Skill, experience and expectations – navigating workplace realities

It’s an ancient battle that, for better or worse, underlies the capitalist society that we live in.
Employers want the best talent and the most productivity at the lowest price. Employees want the best possible price for their labour, but also meaningful work and opportunities to grow.
In the best-case scenarios, the two sides meet somewhere in the middle. In the worst, however, relationships can break down and the fallout can be painful.
So just what are employees and employers looking for from one another, and how can you manage this relationship so resentment is kept to a minimum?
Focus on talent
Irish Distillers are makers of Jameson and other whiskey brands. As early careers lead, Joanne Walsh manages the talent attraction and recruitment of early talent across a variety of different entry points. These include the Jameson International Brand Ambassador Programme and the Irish Distillers graduate and internship programmes.
“We look for leadership attributes, and the most important of these is the ability to deliver through collaboration,” she says.
“Balancing, planning, the ability to be flexible and work across multiple teams, collaborating with and within teams, all matter.
“We look for flexibility, because different teams will be a part of the processes, so we need people to be flexible with their own timeline needs, too.”
Walsh says that employers seek people with a growth mindset. This is a concept developed almost 40 years ago by the Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who saw how some students rebounded from failure while others struggled to cope.
Dweck identified that people tend to have a “fixed” or “growth mindset”. With the former, people are more likely to believe that their abilities are innate or fixed, so there’s no point in putting in the extra effort if they’re not naturally good at something. With the latter, however, people believe that, if they put in the work, they can achieve far beyond their immediate and obvious abilities; simply put, they can rise to a challenge.
“We look for people who are forward-thinking, who have a vision that they can translate to future strategy,” says Walsh.
“We look for people who can thrive in a complex and fast-paced environment, who are open and authentic. We want people to be able to engage with, receive and give feedback, and do so with open dialogue in a respectful and authentic way.
“We want people who are bold and agile, able to be courageous in difficult situations and able to learn from past experiences.”
Walsh says that they seek to build diverse teams, not just because they value inclusivity, but also because diverse teams lead to diversity of thought which, in turn, leads to better ideas.
“We want consumer-centric hires who understand how to use technology to develop more value for the customer, and we have strong social media elements for graduates interested in content creation and marketing.”
At the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, Kara McGann, head of skills and social policy, says that employers look for people who are open to learning, recognising that technology, innovation and regulation drives constant change.
“Employers want graduates that are open to continuing their development, and are open to building relationships and networks,” she says.
Echoing Walsh, McGann says that a personable approach is key.
In our conversation, neither Walsh nor McGann mention that employers necessarily want specific graduates from specific disciplines, such as business, IT or food science. Indeed, many – if not most – firms today are less concerned with a technical qualification as much as they are with skills, and being able to demonstrate that you have the competencies and attributes that they want. But how does a graduate go about proving their skills – and couldn’t they just bluff it?
“Initially, at the interview stage, we take them through certain questions,” Walsh explains.
“We might ask them, for instance, to tell us about a time that they gave positive feedback.”
(This could be through a supervisory role in a part-time job, or more likely, through volunteering, such as organising or leading a college club or society event).
“We might also ask: how have you taken feedback?”
In the same vein, any graduate who just flings down on their CV that they’re flexible, collaborative, bold, agile, consumer-centric, open and authentic will be caught out during the interview process if they don’t have solid examples of how they have lived these attributes. The lesson? Do not bluff.
So, what’s a bad fit for an employer?
“We’ve all been there, looking for a job but, from an employer’s perspective, a bad fit is clearly just putting their CV everywhere and providing rote answers,” says McGann.
“Employers want someone who considers how they would fit in an organisation and what they bring to the table. They will see through rote answers, whereas education, enthusiasm and experience will come across well.”
Graduate wishlist
Walsh says that, as much as the company seeks certain attributes from its graduate hires, they are also acutely aware that graduates have their own wishlist.
“We survey our graduates when they come in, to assess what they want from their role. Empowerment and autonomy feature heavily. They want meaningful work; in our cases, that means that they see the products on the shelves and see the end result.
“Graduates look for a sense of camaraderie, good working relationships and friendships.
“Once settled in, they look for career progression, so it is up to us to ensure there is a pipeline to future progression in order to hold on to the talent that we have.
“Our graduates love access to leadership; the general manager of bottling sits on the same floor, for instance. They prefer that an organisation is not so multi-tiered that they can’t access leadership.
“We constantly ask for feedback on how they can improve and, in turn, they love to get feedback on what they are doing well and how they can improve on it,” Walsh says.
While being evaluated and assessed can seem harsh, the best organisations hold regular performance reviews. This is not to tear anyone down, but to emphasise goal-setting, provide feedback, and give opportunities for employees to grow and develop.
McGann, meanwhile, says that today’s graduate looks for companies that reflect their values.
“They may ask: does this company invest in diversity, equality and inclusion? We also see graduates concerned by and interested in sustainability. If these don’t align for you, you may find it challenging in the organisation.”
McGann, as well as career psychologist Sinéad Brady, says that graduates want – and need – genuine opportunities for career development.
“Where organisations have a genuine interest in career progression, graduates will have the chance to get feedback and support in the workplace,” Brady says.
With this in mind, a good workplace will happily provide opportunities for employees to learn both within the workplace, and through support with accessing courses outside of it. They may point staff towards courses, and often either pay for or subsidise them, as well as provide some study leave.
Upskilling and retraining staff, and supporting them in their career growth, is a big motivator for graduates, says Brady – adding that it’s a big, red flag if they don’t offer this support.
McGann agrees that graduates care not just about the role in front of them, but also their longer-term career progression.
“Is there learning and development in the role? Every employer knows that we are in a rapidly changing market, with jobs constantly evolving and disappearing, so we need to keep up with [continuous professional development] to remain competitive. A positive approach to lifelong learning is important.”
Graduates want this chance to grow and develop, but companies may put obstacles in their way. Brady says that there are certain “non-promotable tasks” (NPTs) assigned to staff, and that these are the glue that hold a workplace together.
These may include taking minutes at meetings, helping to organise events or handling difficult clients, and they become non-promotable when they are not recognised or acknowledged, particularly during a performance review.
“I’m not saying that you shouldn’t do things that are in the job description,” Brady ays. “Everyone has to take their fair share of NPTs, but they are not necessarily assigned to everyone, and it becomes a problem if you’re still doing more than your fair share years after being hired. Women, in particular, tend to be given more of them.”
Brady says that graduates want to be happy in their workplace, so it’s a good idea to temperature check with peers and with people in their workplace around the culture, supports and expectations.
“There are some important indicators that a graduate can look for when scoping out a company. Talk to people who have worked there. Look at their turnover rates to see how long employees tend to stay – perhaps by researching on LinkedIn as to how long people stay there, and look on Glassdoor.ie to see what it’s like to work there.”
“You don’t have to tolerate bad manners,” she says. “There is no excuse for people to be rude, ignorant or exclusionary.”
Finally, of course, there’s money and salaries.
“Graduates are no different from the rest of us, and of course employers are always scanning the horizon around graduate recruitment to ensure that they are competitive enough to attract the best talent,” McGann says.
“But it’s not the only consideration, and you do have to look at the opportunity you are getting with certain companies. Does it meet your other preferences and needs? If it’s a great place with a great wage but doesn’t tick the other boxes, is it right for you? You have to weigh all of these things up.”