A student presenting in a seminar room

Skills employers look for

How to be the graduate that employers are looking for

How to make yourself more employable

A key part of career planning is finding out which roles might suit you. It’s best to start by exploring your interests, values, and strengths. This will help you pinpoint career options that match your motivations and you’ll be more likely to feel fulfilled in your work. 

Explore your career options  

Once you have some career options in mind, find out which skills you need to succeed in those areas and work towards getting and perfecting them. Gaining experience is crucial to finding out what you enjoy, what you can do, and convincing employers you’re the person for the job. 

Find out about work experience 

Skills that employers look for

Many careers do not require a specific degree, but most employers look for graduates with transferable skills.  

At Manchester Met, we refer to the personal qualities, academic abilities, and transferable skills you’ll develop during your time at University as graduate attributes. These attributes will support you to thrive in your life after you graduate. 

The Manchester Met graduate attributes are: 

  • Digital
    • Develop a digital presence and manage your digital identity, footprint and safety.  
    • Confidently use digital tools, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and resources for ongoing learning and development.  
    • Design and create a range of digital content, considering broader issues such as accessibility.  
    • Demonstrate legal, intellectual property (IP) and ethical practices of working within digital spaces.  
    • Critically evaluate data and verify information from a range of sources.  

    How to develop your digital skills

  • Connected
    • Collaborate, forming networks to share and broaden your knowledge.  
    • Recognise and respect diversity and difference in cultures beyond your own.  
    • Cultivate awareness of disciplines within a wider global context.  
    • Contribute positively to communities, both local and global, recognising personal impact on both. 
    • Influence others through skills of communication, negotiation and leadership.  

    How to become connected 

  • Interpersonal

    • Draw on effective strategies for collaboration to create fair and inclusive working environments.  
    • Communicate confidently demonstrating clarity, empathy and listening skills. 
    • Challenge assumptions and seek diverse perspectives to foster equity and inclusion.  
    • Demonstrate self-awareness, respect and compassion, recognising personal influence on others.  
    • Network and lead to motivate, guide and empower others to achieve goals.  

    How to develop your interpersonal skills 

  • Autonomous  
    • Demonstrate initiative and be proactive to communicate skills and motivations.  
    • Reflect critically on own integrity, self-motivation and professionalism. 
    • Respond with flexibility to emerging opportunities and challenges.  
    • Respond constructively to feedback, facing set-backs with perseverance and courage.  
    • Recognise and prioritise health and wellbeing strategies.  

    How to become autonomous  

  • Sustainable
    • Recognise the interplay of environmental, social and economic systems.  
    • Challenge norms, assumptions and values to support sustainable practice.  
    • Apply a critical understanding of sustainable development and climate literacy.   
    • Foster creative solutions for local and global sustainability challenges. 
    • Use influence and agency to drive forward change for sustainable development.  

    How to become sustainable  

  • Enterprising
    • Generate creative insights into real-world opportunities and challenges.
    • Solve problems using systematic methods and innovative approaches.  
    • Set aspirational goals with achievable and measurable outcomes.  
    • Be agile to adapt to opportunities, risks and failures.  
    • Demonstrate financial literacy, with sustainable solutions to challenges.  

    How to be enterprising