Looking out for a job? Here’s what employers are looking for in you

Insights from a survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan for OLX revealed key findings of what an employer looks for in a potential candidate. Along with this the survey revealed trivia about job seekers in India as well.

The survey, which was conducted in the first-half of 2017 has revealed the hiring-trends for jobs across 10 metro and non-metro cities in India. Representational image. Image Source: Pixabay

Key Highlights

66% employers surveyed looked at skill-set match more than anything else in a potential employee.

Demand for candidates in real estate and IT/BPO industries in the metros, while in non-metros, there is greater demand in manufacturing /engineering, FMCG, and logistics/warehousing and automobile industries.

More than 60% of the job-seekers looking for grey collar and blue collar jobs were graduates.

A well written resume may comprise of a number of things including the minute details like font size and consistency in the format. However, in the highly competitive Indian job market, employers are on the lookout for more than just a pretty resume.

Updating a higher number of skill set on your resume may be the reason you bag the next job vacancy, a survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan for consumer to consumer marketplace, OLX revealed on Monday.

“66% of employers look at skill-match more than anything else as the key quality in a potential employee,” the report said.

The survey, which was conducted in the first-half of 2017 has revealed the hiring-trends for jobs across 10 metro and non-metro cities in India. The report covers over 4,500 respondents, and assesses current trends, opportunities, and challenges faced by job seekers, and employers in the country.

“India’s large base of working population is skewed towards the youth. Increasing access to internet and growing aspirations of the young working population, are creating new opportunities where technology is bridging the gap between job seekers and employers. Our growth in the jobs space is a result of the largest and active localised jobs on the platform, which allows job seekers to explore openings in their vicinity. This serves as a source of employment for job seekers to find opportunities nearby and facilitates employers to hire relevant employees within their region,” Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX India said.

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Apart from a good skill set four key insights from the survey were revealed in the report. They were as follows:

1. What Employers Want:

Close proximity to the office was one other detail that employers might check off their list while interviewing candidates. “Employers also prefer applicants who live in the vicinity, 55% stating this was an important consideration,” the report said.

Other than that - quality, experience, background-check and referral are other key factors that employers consider above expected salary.

“An examination of the industry revealed that there is maximum demand for candidates in real estate and IT/BPO industries in the metros, while in non-metros, there is greater demand in manufacturing /engineering, FMCG, and logistics/warehousing and automobile industries,” the report revealed.

2. What Job Seekers Are Looking for:

The survey also revealed that more than 60% of the job-seekers looking for grey collar and blue collar jobs were graduates. More than one-third of these job-seekers are between 26 and 35 years of age.

“Three out of four job seekers have access to the internet, with a whopping 80% of them accessing internet over their phones,” the report added.

While employees might prefer the old job referral trick, online conventions of finding a job was also sought after by candidates. “Job referral is the most preferred medium for 34% of the respondents while finding a job, closely followed by 25% who preferred online medium.”

Key challenges faced by job-seekers while searching for jobs were listed that they often do not know where to look for jobs (19%), they feel that there are not enough jobs (18%), and the job details are not clear in the jobs that are out there (18%).

3. Employment Agencies:

Employment agencies prefer their own database for hiring over any other medium. This is followed by the use of field agents, and referrals for recruitment.

Speaking on the drawbacks of this medium the report said, “Field agents are often unable to provide fresh and good quality candidates who meet the required job criteria, while the agencies’ own database is often not updated. Referrals do not always work for all job profiles, and often fail to provide complete information on the potential candidate.”

4. Metros versus Non-Metros

The attitude of the people taking up jobs in metros and non-metro cities in India were also cited in the report.

“Jobs close to one’s home are coveted in metros, and become the most important reason for taking interest in a particular job profile, with 26% of the respondents claiming so. In non-metros on the other hand, it is the reputation of the company that is the primary motivation for considering a job,” the report said.

“Matching skill-set and relevant work experience of the potential candidate is the key requisite for the employers of temporary jobs. While they acknowledge availability of a vast pool of potential candidates on the ‘Online’ platform, it is their need to frequently and quickly source candidates with verified backgrounds and credentials, that urges them to rely on ‘Offline’ channels, like hiring Agencies and referrals, for recruiting temporary workers. These, hiring agencies usually fall back on their existing databases which are often out-dated, and their field-agents too are sometimes unable to provide the required profile. This need-gap, provides an immense opportunity for temporary job employers and hiring agencies to access the ‘Online’ platform for sourcing right candidates. There is a growing talent pool in the ‘Online’ platform, as about three-fourths of such job-seekers have regular access to internet and are aware of online job portals,” Nandini Kelkar, Research Director, Customer Research Services, Frost & Sullivan.

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