Employers (like VIQU!) are looking for more than just grades…

For employees across the UK, August is the month for sun, sand, sea and quality time with the people you love most. But for teenagers and young adults, August holds the dreaded event that most people loath… Results Day.

For years, UK school children have made their way to school, picked up their stark white envelope and opened it with apprehension. A lot of people come away from the experience deliriously happy, some will head off to their chosen university, whilst others will have collected results which means that they can go to college or sixth form. Unfortunately, not everyone will receive the results they were hoping for and some will worry that they’ve messed up their future.

Now we’re not here to say that GCSE and A-Level results don’t matter, in fact, we think they’re incredibly important. But it’s also crucial to look at the bigger picture; individuals who take exams and do coursework develop new skills as they work towards them – time-keeping, personal management, strong work values and more.

Although these ‘soft skills’ might not be as easy to convey on a CV as 3 A* A-Levels, businesses really do value these skills. In fact, in a recent study, 95% of UK senior managers said that soft skills are equally or more important than just having exam results.

“I would actively encourage young people to get involved in extracurricular activities and volunteering. Achieving a DofE Award is a brilliant way to gain recognition for all the effort put in and it shows potential employers a candidate has great communication, confidence and teamwork skills, which are indispensable in the workplace.”

– Deborah Meaden

Here at VIQU, we take team hires very seriously. We like to say that we’re a difficult company to join and an even more difficult company to leave. Examination results are just one aspect of a person that we look at, the confidence an interviewee instils in us that they’re going to do a fantastic job and bring enthusiasm to the role is important too.