MUET YEAR END 2009

The table shows the ranking of qualities employers look for in job applicants and
the ranking of qualities applicants believe employers look for. There is a mismatch in
employers’ expectations and applicants’ perceptions of qualities required at the
workplace.

Communication skills is the highest ranked quality that employers look for in
applicants though applicants find it less important as they rated it number five. Respect
for authority is ranked the lowest which is 10 by both employers and applicants. Applicants
ranked qualification as the number 1 quality they believe employers look for but
employers ranked it number 7. A quality ranked quite low by applicants is motivation,
which is ranked number 9. Employers too find it less important as they ranked it number
8. Experience is considered important by applicants as they ranked it number 2. However
it is not what employers want as they ranked it number 9. Besides that, team-work skills
is a quality applicants do not believe employers want so much as they ranked it number
7 but it is a quality employers look for as they ranked it number 3.

In conclusion, employers and job applicants have different views on the qualities
expected at the workplace.

The table shows employers’ expectations and applicants’ perception of qualities

required at the workplace. The information presented in the table shows that employers
and job applicants have different views on the expected qualities at the workplace.

Applicants ranked communication skills in fifth place, whilst employers ranked it as

the most important element. Employers ranked qualifications in seventh place, while
applicants thought that qualifications are top priority. Both applicants and employers
agreed that respect for authority was the least important. Experience was the most
mismatched quality, as employers ranked it ninth while applicants ranked it second.
Diligence and teamwork skills were ranked second and third respectively by employers.
However, applicants ranked them as sixth and seventh respectively. Computer literacy,
personality, motivation and work ethics received very similar rankings from both
employers and job applicants. All in all, there was a vast difference in ranking for the
qualities of experience and qualifications.

In conclusion, while some qualities are viewed similarly, employers and applicants
generally have different views of the most important qualities expected at the workplace.
Job applicants should attempt to discover what a potential employer might look for in an
employee and thus improve the chances of a job opportunity.