, which fits in the industry, which is affected by all that is going on around it, shows that you fully understand why that particular role matters.

4. Communication skills

At work you will be communicating with colleagues, customers and stakeholders. Take the opportunity to develop these skills in customer-facing roles while you are a student. How do you use your communication skills to deal with difficult situations? You should also become competent at sending professional emails while at university as this will be a key method of communication at work.

5. Problem-solving skills

Have you ever been close to missing a deadline in a group project? How did you deal with that situation? Or perhaps you have had to deal with an angry customer in your part-time job? What did you do? Employers want to know that you can foresee issues, and are able to find solutions to deal with them.

Explore your skills

At Surrey there are many ways to develop the skills employers are seeking! Explore the Professional Skills Award to consider these skills further.