Recruiters and Hiring Managers Rank “Willingness to Learn” As Most Desirable Attribute When Hiring Young Adults

Toronto, ON – As young adults across the country gear up to find their ideal summer job, a new Ipsos survey of recruiting and hiring managers in Canada, conducted on behalf of McDonald’s, has found that willingness to learn (46%) ranks as the most desirable skill that hiring managers are looking for in young adults, followed by teamwork (39%), communication (36%), problem-solving (35%), and interpersonal abilities (23%).

With McDonald’s National Hiring Day, a one-day hiring blitz that aims to place over 9,000 employees with the company, coming up this April 5th, the survey asks how a typical McDonald’s employee is seen through the eyes of a recruiter or hiring manager. Nine in ten (89%) recruiters and hiring managers agree that if they were to see McDonald’s listed on a candidate’s resume, that candidate would have the potential to demonstrate strong teamwork skills (89%). Other skills that recruiters and hiring managers see as being potentially developed in former McDonald’s employees are:

• Interpersonal abilities (77%)
• Communication skills (75%)
• Willingness to learn (73%)
• Problem-solving skills (49%)

Former McDonald’s Employees Are Perceived Positively

Listing McDonald’s as a prior employer on a resume can improve recruiters’ and hiring mangers’ perceptions. More than eight in ten (83%) recruiters and hiring managers agree (32% strongly/51% somewhat) that when looking at a former McDonald’s employee’s resume, the candidate would likely be customer focused. Another eight in ten (81%) agree (29% strongly/52% somewhat) they see the candidate as being employable. A further seven in ten (72%) agree (26% strongly/45% somewhat) the candidate would likely be reliable, while two in three (65%) agree (26% strongly/ 40% somewhat) the candidate would likely have a strong work ethic, due to their past work experience at McDonald’s.

When searching for a new employee, seven in ten (69%) recruiters or hiring managers say that if they were to see McDonald’s listed as a prior job on a candidate’s resume, it would have a positive impact on the candidate’s selection. The experience McDonald’s provides their employees tends to resonate with recruiters and hiring managers. In fact, a majority of them are in agreement with following work experience statements:

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted from March to April, 2016, on behalf of McDonald’s. For this survey, a sample of 250 recruiters and hiring managers was interviewed online. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 7.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian recruiters and hiring managers been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President, Canada
Ipsos Public Affairs
+1 416 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With offices in 88 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across five research specializations: brand, advertising and media, customer loyalty, marketing, public affairs research, and survey management. Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of €1,669.5 ($2,218.4 million) in 2014.

• 78% agree they consider work experience at a McDonald’s restaurant to be a valuable first job;
• 75% agree they value the skills people learn from working at a McDonald’s restaurant;
• 64% agree they consider work experience at a McDonald’s restaurant on a resume to be an asset; and
• 58% agree McDonald’s restaurant experience helps build relevant skills not traditionally taught in a first job.