According to the January 2025 report of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the following are the key attributes employers are seeking on college graduates’ resumes:
When asked by NACE to rank the importance of certain career readiness competencies, employers conveyed the following:
Approximately 75% of employers will consider applicants who majored outside the employer’s industry:
b. Per the World Economic Forum, the following is a 2025 ranking of skills by the percentage of employers who consider them to be key to their workforce:
c. According to the Labor Analytics company Burning Glass, additional skills in the following 8 areas help liberal arts majors stand out*:
Marketing
Sales
Business
Social Media
Graphic Design
Data Analysis
Computer Programming
IT Networking
*We put together a list of (mostly) easy ways to upskill in these domains; it is available here.
