What is Really Important to MBA Recruiters

What are recruiters really looking for? A  recent Businessweek article highlights the top skills job-seekers need to make the greatest impression on headhunters and future employers. What’s not high up on the list? Involvement in startups. According to the recruiters surveyed in BW’s 2014 b-school rankings, employees who are entrepreneurial thinkers and â€Å"cosmopolitan self-starters† aren’t as important as employees who can â€Å"write clean e-mails, work in a team, and think analytically.† Businessweek’s polled 1320 MBA recruiters from various industries, asking them to choose up to five skills or assets from a list of 14. Here’s what they found were most important (the top three) and least important (the bottom three): †¢Ã‚  68% Good communication †¢Ã‚  60% Analytical thinking †¢Ã‚  55% Ability to work collaboratively †¢Ã‚  15.2% Industry-related work experience †¢Ã‚  12.3% Global mindset †¢Ã‚  8.9% Entrepreneurship See BW’s chart for more details: Recruiters said that the following skills/assets were the most difficult to find among job applicants: †¢Ã‚  47.3% Strategic thinking †¢Ã‚  44.4% Creative problem-solving †¢Ã‚  42.2% Leadership skills Here’s the BW chart on that: Related Resources: †¢Ã‚  MBA Hiring Expected to Increase in 2015 †¢Ã‚  MBA Project Search: Matchmaking for MBAs and Businesses †¢Ã‚  5 Tips to Find a Satisfying Career