NATIONAL C-SUITE EXECUTIVE SURVEY ON
COLLEGE GRADUATES in the WORKFORCE
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A poll of 500 C-Suite executives representing
companies with 5,000 to 25,000 employees
Receive a complimentary copy of HPU’s Life Skills Executive Survey Report.
Download HPU’s complimentary report to learn more about what 500 executives across the nation say they need in new hires.
Source: 500 C-Suite executives with 5,000 employees surveyed by the High Point University Survey Research Center for the Executive C-Suite Poll on College Graduates in the Workforce
The Six Essential Interview Questions You’ll want to ask candidates in every interview.
When you interview job candidates, you’ll want to use these Six Essential Questions to help you identify and attract the best talent to your organization (you’ll want to share these tips and questions with your other hiring managers too) and be prepared to answer these yourself.
1. Give me an example of a time you failed in your career and how that experience helped you grow.
Understanding Their Response: A resume is often designed to showcase one’s accomplishments, but discovering how the candidate processed and managed their decision during difficult situations is key. Be able to decipher the difference between productive failures and nonproductive successes. The process of learning and growing always involves challenges.
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2. Talk about a time when you had a task you disliked. How did you stay motivated?
Understanding Their Response: Motivation is crucial in any position, and it often boils down to work ethic. Bad habits are easy to develop but hard to live with. Yet, good habits are hard to develop but easy to live with. Motivation is one of those good habits to cultivate.
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3. Internships and leadership roles in clubs and organizations in college can prepare a student for life after college. How have you seen this work experience help you grow, not only intellectually but emotionally?
Understanding Their Response: There is no substitute for experience, which creates competence. And competence leads to confidence. Commitment is a byproduct of confidence. Tell me about your goals in life. How do you plan to
achieve them?
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4. Tell me about your goals in life. How do you plan to achieve them?
Understanding Their Response: What matters is not so much what someone wants to do but rather what someone wants to be. This question will give you insight into prospective employees’ personal initiative, underlying motivations and self-assessment of their strategic thinking.
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5. Give me an example of how you found a solution to a problem you faced in your life or your work experience.
Understanding Their Response: In any line of work, every organization needs solution finders—NOT merely problem solvers. Solution finders think vertically to eliminate an issue permanently. Problem solvers think horizontally and only react to the tyranny of the urgent. You are looking for deep, vertical thinkers to join your team.
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6. Tell me about a time when you took on a leadership role — whether assigned or pursued. How did you motivate the people around you to carry out the mission? And how did you handle uncommitted teammates?
Understanding Their Response: Leaders must build bridges of understanding in order to persuade, influence and guide others. Look for candidates who can clearly explain how they connected with their teammates in order to foster trust. Remember, “if no one will follow you, you’re not a leader!”
Yes
91%
No
9%
NQ Notes
1924 PRIME, Alo, and Kazoku are HPU’s fine-dining learning labs, designed specifically to ensure HPU students master protocol in out-of-office business settings, like a restaurant, and experience global cultures and cuisine.
Technical
35%
Life Skills
65%
NQ Notes
Throughout this data, you’ll find these thoughtful insights from Dr. Qubein that will help you understand how to apply the data to your professional growth for your organization.
Technical
67%
Life Skills
33%
NQ Notes
The results here reveal that employers don’t think colleges throughout the nation are doing a good job instilling Life Skills. This is why HPU students are challenged to both excel in their discipline (major) AND develop their Life Skills.
Technical
31%
Life Skills
69%
NQ Notes
Nearly 50% relates to experiential learning. HPU students are encouraged to learn by doing! Facilities like Cottrell Hall (funded entirely by HPU parents)provide dedicated resources and opportunities to learn experientially. These include the Harris Sales Center, Belk Entrepreneurship Center, Norelli Global Education Center and more.
Lack of emotional intelligence and people skills
68%
Lack of experience in a corporate setting
21%
Lack of technical skills
11%
NQ Notes
We tell our HPU students that employers will train them on the technical aspects of a position IF they are grounded in Life Skills development, including teamwork and relational capital.
Yes
97%
No
3%
NQ Notes
How you present and carry yourself matters! This is why HPU students are educated to develop their executive presence.
NQ Notes
HPU’s culture daily reinforces for our students the notion that they must be prepared to render appreciated value and be committed to organizational welfare.
NQ Notes
Wow! 89% of the success/failure factors are related to Life Skills!
NQ Notes
The vast majority of executives spend their time training employees in areas related to Life Skills (80%) as opposed to technical skills (only 20%)!
Personal Initiative
18%
Team Player
12%
Technical Skills
69%
NQ Notes
Note that while executives are asking for college graduates with Life Skills, they aren’t seeing colleges deliver effectively. HPU students have a distinct advantage with Life Skills development because HPU is intentional in its efforts to instill these valuable skills in our students.
Personal Initiative
59%
Team Player
24%
Technical Skills
17%
NQ Notes
Motivation matters! It’s why we challenge HPU students to live by our call to action: Choose to be extraordinary! It’s also why HPU’s individualized Success Coach program is so important. Every student at HPU has an ecosystem of support throughout their four-year educational journey.
NQ Notes
Remarkable—81% of the characteristics that executives say are the hardest to develop in newly minted college graduates are overwhelmingly related to Life Skills, while a mere 19% are related to technical capabilities.
Yes
84%
No
16%
NQ Notes
In Fast Company’s Generation Flux series, executives noted that the most important jobs are “Figure-It-Out“ (FIO) jobs. The world is changing at such a rapid pace that employers don’t always know what specific instructions they need to give their employees. They need their associates to figure it out and know which questions to ask—without being prompted.
They had a growth mindset and strong work ethic
53%
They had a positive attitude and worked well with others
26%
They had industry-specific knowledge
22%
Doesn’t accept feedback and constructive criticism
46%
Doesn’t know how to solve complex problems
36%
Doesn’t have the technical skills needed
18%
Note that a lack of technical skills isn’t what’s causing employees to miss out on promotions! Life Skills make the difference in getting a job and advancing a career.
NQ Notes
HPU students are reminded that perception is reality, so they have to overcome this stereotype by developing and habitually demonstrating an energetic work ethic.
Yes
78%
No
22%
NQ Notes
Sales education is not exclusive to sales majors at HPU. ALL students are encouraged to take these classes, and ALL HPU students can learn inside the Professional Selling Center, regardless of their major. Building basic sales competence is critical for all leaders.
HPU students learn to accept and apply feedback with grace and gratitude thanks to their Student Success Coach, a mentor and guide who coaches them through their freshman year. This sets the tone for not only their remaining college years, but for the behavior in the workplace.
Company Size (number of employees)
| Ninja Column 1 | Ninja Column 2 |
|---|---|
| 2,500 to 4,999 | 48% |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | 23% |
| 10,000 to 24,999 | 12% |
| 25,000 or more | 15% |
Gender
| Ninja Column 1 | Ninja Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Male | 70% |
| Female | 30% |
| Another gender | 0% |
Age
| Ninja Column 1 | Ninja Column 2 |
|---|---|
| African-American or Black | 7% |
| White or Caucasian | 90% |
| Native American | *less than 1% |
| Asian | 3% |
| Multiple races or other | 1% |
| Don’t know | *less than 1% |
Education Level
| Ninja Column 1 | Ninja Column 2 |
|---|---|
| 1st-11th grade | *less than 1% |
| High school graduate | 2% |
| Some college | 9% |
| College graduate | 49% |
| Graduate school | 40% |
| Don't Know | *less than 1% |
Race
| Ninja Column 1 | Ninja Column 2 |
|---|---|
| 18-24 | 1% |
| 25-34 | 18% |
| 35-44 | 60% |
| 45-54 | 12% |
| 55-64 | 5% |
| 65 and older | 4% |
Dear Executive Leader,
As a leader, you’re looking for employees who will add value to your organization the very moment they come on board.
High Point University’s Survey Research Center recently surveyed 500 C-Suite executives nationwide to find out what they want in their future hires and which traits, characteristics and attitudes they see in their current employees that make them successful.
These executives lead businesses with anywhere from 5,000 to 25,000 employees, and the answers they gave us are resounding. But what we discovered is what I expected.
The skills needed to succeed never change.
Practical Data You Can Use NOW to Your Advantage
You’ll want to take a few minutes to review the results from our Executive C-Suite Poll. You’ll also find practical takeaways, such as six questions you should be asking interviewees. And I share insights on why you should ask job candidates these questions. We all need Life Skills development, regardless of our age, position or stature. Of course, you know that, or you wouldn’t have risen to the level of success you enjoy today.
Finding the best employee possible can be as hard as reading hieroglyphics. But we at High Point University want you to utilize these survey results as a “Rosetta Stone” to help you craft the questions you need in order to discover which job candidates will likely fit best with your culture and vision.
In the President’s Seminar on Life Skills that I teach to all freshmen, I always tell them that applying talents without thinking of values and principles is like using your car’s accelerator without touching the steering wheel.
That is true for all of us.
When we hire, we all need to think about what works best for our organization’s values and principles. We all know we are the sum total of the choices we have made in the past. But we also need to know that we can change what we are in the future through the choices we make today.
Let us all choose well. And as we challenge all our students at HPU: Choose to be extraordinary!
Sincerely,
Nido R. Qubein
