Employers considering candidates to fill job openings are looking for evidence that college graduates can—or, with further development, will be able to—do the job. With this in mind, college students from the Class of 2025 entering the job market should highlight on their resumes the attributes and skills they developed in their classwork and through their various experiential assignments.

But which attributes and skills are most important to employers?

Specifically, when asked what attributes they are looking for on resumes, nearly 90% of employers responding to NACE’s Job Outlook 2025 survey indicated they are seeking evidence of a student’s ability to solve problems and nearly 80% are seeking candidates who have strong teamwork skills. (See Figure 1.)

Written communication skills, initiative, strong work ethic, and technical skills are important to at least 70% of responding employers.

In addition, more than two-thirds seek verbal communication skills, flexibility/adaptability and analytical/quantitative skills in the candidates they recruit.

Both colleges and employers can help students address and develop these skills and attributes through classroom presentations, in campus programming, during internships, and more. However, it’s important for students to indicate these skills and attributes on their resume so they can have the opportunity to further articulate their proficiency during an interview.

Data for the Job Outlook 2025 survey were collected from August 5, 2024, through September 16, 2024. Of the 237 total respondents, 162 were NACE employer members, representing 19.2% of eligible member respondents. The Job Outlook 2025 survey was also distributed to nonmember companies, from which an additional 75 responses were received. The Job Outlook 2025 report is presented in slide format; slides can be downloaded and used as is, or adapted with permission.